Title 47, Welfare, Social Services, and Institutions

(a) [Repealed, § 24 ch 33 SLA 1994.] (b) The director of a program for runaway minors shall promptly notify a minor's legal custodian if the minor is released from the program into the custody of a person other than the legal custodian or a person representing the legal custodian…

Records of a licensed program for runaway minors that identify a minor who has been admitted to or has sought assistance from the program are confidential and are not subject to inspection or copying under AS 40.25.110 — 40.25.120, unless (1) after being informed of the minor's r…

(a) The officers, directors, and employees of a licensed program for runaway minors are not liable for civil damages as a result of an act or omission in admitting a minor to the program. (b) This section does not preclude liability for civil damages as a result of recklessness o…

Authority to establish and operate a licensed program for runaway minors is granted to municipalities that do not otherwise have that authority.

Article 3. Shelters for Runaway Minors. In AS 47.10.300 — 47.10.390, (1) “licensed program for runaway minors” means a residential or nonresidential program licensed by the department under AS 47.10.310; (2) “runaway minor” means a person under 18 years of age who (A) is habitual…

A private residence may not be held out publicly as a shelter for runaway minors unless the residence (1) is designated a shelter for runaways by a corporation that is licensed to make the designation under AS 47.32; and (2) has a valid permit from the department signifying that …

(a) A shelter for runaways may not shelter a runaway minor for more than seven days unless the department determines that (1) the minor is the subject of exceptional circumstances; or (2) another appropriate setting is not available for the minor. (b) The provider of a shelter fo…

If the department requires record keeping by a shelter for runaways or by a corporation that is licensed to designate shelters for runaways, records of the shelter and the corporation that identify a runaway minor who has been sheltered in a shelter for runaways or has sought ass…

(a) A person in a shelter for runaways, or in a home for which an application to be designated a shelter for runaways is being considered by a corporation licensed for that purpose by the department, that is operated in a manner that is consistent with AS 47.10.392 — 47.10.399 an…

In AS 47.10.392 — 47.10.399, (1) “runaway minor” has the meaning given in AS 47.10.390; (2) “shelter for runaways” or “shelter for runaway minors” means a private residence whose legal occupant agrees to shelter, with or without compensation, a runaway minor accepted into the res…

Article 4. General Provisions.

(a) Failure to comply with a provision of this title does not constitute a basis for civil liability for damages. (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a civil action for common law negligence or an action under AS 09.55.580 on behalf of a child who is injure…

Funds to carry out this chapter shall be provided for in the general appropriation Act of the legislature.

The department may accept grants-in-aid from the federal government or private foundations and may accept other gifts consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, (1) “adult family member” means a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is (A) related to the child as the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling; (B) the child's sibling's legal guardian or parent; or (C) in …

(a) The goal of this chapter is to promote a balanced juvenile justice system in the state to protect the community, impose accountability for violations of law, and equip juvenile offenders with the skills needed to live responsibly and productively. (b) The purposes of this cha…

(a) Proceedings relating to a minor under 18 years of age residing or found in the state are governed by this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, when the minor is alleged to be or may be determined by a court to be a delinquent minor as a result of violating a…

Except as provided in AS 47.12.025, the provisions of this chapter apply to a person who is 18 years of age or older and who is subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter due to AS 47.12.020(b) or (c). To implement AS 47.12.020(b) and (c) and this section, the term “minor” as us…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following special provisions apply to a person who is subject to the jurisdiction of this chapter due solely to AS 47.12.020(b): (1) a petition filed under AS 47.12.040(b) must be styled as follows: “In the matter of ........ , …

(a) When a minor who was at least 16 years of age at the time of the offense is charged by complaint, information, or indictment with an offense specified in this subsection, this chapter and the Alaska Delinquency Rules do not apply to the offense for which the minor is charged …

(a) Whenever circumstances subject a minor to the jurisdiction of this chapter, the court shall (1) require in conformance with this section, that, for a minor who is alleged to be a delinquent minor under AS 47.12.020, the department or an entity selected by it shall make a prel…

(a) Except as may be otherwise specifically provided, in all cases under this chapter, the minor, each parent of the minor, the foster parent of the minor, and the guardian of the minor are entitled to notice adequate to give actual notice of the proceedings, taking into account …

(a) The provisions of this section apply to a minor who is alleged to be a delinquent minor under AS 47.12.020 and for whom the department or an entity selected by it has made a preliminary inquiry as required by AS 47.12.040(a)(1). Following the preliminary inquiry, (1) the depa…

(a) The department or the entity selected by it may refer to the appropriate district attorney the circumstances involving a minor who is subject to the provisions of this section because the minor is alleged to have violated a criminal law of the state. Except as provided in (d)…

After a petition is filed and after further investigation that the court directs, if the minor has not appeared voluntarily, the court shall issue a summons that (1) recites briefly the substance of the petition; (2) directs the person having custody or control of the minor to ap…

A minor who is taken into custody may, in the discretion of the court and upon the written promise of the parent, guardian, or custodian to bring the minor before the court at a time specified by the court, be released to the care and custody of the parent, guardian, or custodian…

(a) In all proceedings initiated under a petition for delinquency, a minor shall have the right to be represented by counsel and, if indigent, have counsel appointed by the court. The court shall appoint counsel in such cases unless it makes a finding on the record that the minor…

(a) If the court finds at a hearing on a petition that there is probable cause for believing that a minor is delinquent and finds that the minor is not amenable to treatment under this chapter, it shall order the case closed. Subject to the provisions of AS 47.12.105, after a cas…

(a) Except as provided in AS 47.12.240, the department, by agreement with the Department of Corrections, shall detain and care for waived minors. The department shall transfer a waived minor to a facility operated by the Department of Corrections when the waived minor reaches 18 …

(a) The court shall conduct a hearing on the petition. The court shall give notice of the hearing to the department, and the department shall send a representative to the hearing. The representative of the department may also be heard at the hearing. The department shall give not…

(a) The court, at the conclusion of the hearing, or thereafter as the circumstances of the case may require, shall find and enter a judgment that the minor is or is not delinquent. (b) If the minor is not subject to (j) of this section and the court finds that the minor is delinq…

(a) Before the disposition hearing of a delinquent minor, the department shall submit a predisposition report with a recommended plan of treatment to aid the court in its selection of a disposition, a victim impact statement reporting the information set out in AS 12.55.022, and …

In making its dispositional order under AS 47.12.120(b)(1) — (3) and (5) and (j), the court shall (1) consider both the best interests of the minor and the interests of the public, and, in doing so, the court shall take into account (A) the seriousness of the minor's delinquent a…

(a) When a minor is committed to the department under AS 47.12.120(b)(1) or (3) or 47.12.240, detained by the department on behalf of the Department of Corrections under AS 33.30.011 and AS 47.12.105, or released under AS 47.12.120(b)(2) to the minor's parents, guardian, or other…

(a) The parent or guardian of a minor who is alleged to be a delinquent under AS 47.12.020 or found to be a delinquent under AS 47.12.120 shall attend each hearing held during the delinquency proceedings unless the court excuses the parent or guardian from attendance for good cau…

(a) Except as provided in (g) of this section, the court retains jurisdiction over the case and may at any time stay execution, modify, set aside, revoke, or enlarge a judgment or order, or grant a new hearing, in the exercise of its power of protection over the minor and for the…

(a) An order by the court under AS 47.12.120 that a minor or the minor's parent pay restitution is a civil judgment that remains enforceable after the expiration of the court's jurisdiction over the minor under AS 47.12.160. A recipient of a restitution order, or the state on beh…

(a) Except as provided by AS 47.12.160(d) and (e) and AS 47.12.170, an adjudication under this chapter upon the status of a minor (1) may not operate to impose any of the civil disabilities ordinarily imposed by conviction upon a criminal charge; (2) does not operate to permit a …

The arrest of a minor other than for a traffic offense is not considered an arrest for any purpose except for the purpose of the disposition of a proceeding arising out of that arrest.

(a) A peace officer may fingerprint a minor under the same circumstances as an adult may be fingerprinted. (b) Except as provided by AS 47.12.310(b)(1), fingerprint records taken under this section are not subject to AS 47.12.310.

When, in the course of a proceeding under this chapter, it appears to the court that the welfare of a minor will be promoted by the appointment of a guardian or custodian of the minor's person or property, the court may make the appointment. The court shall have a summons issued …

(a) When a delinquent minor is committed under this chapter, the court or the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010 shall, after giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard, require that the parent pay to the department in a manner that the court or the…

(a) When the court commits a minor to the custody of the department, the department shall arrange to place the minor in a juvenile detention facility or another suitable place that the department designates for that purpose. Except under the conditions described in AS 47.12.105 o…

(a) A peace officer may (1) arrest a minor (A) for the commission of an act that subjects the minor to the provisions of this chapter under the same circumstances and in the same manner as would apply to the arrest of an adult for violation of a criminal law of the state or a mun…

(a) A peace officer or a juvenile probation officer who has arrested, or a peace officer who has continued the arrest of, a minor under AS 47.12.245 or a minor for criminal charges under AS 47.12.030 may (1) have the minor detained in a juvenile detention facility or temporary se…