Section 39H Arrest of child; notification and placement; bail; detention; right of appeal
Section 39H. A child may be arrested for committing the behavior described in the definition of child in need of services in section twenty-one, only if such child has failed to obey a summons issued pursuant to section thirty-nine E, or if the arresting law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that such child has run away from the home of his parents or guardian and will not respond to a summons.
Whenever such child is arrested and the court with jurisdiction over the case is not in session, the law enforcement officer in charge of the police station or town lockup to which the child has been taken, or his designee, shall immediately notify (1) the probation officer of the division of the juvenile court department within whose district such child was arrested or resides, or such other probation officer who may have knowledge of the child and (2) a representative of the department of children and families, if the law enforcement officer has reason to believe that the child is or has been in the care or custody of such department, and shall inquire into the case.
The law enforcement officer, in consultation with the probation officer, shall then immediately make all reasonable diversion efforts so that such child is delivered to the following types of placements, and in the following order of preference:
(i) to one of the child’s parents, or to the child’s guardian or other responsible person known to the child, or to the child’s legal custodian including the department of children and families or the child’s foster home;
(ii) to a temporary shelter facility licensed or approved by the department of early education and care, a shelter home approved by a temporary shelter facility licensed or approved by said department of early education and care, or a family foster care home approved by a placement agency licensed or approved by said department of early education and care; provided, however, that such a placement is available and, in the view of the probation officer, appropriate for the child; provided, further, that such a placement furnish said law enforcement officer with a written statement that it will make reasonable efforts to secure the child’s appearance at the next available court session and that such placement will furnish the necessary transportation to such placement and to the court, unless the law enforcement officer chooses to furnish said transportation, provided, further, that such child may not be securely detained in a police station or town lockup.
Notwithstanding the foregoing requirements for placement, any such child who is arrested shall, if necessary, be taken to a medical facility for treatment or observation.
If the court finds that a child alleged to be a child in need of services by reason of persistently refusing to obey the lawful and reasonable commands of his parents or legal guardian is likely not to appear at the preliminary inquiry or at the hearing on the merits, the court shall order the child to be admitted to such bail or to be released upon such terms and conditions as it determines to be reasonable. A child who does not post bail and is not otherwise released may be detained under such terms and conditions as the court may impose in a facility operated by or under contract with the department for the care of juveniles, provided that no such child is so detained for more than fifteen days without being brought again before the court for a hearing on whether such detention should be continued for another fifteen day period. If the court decides to so continue said detention, it shall note in writing the detailed reasons for its decision. Any child aggrieved by such decision shall have an immediate right to appeal to the superior court under the procedures set forth in section fifty-eight of chapter two hundred and seventy-six; provided further, however, that in no event shall any child be detained under this section for more than forty-five days. If a child fails without good cause to respond to a summons, the court may similarly admit the child to bail, or release the child upon conditions set by the court, or, if the child fails to post bail, and is not otherwise released, detain the child subject to the above limitations. Whenever bail is imposed under this section, the provisions of section fifty-eight of chapter two hundred and seventy-six shall be applicable.