reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 546c - Confirmed order

Confirmation of a registered order, whether by operation of law or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted at the time of registration.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.608.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 547 - Procedure to register child-support order of another state for modification

A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child-support order issued in another state shall register that order in Puerto Rico in the same manner provided in §§ 542–542a of this title if the order has not been registered. A petition for modification may be filed at the same time as a request for registration, or later. The pleading must specify the grounds for modification.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.609.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 547a - Effect of registration for modification

A tribunal of Puerto Rico may enforce a child-support order of another state registered for purposes of modification, in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of Puerto Rico, but the registered order may be modified only if the requirements of § 547b of this title have been met.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.610.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 547b - Modification of child-support order of another state

(a) After a child-support order issued in another state has been registered in Puerto Rico, the responding tribunal of Puerto Rico may modify that order only if § 547e of this title does not apply and after notice and hearing it finds that:
(1) The following requirements are met:
(A) The child, the individual obligee, and the obligor do not reside in the issuing state;
(B) a petitioner who is a nonresident of this State seeks modification; and
(C) the respondent is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of Puerto Rico; or
(2) the child, or a party who is an individual, is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of Puerto Rico and all of the parties who are individuals have filed a written consents in the issuing tribunal for a tribunal of Puerto Rico to modify the support order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the order. However, if the issuing state is a foreign jurisdiction that has not enacted a law or established procedures substantially similar to the procedures under this chapter, the consent otherwise required of an individual residing in Puerto Rico is not required for the tribunal to assume jurisdiction to modify the child-support order.
(b) Modification of a registered child-support order is subject to the same requirements, procedures, and defenses that apply to the modification of an order issued by a tribunal of Puerto Rico and the order may be enforced and satisfied in the same manner.
(c) A tribunal of Puerto Rico may not modify any aspect of a child-support order that may not be modified under the law of the issuing state. If two or more tribunals have issued child-support orders for the same obligor and child, the order that controls and must be so recognized under § 542f of this title establishes the aspects of the support order which are nonmodifiable.
(d) On issuance of an order modifying a child-support order issued in another state, a tribunal of Puerto Rico becomes the tribunal having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.611.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 547c - Recognition of order modified in another state

A tribunal of Puerto Rico shall recognize a modification of its earlier child-support order by a tribunal of another state which assumed jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter or a law substantially similar to this chapter and, upon request, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, shall:
(1) Enforce the order that was modified only as to amounts accruing before the modification;
(2) enforce only nonmodifiable aspects of that order;
(3) provide other appropriate relief only for violations of that order which occurred before the effective date of the modification, and
(4) recognize the modifying order of the other state, upon registration, for the purpose of enforcement.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.612.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 547d - Jurisdiction to modify child-support order of another state when individual parties reside in Puerto Rico

(a) If all of the parties who are individuals reside in Puerto Rico and the child does not reside in the issuing state, a tribunal of Puerto Rico has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing state’s child-support order in a proceeding to register that order.
(b) A tribunal of Puerto Rico exercising jurisdiction under this section shall apply the provisions of §§ 541–542h and 545–547e of this title, and the procedural and substantive law of Puerto Rico to the proceeding for enforcement or modification. Sections 543–544g and 548–548b of this title do not apply.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.613.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 547e - Notice to issuing tribunal of modification

Within thirty (30) days after issuance of a modified child-support order, the party obtaining the modification shall file a certified copy of the order with the issuing tribunal that had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the earlier order, and in each tribunal in which the party knows the earlier order has been registered. A party who obtains the order and fails to file a certified copy is subject to appropriate sanctions by a tribunal in which the issue of failure to file arises. The failure to file does not affect the validity or enforceability of the modified order of the new tribunal having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 6.614.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 548 - Proceeding to determine parentage

(a) A tribunal of Puerto Rico may serve as an initiating or responding tribunal in a proceeding brought under this chapter or a law or procedure substantially similar to this chapter, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act to determine that the petitioner is a parent of a particular child or to determine that a respondent is a parent of that child.
(b) In a proceeding to determine parentage, a responding tribunal of Puerto Rico shall apply the Uniform Parentage Act, the procedural and substantive law of Puerto Rico and the rules of Puerto Rico on choice of law.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 7.701.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 548a - Grounds for rendition

(a) For purposes of this section, “governor” includes an individual performing the functions of governor or the executive authority of a state covered by this chapter.
(b) The Governor of Puerto Rico may:
(1) Demand that the governor of another state surrender an individual found in the other state who is charged criminally in Puerto Rico with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, or
(2) on the demand by the governor of another state, surrender an individual found in Puerto Rico who is charged criminally in the other state with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee.
(c) A provision for extradition of individuals not inconsistent with this chapter applies to the demand even if the individual whose surrender is demanded was not in the demanding state when the crime was allegedly committed and has not fled therefrom.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 8.801.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 548b - Conditions of rendition

(a) Before making demand that the governor of another state surrender an individual charged criminally in Puerto Rico with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, the Governor of Puerto Rico may require a prosecutor of Puerto Rico to demonstrate that at least sixty (60) days previously the obligee had initiated proceedings for support pursuant to this chapter or that the proceeding would be of no avail.
(b) If, under this chapter or a law substantially similar to this chapter, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the governor of another state makes a demand that the Governor of Puerto Rico surrender an individual charged criminally in that state with having failed to provide for the support of a child or other individual to whom a duty of support is owed, the Governor may require a prosecutor to investigate the demand and report whether a proceeding for support has been initiated or would be effective. If it appears that a proceeding would be effective but has not been initiated, the Governor may delay honoring the demand for a reasonable time to permit the initiation of a proceeding.
(c) If a proceeding for support has been initiated and the individual whose rendition is demanded prevails, the Governor may decline to honor the demand. If the petitioner prevails and the individual whose rendition is demanded is subject to a support order, the Governor may decline to honor the demand if the individual is complying with the support order.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 8.802.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 25A - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§§ 541-541b — 548c) › § 548c - Appropriate forum

The General Court of Justice will be the appropriate forum for interstate cases filed before July 1, 1995. The Administration for Child Support will be the appropriate forum for cases that commence after said date.
For purposes of this chapter, any case regarding the duty of support filed before July 1, 1995 in which Puerto Rico acts as recurring state, the General Court of Justice will maintain jurisdiction over said cases and the Attorney General will continue to assume legal presentation, if appropriate. The controlling substantive and procedural law will be the one established herein.
History —Dec. 20, 1997, No. 180, art. 9.904.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549a - Designation

The Families and Children Administration of the Department of the Family is hereby designated by this Compact as sending and receiving agency for the placement of children under its custody. Said Administration may also act as intermediary for the placement of children under the custody of other public agencies.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549b - Compact with A.I.C.P.C

The Families and Children Administration of the Department of the Family is hereby encouraged and authorized to enter into a compact, in representation of the Government of Puerto Rico, with the Administration of Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (A.I.C.P.C.), headquartered in Washington, D.C., in order to provide the terms and conditions for the inter-jurisdictional placement of children in foster care or for adoption, as established in this chapter.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549c - General Coordinator

The Secretary of the Department of the Family shall appoint an official who shall be the General Coordinator of the activities of the Compact in Puerto Rico and who, acting in coordination with other similar officials in other jurisdictions, shall be empowered to recommend the promulgation of rules and regulations, as well as to enter into agreements with organizations so as to more effectively fulfill the terms and provisions of this Compact. Provided, That with the approval of this act, the nationally adopted Regulation No. 7 of October 1, 1996, be made part of the regulations.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549d - Financial liability

The Families and Children Administration of the Department of the Family, when acting as sending agency, shall be financially liable for the support and maintenance expenses of the child while the latter remains in the receiving state. When the Families and Children Administration acts as intermediary for the placement of children under the custody of another public agency, that other agency shall be financially liable for the support and maintenance expenses of the child while the latter remains in the receiving state.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549e - Authority of Puerto Rico courts

In the case of delinquent children, the courts of Puerto Rico shall retain authority to issue orders to appear, orders of detention and apprehension, as well as orders for placement in assistance programs, such as halfway house or rehabilitation programs and custody changes while the child is within the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549f - Funds

The Department of the Family is hereby authorized to request that the Families and Children Administration set aside annually in its budget the funds needed to participate in these Compacts, in harmony with the demands of the receiving states for the payments for the support of the children in foster care or placed for adoption.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 26 - Interstate Compact on Placement of Children (§§ 549 — 549g) › § 549g - Penalties

Any natural or juridical person who sends or brings any child or who causes any child to be sent or brought to Puerto Rico to be placed for adoption or in foster care, who fails to comply with the requirements established in this chapter, shall be punished with a fixed term of imprisonment of two (2) years or a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor of more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both penalties at the discretion of the court. Should aggravating circumstances exist, the penalty established may be increased for up to a maximum of three (3) years, or a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor of more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), or both penalties at the discretion of court. Should extenuating circumstances exist, the penalty established may be reduced to a minimum of six (6) months, or a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor of more than seven thousand dollars ($7,000), or both penalties at the discretion of the court.
History —Oct. 10, 2000, No. 417, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 551 - Definitions

The following phrases and terms shall have the meaning expressed herein:
(a) Administration.— Means the Juvenile Institutions Administration established by this chapter.
(b) Administrator.— Means the Administrator of the Juvenile Institutions Administration.
(c) Juvenile institutions or institutions.— Means those residential institutions where minors are detained while the adjudication or disposition of their case is pending in court; treatment centers operated by the Department of the Family Assistant [Secretariat] for Social Treatment Centers where minors are placed in order to receive evaluation, diagnostic and rehabilitation services after the disposition of the case by the court, and those similar facilities established and operated by the Administration in the future.
(d) Secretary.— Means the Secretary of the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
(e) Department.— Means the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
(f) Clientele.— Means any minor detained pursuant to a court order and confined in a Detention Center and any minor whose custody has been conferred by the court to the Juvenile Institutions Administration because he has incurred one or more violations. It also includes every transgressing minor subject to a conditional dictating measure and to the supervision of the Administration.
(g) [Repealed. Act May 1, 1997, No. 12, § 2, eff. May 1, 1997.]
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 704, § 2; Aug. 12, 1995, No. 187, § 1; May 1, 1997, No. 12, § 2, 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 552 - Creation

The Juvenile Institutions Administration attached to the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, with the necessary capacity and administrative flexibility to operate juvenile institutions and programs under its jurisdiction efficiently and provide its clientele and their families those specialized and integrated services that encourage positive behavioral changes, is hereby created.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 3, eff. 30 days after Aug. 5, 1988.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 553 - Administrator

The Administration shall be directed by an Administrator who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The person holding the office of Administrator shall have sufficient experience and knowledge in the field of behavioral sciences and in the area of administration, and shall also have knowledge of and be committed to the enforcement of public policy regarding the juvenile justice system and rehabilitation and resocialization of transgressing minors through the rendering of the necessary services.
The Administrator shall hold office at the Governor’s volition and until his/her successor is appointed. The salary of the Administrator shall be fixed by the Governor.
The Administrator shall be the Administration’s chief executive; he/she shall represent it in all acts and contracts to be awarded. Said official shall perform all the duties and powers conferred to the Administration as well as those responsibilities, faculties, and authority conferred to him/her by this or any other law, or delegated by the Secretary.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 4; May 1, 1997, No. 12, § 3; Jan. 4, 2003, No. 56, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 554 - General policy

The Secretary shall establish the Administration’s general policy through the adoption of rules that will include those guidelines he deems necessary to adequately comply with the provisions of this chapter and of any other applicable acts.
The Secretary shall establish through administrative orders such norms and guidelines requiring operational and administrative coordination between the Administration and the Assistant [Secretariats], Regional Offices and the Department’s Local Offices.
The Secretary shall be empowered to approve, amend and repeal the rules and regulations that are needed to comply with the purposes of this chapter, subject to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Act”, as well as the internal regulations of the Administration and of the bodies created by virtue of this Chapter. The Administrator shall submit to the Secretary the proposed rules and regulations that, in his/her judgment, should be approved, amended or repealed.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 5, eff. 30 days after Aug. 5, 1988.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 555a - Bank accounts of the clientele

The creation of bank accounts in the name of each of the institutions of the Administration is hereby authorized, for the deposit of:
(a) All the monies and valuables received from the members of the clientele when they are held in a juvenile institution;
(b) all the monies and valuables received for the clientele from their families or individuals while they are held in the juvenile institution;
(c) all income earned by the clientele for services rendered to any entity, and
(d) any other income received for the clientele in juvenile institutions.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Administrator, shall appoint a collections officer in each juvenile institution, who shall be responsible for the receipt, custody and deposit in the bank account of the clients any monies, valuables and income.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Administrator, shall appoint a paymaster in each juvenile institution, who shall be responsible for making the disbursements to be charged against the bank accounts.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Administrator, shall promulgate the necessary regulations to receive, deposit and disburse the funds deposited in the bank accounts whose creation is hereby authorized and to establish the internal control measures and the accounting of the operations.
Subject to compliance with the applicable federal and/or Commonwealth laws and regulations, and the applicable federal or Commonwealth jurisprudence, the funds deposited in the bank accounts of the clientele shall be subject to consideration and utilization to comply with the child support obligations that these clients would meet, whether provided by judicial and/or administrative order.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 704, added as § 6A on Sept. 23, 2004, No. 460, § 1, eff. 6 months after Sept. 23, 2004.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 557 - Evaluation and Classification Division

The Administration shall establish an Evaluation and Classification Division which shall be responsible for evaluating every minor placed in the custody of the Administration, to classify them in order to place them in the corresponding institution. It shall also determine a service plan suggested for each case in harmony with the individualized treatment of public safety principles outlined in the purposes of this Act, and any others that are applicable. Each institution shall have a multidisciplinary team that shall include professionals such as social workers, psychologists, physicians and others, preferably designated full-time in the institution, to give continuous treatment and implement the suggested service plans.
In order to fulfill this function, the Administration may also secure the services of officials and personnel from other public or private agencies through contracts or agreements executed to that effect in those cases where it is difficult to recruit full-time pesonnel.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 8; Aug. 12, 1995, No. 187, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 558 - Interagency coordination

The Administrator shall be responsible for performing the necessary coordinating actions between the Administration and the Departments of Justice, Health, Education, Recreation and Sports, as with the Administration of Mental Health and Addiction Services, to fulfill the public policy and the objectives of this chapter and of any other acts that might apply in the shortest time possible. He may also request and obtain the cooperation of other government agencies, including public corporations and municipalities.
The departments, agencies, public corporations and municipalities are hereby authorized to give whatever assistance and collaboration is necessary to achieve compliance with the objectives of this chapter.
The Governor shall issue such executive orders and constitute such working groups or committees, composed of government officials and employees or private citizens, that will expedite and facilitate these interagency collaboration agreements.
It is hereby provided that the Humacao Juvenile Home shall be used to shelter orphan or unfortunate children who have not been classified as transgressors of the law.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 9; Aug. 12, 1995, No. 187, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 560 - Auction Review Board

The Auction Review Board is hereby created to attend to and resolve the appeals filed by persons affected by the decisions of the Administration’s Auction Board and review the decisions in the field of purchasing and supplies delegated to it by the Administrator or the Secretary. The Review Board shall also have the faculty to formulate recommendations to the Administrator or the Secretary with regard to the regulations in effect concerning purchasing and supplies.
The Auction Review Board shall be composed of three (3) persons of the highest moral stature and of known competence and experience in the matters this body will deal with. The members of the Review Board shall be appointed by the Administrator and they shall not have any direct or indirect interest in the businesses or projects that do business with the Administration or with the Department or which are totally or partially financed by the Administration or the Department.
The Review Board shall evaluate and resolve the appeals filed by those persons affected by the decisions of the Auction Board. The affected person may file the appeals within the term of ten (10) days following the date on which the adverse decision is notified. In the case of those other bodies related to the auction procedures whose decisions it is charged with reviewing, the term within which the affected person may file the appeal before this forum shall be provided through an Administrative Order.
In order to carry out its charge, the Review Board may hold administrative hearings, receive testimony, summon witnesses, request the presentation of books, documents and any other evidence, receive and examine it and any other pertinent evidence, regulate the hearings and issue orders pursuant to its resolutions.
Any resolution of the Auction Review Board may be appealed before the Court of First Instance within the term of thirty (30) days following the date of the resolution.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 11; Aug. 12, 1995, No. 187, § 6; renumbered as § 10 on May 1, 1997, No. 12, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27 - Juvenile Institutions Administration (§§ 551 — 562) › § 562 - Rules and regulations

The Administration will establish and put in effect rules and regulations with respect to the custody, use, conservation and disposal of documents, records, papers, files and communications related to services rendered to the clientele that guarantee the confidential nature of the minor’s records. Provided, That in cases of documents of a fiscal nature, their conservation shall be subject to Treasury Department regulations pursuant to the provisions of §§ 1001 et seq. of Title 3.
No Administration official, employee or individual may request, receive, make use of, disclose nor allow the use of any information concerning the clientele for purposes not related to those of this chapter or any other applicable act. Violators of this provision shall incur a misdemeanor and, if convicted, shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500), or imprisoned for a term of not less than ten (10) days nor more than three (3) months or both penalties. The person shall also be subject to the administrative disciplinary measures contemplated by § 561(f) of this title.
History —Aug. 5, 1988, No. 154, p. 651, § 13, renumbered as § 12 on May 1, 1997, No. 12, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27A - Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program (§§ 571 — 574) › § 571 - Definitions

(a) Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program.— Shall mean space provided in an infrastructure capable of accommodating offices, lodging centers (dorms), personnel, services recipients and equipment to assist the youths who have complied with their dispositive measures or those who are allowed to serve their dispositive measures in the free community because of their well-adjusted behavior.
(b) Integrated Services Council.— Shall mean five (5) members, three (3) of which shall be from the private sector or enterprises and the remaining two (2) from the public sector, all appointed by the Administrator of Juvenile Institutions, who shall be responsible for the coordination of the integrated services rendered by public agencies, corporations, administrations, offices or instrumentalities, municipalities, private entities or offices identified in this chapter, as well as of other tasks designated by the Administrator, before, during and after the youth serves the dispositive measures or complies with them while in the free community due to his/her well-adjusted behavior.
(c) Integrated coordination.— Shall mean participation in the services and meetings of the Integrated Services Council convened by the Administrator of Juvenile Institutions for the implementation, development and planning of services for the youths participating in the Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program, directed toward youths who have complied with their dispositive measures or who are complying with them while in the free society due to their well-adjusted behavior.
History —Sept. 29, 2004, No. 495, § 2, eff. July 1, 2005.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27A - Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program (§§ 571 — 574) › § 572 - Creation

The “Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program”, hereinafter the “Program”, is hereby created, attached to the Juvenile Institutions Administration and the Integrated Services Council, to be constituted by five (5) members appointed by the Administrator of the aforementioned agency, and who shall also have the ministerial duty to hold at least two (2) monthly meetings. The implementation of this program, as well as the non-extension of the custody assumed by the Juvenile Institutions Administration due to the offense committed by the minor shall not mean that the minor continues to be held as an offender.
History —Sept. 29, 2004, No. 495, § 4, eff. July 1, 2005.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27A - Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program (§§ 571 — 574) › § 573 - Duties and responsibilities

The Integrated Services Council shall collaborate with the Administrator of the Juvenile Institutions Administration or his/her authorized representative, in the coordination, planning, and development of the following services:
(a) To perform a study of the needs of the youths who voluntarily participate in the Program.
(b) To provide the participating youths with formal and informal holistic education experiences according to their capabilities and interests.
(c) To offer orientation, training and employment experiences to the participating youths, attuned to their goals and purposes for the fulfillment of their life project.
(d) To promote full collaboration and assistance so that the youth participating in the Program may obtain health insurance coverage that allows them to receive medical services according to their circumstances and needs.
(e) To develop orientations regarding the development of healthy life styles integrated with a recreation plan in environments that are free from alcoholic beverages and other drugs.
(f) To establish a plan for the evaluation of the services rendered in order to attune the goals and purposes of the Program with the social reality of the participating youths, and with the proposed goals and purposes.
(g) To promote participation in community initiatives that provide an integrated social experience for the adaptation and development of the participating youths in their socialization process.
(h) To collaborate in the coordination of the services requested by the Juvenile Institutions Administration, together with the liaison officer designated by the secretaries, executive directors and administrators of the agencies, municipalities, and public corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and with the public and private entities with respect to the necessary services.
(i) To render an annual progress report, to be remitted to the Legislature and the Governor in May. This report shall include the number of youths benefited, the services rendered, the clientele satisfaction and the needs of the Program.
(j) It shall be in charge of establishing the profile of the minor that may qualify for the Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program.
History —Sept. 29, 2004, No. 495, § 5, eff. July 1, 2005.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27A - Youth Lodging and Integrated Services Program (§§ 571 — 574) › § 574 - Director

The Director of the Program shall be appointed by the Administrator of the Juvenile Institutions Administration and the salary shall be defrayed with the funds appropriated for such purposes.
History —Sept. 29, 2004, No. 495, § 6, eff. July 1, 2005.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27B - Juvenile Institutions Administration Functional Family Therapy Pilot Program Act (§§ 581 — 584) › § 581 - Purpose

This Legislative Assembly recognizes the need for an intervention in the lives of delinquent youths to provide them with the necessary tools and enable them to lead a productive life. It also recognizes the importance of providing family-oriented services, and assistance to the family of a delinquent youth, so that they are able to identify dangerous and wrongful behavior, as well as to provide them with the tools to correct the same. A pilot program is hereby established to treat youth at risk of becoming delinquents and their families through the use of evidence-based practices that have proven successful in significantly reducing recidivism.
As part of its responsibility of facilitating the reentry of minors to the community at large and their reintegration into their families, the Juvenile Institutions Administration is hereby directed to establish and maintain a pilot program whose purpose shall be to provide services based on the functional family therapy intervention model for high-risk youth and their families, as provided for in this chapter.
History —May 2, 2011, No. 66, § 2, eff. July 1, 2011.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27B - Juvenile Institutions Administration Functional Family Therapy Pilot Program Act (§§ 581 — 584) › § 582 - Definitions

(a) Evidence-based practice.— Refers to practices or methods that have been documented and are based on scientific research thus proving their effectiveness in reducing recidivism rates of participants.
(b) Administration.— Refers to the Juvenile Institutions Administration.
History —May 2, 2011, No. 66, § 3, eff. July 1, 2011.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27B - Juvenile Institutions Administration Functional Family Therapy Pilot Program Act (§§ 581 — 584) › § 583 - Functional Family Therapy Pilot Program—Creation

(a) The Juvenile Institutions Administration shall establish and maintain a pilot program to provide services based on the functional family therapy intervention model for delinquent youth whose legal custody has been granted to the Juvenile Institutions Administration, and their families. The services provided under the pilot program shall include, but not be limited to the following: controlled substance abuse counseling and intervention aimed at improving interpersonal relationships, development of conflict resolution skills, and mechanisms for stress and anger management.
(b) The Administration may establish collaborative agreements with other agencies, instrumentalities, offices or departments of the Executive Branch of the Government of Puerto Rico, including public corporations, any nonprofit organization, public or private services providers or any community-based organization that the Administration deems to be able to provide the services required by this chapter. The foregoing notwithstanding, the Administration shall have the responsibility to direct and coordinate in an integrated manner all government efforts geared to achieve the purposes of this chapter.
(c) The Administration may establish and approve any regulations deemed necessary to enforce the provisions and purposes of this chapter. Said regulations shall be subject to the provisions of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”, and shall include, among others, the areas where the pilot program shall be carried out, as well as the duration thereof and parameters applicable thereto.
History —May 2, 2011, No. 66, § 4, eff. July 1, 2011.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 27B - Juvenile Institutions Administration Functional Family Therapy Pilot Program Act (§§ 581 — 584) › § 584 - Eligibility to participate in the Program

Any minor who is eighteen (18) years-old and has committed an offense under §§ 2201 et seq. of Title 34, known as the “Minor’s Act of Puerto Rico”, shall be eligible to participate in the pilot program established hereunder, except those minors who are being prosecuted as adults.
History —May 2, 2011, No. 66, § 4[bis], eff. July 1, 2011.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 29 - Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act (§§ 601 — 664) › Subchapter I - General Provisions (§§ 601 — 602) › § 601 - Public policy

The Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico recognizes that domestic violence is one of the most serious and complex problems in our society. Domestic violence lacerates the integrity and dignity of all victims, regardless of the sex, civil status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigrant status of the persons involved in the relationship. Upon developing the public policy on this matter, we must aspire to overcome the difficulties that domestic violence presents to every victim, especially to women and children, when preserving their physical and emotional integrity, assuring their safety, and saving their lives.
Domestic violence is one of the clearest manifestations of the effects inequality has on relationships between men and women. The inequality that causes domestic violence manifests itself in consensual intimate relationships, regardless of the sex, civil status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or the immigrant status of the persons involved in the relationship. Discriminatory ideas, attitudes, and conduct also permeate those social institutions called upon to resolve and prevent the problem of domestic violence and its consequences. The efforts of these institutions to identify, understand, and handle abuse have been limited, and are often inadequate.
The Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico reaffirms its constitutional commitment to protect the life, security, and dignity of men and women, regardless of sex, civil status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigrant status. It also recognizes that domestic violence violates the integrity of a person, his/her family, and members thereof, and constitutes a serious threat to the stability and preservation of the civilized coexistence of our People.
As public policy, the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico assertively repudiates domestic violence as it contravenes the values of peace, dignity, and respect that the People wish to keep for individuals, families, and the general community. This public policy promotes the development, establishment, and strengthening of effective measures to offer protection and assistance to victims, options for the rehabilitation of the offenders, and strategies for the prevention of domestic abuse.
History —Aug. 15, 1989, No. 54, p. 199, § 1.2, eff. 90 days after Aug. 15, 1989; May 29, 2013, No. 23, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 29 - Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act (§§ 601 — 664) › Subchapter II - Protective Orders and Procedural Aspects (§§ 621 — 629) › § 621a - Prohibition against the [issuance of] mutual restraining orders

The court shall not issue mutual restraining orders to the parties, unless each of the parties:
(a) Has filed an independent petition requesting a protection order against the other party;
(b) has been notified of the petition filed by the other party;
(c) proves in an evidentiary hearing that the other party incurred conduct which constitutes domestic violence, and
(d) proves that the domestic violence did not occur within a self-defense context.
History —Aug. 15, 1989, No. 54, p. 199, added as § 2.1A on Apr. 23, 2004, No. 100, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 29 - Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act (§§ 601 — 664) › Subchapter II - Protective Orders and Procedural Aspects (§§ 621 — 629) › § 622 - Jurisdiction

Any judge of the Court of First Instance or a municipal judge may issue an order for protection pursuant to this chapter. Every order for protection may be reviewed by any part of a higher court, and in those instances [where] pertinent, in the Family Relations Parts.
History —Aug. 15, 1989, No. 54, p. 199, § 2.2, eff. 90 days after Aug. 15, 1989.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 29 - Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act (§§ 601 — 664) › Subchapter II - Protective Orders and Procedural Aspects (§§ 621 — 629) › § 623 - Procedure

Any person may request the civil remedies established in this chapter for him/herself or on behalf on any other person when said person suffers from a mental or physical disability, in case of an emergency or when the person is unable to request said remedies personally.
An employer may request a protective order in favor of female or male employees or visitors and of any other person found at his/her workplace if one of his/her female or male employees is or has been the victims of domestic violence or of conduct constituting a crime as typified in this chapter; and if the acts of conduct constituting domestic violence have occurred at his/her workplace.
Before initiating this procedure, the employer must give notice about his/her intention of requesting the protective order to the female or male employee who is or has been the victim of domestic violence or of conduct constituting a crime as typified in this chapter.
The right to request the remedies herein established shall not be affected because the petitioning party has abandoned his/her residence to avoid domestic violence.
(a) Initiation of action.— The procedure to obtain an order for protection can be initiated:
(1) By filing a verbal or written petition; or
(2) within any case pending between the parties, or
(3) by request of the [Prosecuting Attorney] in a penal procedure, or as a condition for probation or parole.
To help those persons who are interested in obtaining an order for protection under this chapter, the Court Administration shall have simple forms to request and further said order, available in the Office of the Clerk of the Courts of Puerto Rico and in the offices of the municipal judges. It shall also provide them with help and orientation to complete and present them.
History —Aug. 15, 1989, No. 54, p. 199, § 2.3; Sept. 30, 2004, No. 538, § 2, eff. 60 days after Sept. 30, 2004.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE EIGHT - Public Welfare and Charitable Institutions (§§ 1 — 1422) › Chapter 29 - Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act (§§ 601 — 664) › Subchapter II - Protective Orders and Procedural Aspects (§§ 621 — 629) › § 624 - Service

(a) Once a petition for an order for protection has been filed according to the provisions of this chapter, the court will issue a summons to the parties under admonishment of contempt, for an appearance within a term that shall not exceed five (5) days.
(b) The service of the summons and a copy of the petition shall be done in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure of Puerto Rico, App. III of Title 32, and shall be served by a marshal of the court or by any other law enforcement officer as soon as possible, and shall have preference over any other type of summons, except those of a similar nature. The court shall keep a file for each case, in which every summons issued under the law shall be registered.
(c) Nonappearance of any person duly summoned under the scope of this chapter shall be punishable as contempt of the court which issued the summons.
(d) When the petition is filed, service thereof shall be performed as established in the Rules of Civil Procedure of Puerto Rico, App. III of Title 32.
(e) By request of the petitioner, the court may direct that service of the summons be made by any person over eighteen (18) years of age who is not a party to the case.
History —Aug. 15, 1989, No. 54, p. 199, § 2.4, eff. 90 days after Aug. 15, 1989.