Informal Adjustment {JU-04}

State of Alabama Unified Judicial System Form JU- 4 (front) Rev. 1/2017 INFORMAL ADJUSTMENT Court Case Number IN THE JUVENILE COURT OF _________________________________________________ COUNTY, ALABAMA (Name of County) In the Matter of _________________________________________________________________, a child (Name of Child) A complaint concerning the above­named child has been filed and an informal adjustment of this matter is hereby agreed to, subject to the following terms, conditions, and understandings: ** 1. 2. That this court has jurisdiction to consider this matter, and That the child and his/her parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian have been advised of their rights; and This Agreement will be in force for six months unless sooner terminated. It is further understood that we will be notified upon termination or dismissal of this Agreement. I acknowledge that we have read, or have had read to us, the information which is printed on the reverse side of this form and it has been explained to us. Agreed : _____________________________________ Signature of Child ________________________________________________________ Signature of Parent / Legal Guardian/ Legal Custodian Recommended and Agreed : ______________________________________ Date _____________________________________________________ Signature of Juvenile Court Intake Officer** ** Note to Juvenile Court Intake Officer: In using this Agreement, you must explain Rule 15 of the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedure IN FULL and satisfy yourself that all conditions of this Rule are understood by all parties. (Rule 15 printed on the back of this form.) Rule 15, Ala.R.Juv.P; Ala. Code 1975, § 12-15-119 Original: INTAKE OFFICE Copy:PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN/LEGAL CUSTODIAN Copy: CHILD American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com ALABAMA RULES OF JUVENILE PROCEDURE Rule 15. Informal adjustment. (A) After receiving a complaint alleging that a child is delinquent or in need of supervision and after determining that informal adjustment is appropriate, a juvenile probation officer who has been designated as a juvenile court intake officer may use the informal-adjustment process, with the consent of the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian. Prior to any informal adjustment, the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian must be advised of their rights, including the right to counsel. Any waiver of the right to counsel by the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian during the informal-adjustment process shall apply only to that process and shall not constitute a waiver of the right to counsel by these persons for any subsequent proceeding in the juvenile court. Utilization of the informal-adjustment process shall suspend the 21-day time frame for filing a petition pursuant to Rule 12(E) of these Rules. (B) An informal adjustment shall include counseling of and advising the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian by the juvenile probation officer. This function may be performed by other appropriate persons including the juvenile court judge in the discretion of the juvenile probation officer. An informal adjustment also may include the following: (1) Supervision of the child by the juvenile probation officer and temporary placement of the child with persons other than the parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian with the consent of the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian; and (2) Referrals by the juvenile probation officer to public and private agencies that may provide assistance or services to the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian. (C) The informal-adjustment process shall not continue beyond a period of six months from the date the informal adjustment document is executed. (D) If the child fails to comply with one or more conditions of the informaladjustment process, the process may be terminated, and the juvenile probation officer may deliver for filing a petition alleging that the child is delinquent or in need of supervision. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com (E) If the child satisfactorily completes the requirements of informaladjustment, the process shall be terminated. Upon termination of the informaladjustment process, the juvenile probation officer shall notify the child and his or her parent or parents, legal guardian, or legal custodian. [Amended eff.6-12-90, eff. 8-1-90; Amended eff. 11-2-2009; Amended 7-142011, eff. 10-1-2011; Amended 5-1-2014, eff. 7-1-2014.] Comment Informal adjustment procedures allow the intake office to suspend formal proceedings and proceed to adjustment satisfactory to the parties. This rule provides adjustment without the necessity of the filing of a petition. "Custodian," as used in this and other rules, does not mean "legal custodian" as defined in Section 5-101(g) of Act No. 1205, Acts of Alabama, 1975 Regular Session, and is intended to include the guardian of the child. Comment to Amendment to Rule 15 Effective November 2, 2009 Subsection (A) was amended by substituting the language "[u]pon the receipt of a complaint alleging that a child is delinquent or in need of supervision" for the language "[i]f there is sufficient evidence to bring the child within the jurisdiction of the court," because informal adjustment occurs after the filing of a complaint and before the filing of a petition. See Ala. Code 1975, § 12-15-119. Also, throughout this rule, the language "juvenile probation officer who has been designated to be a juvenile court" was added before the term "intake officer" to clarify that the informal-adjustment process should be handled by juvenile probation officers who have been designated as juvenile intake officers because juvenile probation officers are better trained to deal with this process than are other employees of the judicial branch. Other technical changes were made. Comment to Amendment to Rule 15 Effective October 1, 2011 This rule was completely rewritten for purposes of clarification and simplicity. Subsection (E) was amended to delete the language "and report that action to the juvenile court" because the informal-adjustment process is handled before a petition is filed in juvenile court; thus, there is no mechanism by which to report such an action to the juvenile court. American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com Co