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Legal Blog

A CHINS or a Child in Need of Service is a court case where Juvenile Court accepted a petition from a parent, guardian, or school to deal with alleged troubled youth.  The petitioner or the person filing the CHINS must show a judge one of four types of CHINS.

 

One is if the child regularly runs away from home and that is called a CHINS Runaway. Second is a Stubborn CHINS, which is someone who constantly disobeys the lawful commands of a parent or a legal guardian.  Third is a CHINS Truant, who is a child that misses school on a regular basis; and the fourth is a Habitual School Offender, which is a child who constantly fails to follow the school rules. 

 

Generally, a parent or guardian may file the CHINS petition on a child who is either the Stubborn child or a child that runs away from home and may file that as long as the child is under the age of 17.  The school may file a CHINS petition on somebody who is under 16, who is absent on a high amount or does not obey the school rules on a consistent basis.

 

In addition, the police can file a CHINS on a child who is under 17, if that child is a runaway. Once the CHINS are filed, the judge decides when it is dismissed, if at all; and it is not necessarily up to the parent or guardian or school at that point.


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