WHAT IS A CHILD REQUIRING ASSISTANCE (CRA) CLAIM?

What is a CRA?

A Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) claim is a court case in which the Juvenile Court is asked to help parents and/or school officials with the supervision and/or management of a child who is at least 6 but not yet 18 years old.

There are five types of Child Requiring Assistance that can be filed with the Juvenile Court:

1.      “Runaway” - repeatedly runs away from home of the parent, legal guardian or custodian;

 2.      “Stubborn Child” – repeatedly fails to obey the lawful and reasonable rules of a parent, which interferes with the parent/guardian/custodian’s ability to adequately care for and protect the child;

 3.      “School Offender” – repeatedly fails to obey lawful and reasonable school regulations;

 4.      “Truant” – willfully fails to attend school for more than 8 school days in a quarter; and

 5.      “Sexually exploited” -- and has been subjected to sexual exploitation.

Who may file a CRA?

A parent, legal guardian or custodian may file a CRA petition on their child who is at least 6 but not yet 18 is a runaway or truant.

The parent or police may file a CRA petition on a child who is at least 6 but not yet 18 who is a sexually exploited child.

A school district may file a CRA petition on a child who is at least 6 but not yet 16 who is a school offender or truant.

What happens on the first court date?

Once the appropriate person files the CRA with the juvenile court, the court will assign a date for a preliminary hearing. The child and their parent(s) will be assigned an attorney through the appropriate state agency. Ideally the parties will meet with their attorney before the hearing date but sometimes this doesn’t happen and the initial meeting will on the same day as the hearing. Almost every CRA will be assigned to a probation officer and a Department of Children and Families (DCF) social worker.  

At the preliminary hearing, the court will hear from each party. After each party has had an opportunity to say their piece, the judge will dismiss the petition, order informal assistance, or schedule a “fact finding” hearing. At this hearing, the court may grant temporary to DCF.

What happens if a child does not go to the hearing or runs away?

If a child fails to come to court or runs away, the court may issue a warrant of protective custody. The warrant does not go into the police computer system. Police should bring the child to court if the child is found. If the police find the child outside of court business hours, the police should take the child home or to a shelter (if one exists). A child may not be handcuffed, taken to the police station, placed in a court lockup facility, or placed in DYS if the police pick him/her up on a warrant of protective custody.

Have questions or concerns about your child? Contact us to discuss further:

E.M. Curran & Associates LLC

10 Tower Office Park
Suite 406
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-933-1542
Fax: 781-933-1549
ellen@emcurranlegal.com

IS YOUR CHILD HABITUALLY TRUANT DUE TO THEIR SPECIAL NEEDS?

If your child is habitually truant due to their special needs, you need to be aware of the February, 2018  Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case "Millis Public Schools v. M.P. & others".

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently heard a case involving M.P., a 15-year old girl with multiple diagnoses including OCD, PTSD, anxiety disorder, autism and a severe bladder condition; who was referred to the juvenile court as a child requiring assistance (CRA) on the grounds that she was habitually truant by her school district, Millis Public Schools.

M.P. was offered several alternative educational learning opportunities. Some of these alternatives included attending an online high school, a therapeutic program – with a shortened day, private tutoring at home, private tutoring at the library, and finally a special education day school. M.P. failed to consistently attend any of these alternative educational settings. At all times relevant, M.P. expressed her desire to attend school and to do well in school. She often expressed disappointment when she was unable to attend. M.P. and her family fought the CRA referral on the grounds that she was unable to attend school not because of her willfulness but due to her medical issues.

Under the children requiring assistance (CRA) statute, a child “willfully fails to attend school” if the child’s repeated failure to attend school arises from reasons portending delinquent behavior. CRA petitions can be filed where a child who is of compulsory school attendance age is “habitually truant.” The statute allows the juvenile court to change a child’s custody by placing them in the home of relative or an out-of-home placement if the judge determines the child “willfully failed to attend school for more than eight school days in a quarter.” The purpose of the CRA statute is well meaning. It has been established by multiples studies, that children who are not in school are more likely to get caught up in behaviors that may lead to delinquency and ultimately involvement in the court system. Allowing school districts to identify students who are habitually absent, is meant to help these students get support and hopefully help them prevent making negative life choices. 

Unfortunately, the CRA statute is frequently used when students with disabilities cannot attend school due to their emotional, social, medical and/or academic conditions. These students are often referred to the juvenile court system instead of steps being taken to support them and their needs. Many of these students with special needs are removed from their homes as a result of the CRA referral, which further exacerbates their condition instead of helping to alleviate some of their issues.

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a juvenile court judge can only find that a child is truant if the child is absent from school “purposefully, such that his or her behavior arises from reasons portending delinquent behavior.” To put it another way, the Supreme Judicial Court found that a child’s absence must be more than “merely voluntary or intentional,” the juvenile court must look “into a student’s purpose in missing school.” The Court emphasized that “a finding of willfulness is a fact-based inquiry that will depend on the circumstances of each case … [E]ach child’s purpose or reasons for missing school should be examined individually in order to determine whether the absences are willful beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Millis Public Schools vs M.P. and others is important because it supports children who cannot attend school because they have a mental or medical illness and helps these children avoid the court system and allows them to focus on their well-being and health care needs.'

Have questions or concerns about your student? Contact us to discuss further:

E.M. Curran & Associates LLC

10 Tower Office Park
Suite 406
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-933-1542
Fax: 781-933-1549
ellen@emcurranlegal.com