Define and describe the intake process as it applies to the juvenile justice system?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. A juvenile taken into custody by police undergoes an intake process-a case screening process that determines if juvenile should proceed further through the juvenile justice system or whether alternatives are more suitable. Intake officers are experts in crisis intervention, in gathering information, and in assessing risk and needs. Considered one of the most crucial points in the juvenile justice system, intake happens when a probation officer interviews a youth and his or her parents or guardians. To determine potential causes of delinquency, intake questions pertain not only to a pending incident but also to juvenile home life, school problems, peers, mental health, drug abuse, and physical health. An intake officer then decides whether to handle a case informally or formally through a petition. If a case is to be handled formally, a delinquency petition is filed to request either an adjudicatory hearing (in which a case proceeds through juvenile courts) or a waiver hearing (in which a case is further screened to see whether it should proceed through adult courts). If a case is to be handled informally through diversion, a petition will not be filed. Intake officers can decide whether to counsel parents and child and just close a case, even against a police officer's recommendation for formal adjudication.