Juvenile Delinquency Handouts Reduced

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 1
INT RO DUCT IO N TO S O CIET Y AND DE L INQ UE NCY

Society – the general term for people living in social interdependence in a particular geographic area who socially interact and share
a common culture. A formal association of people with similar interests.
Social Imperative – the intrinsic and compelling need of all social creatures including humans to interact with and relate to others
of the same species.
Social Interaction – the dynamic process of communication and relationships between humans that are necessary for the physical
and emotional health, development, and survival of individuals and groups.
Social Interdependence – the symbiotic network of relationship and mutual aid that characterizes successfully functioning and
enduring human societies and communities.
Social Organization – The generally recognized and accepted pattern or structure of instrumental leadership and behavior utilized
by a social group in achieving its objectives.
Norms – the rules, standards, laws, customs, and beliefs that regulate human behavior and social interaction for a society or social
group.
Prescriptive Norms – norms that prescribe certain kinds of behavior as acceptable or desirable.
Proscriptive Norms – norms that prohibit certain kinds of behavior as unacceptable to society.
Folkways – Informal agreements or understandings among the members of the society about what is considered appropriate and
inappropriate behavior.
Mores – the more important, formal, and seriously enforced norms of the society.
Normative Behavior – conduct that is in harmony with the dominant normative standards of a social group.
Deviant Behavior - conduct that is perceived by the society as violating established and widely respected normative expectations
for behavior.
Crime – an act or omission in violation of criminal law, committed without defense or justification, and sanctioned by t he law as
felony or misdemeanor.
Juvenile Delinquency – any action that involves violation of the social norms by children and youths.
DE FINING DE L INQ UE NCY

Juvenile – persons below the age of majority or below eighteen years old.
Juvenile Delinquent/ Delinquent – a minor whose behavior is in conflict with the law. A minor who have violated the criminal
laws or engage in disobedient, indecent or immoral conduct and who are in need of treatment, rehabilitation or supervision.
Juvenile Delinquency/ Delinquency (based on various viewpoints)

Legal viewpoint – Violation of the law by a person prior to his eighteenth birthday. An act which violates the law by anyone who
has not yet achieved the age of majority. Any act which would be a crime if committed by an adult, or any act which the juvenile
court may deem inappropriate and for which the juvenile can be adjudicated delinquent.
Role viewpoint – Behavior by an individual who sustains a consistent pattern of delinquency over a long period of time and whose
life and identity are organized around such deviant behavior.
Societal Response viewpoint – Non-conforming quality of person’s behavior as viewed and evaluated by the social group to which
the minor belongs.
Parental viewpoint – A disruptive behavior such as disobedience, fighting with siblings, destroying or damaging property, stealing
money from family members or threatening family with violence.
Educational viewpoint – Behavior which interrupts or disturbs classroom learning, violates the school code of conduct and threatens
the safety of faculty and students.
Mental Health viewpoint – A wide range of disruptive behaviors that may involve aggression toward others or animals, destruction
of property, deceitfulness, theft and violation of curfew and school attendance.
Status Offense – acts that are illegal if committed by juveniles and not if committed by adult. Acts that not criminal in the usual
sense but appears to be in conflict with the best interests of the minors involved. Acts that violates the law applicable only to
children.
Examples:
1. School truancy
2. Running away from home
3. Disregard of parental authority; resistant to guidance or discipline (wayward)
4. Incorrigibility
5. Smoking
6. Drinking or possessing alcoholic beverages
7. Violation of curfew
8. Engaging in consensual sexual activities
9. Watching pornographic materials
10. Enters a disreputable place like bars, cabaret or club.
Delinquent Personality Types:

1. Socialized Delinquent - becomes delinquent as a result of being educated into a delinquent value system and having a
criminal role model in general.
2. Neurotic Delinquent – delinquent acts are compulsive efforts of reducing their inner anxiety. They may appear to be in a
state of panic and carry out compulsive activities like kleptomania, pyromania and shoplifting.
3. Psychotic Delinquent – has a severe emotional disorder which involves a unique version of reality. This delinquent often
hallucinates which may lead to commit acts of violence including bizarre form of murders.
4. Sociopathic Delinquent – appears normal, however, often engage in antisocial acts that reflects egocentrism and lack of
remorse.
NAT URE OF DE L INQ UE NCY

Factors affecting the rate of Juvenile Delinquency:
1. Age – change in the age distribution of the population deeply influences crime and delinquency rate.
2. Economy – expert believes that long-term economic downturn coupled with a relatively large number of teens in the
population will produce high delinquency rates.
3. Drugs – drug use has been linked to fluctuations in the crime and delinquency rate. Drug abusers are particularly crime
prone, so as drug use levels increase, so too do crime rates.
4. Media – some experts argue that violent media can influence youth crime. Watching violence on television is correlated to
aggressive behaviors, especially for kids with pre-existing tendency towards crime and violence.
5. Ongoing social problems – (divorce, school drop-outs, teen pregnancy and racial inequality) as the level of social problems
increases so do crime and delinquency rates.
6. Abortion – there are available empirical evidence showing that the recent drop in the crime rate can be attributed to the
availability of legalized abortion. According to some researchers if abortion were illegal, they believe that crime rates might
be 10 to 20 percent higher than they currently are with legal abortion.
7. Guns – as the number of guns in the hands of children increases, so do juvenile violence rates. Violence rates are also related
to gun possession; the higher the violence rates in a neighborhood, the more likely kids are to carry guns, most likely for self
protection.
8. Gangs – gang and violence are almost synonymous, the presence of gangs in an area will greatly contribute to the rate of
crime and delinquency.
9. Juvenile Justice Policy – (punishment) some law enforcement experts have suggested that a reduction in crime rates may be
attributed to a recent “get tough” attitude toward delinquency.
Correlates of Delinquency:
1. Gender and Delinquency – males are significantly more criminal than females. The teenage gender ratio for serious violent
crime is approximately 4 to 1, for property crime approximately 2 to 1, male to female.
2. Race and Delinquency – African American youths are arrested for a disproportionate number of murders, rapes, robberies
and assaults, whereas white youths are arrested for a disproportionate number of arson and alcohol related violations.
3. Social Class and Delinquency – youth who lack wealth and social standing are the most likely to use criminal means to
achieve their goals. Kids who live in communities that lack economic and social opportunities believe that they can never
compete socially or economically with adolescents raised in more affluent areas. These kids may turn to criminal behavior for
monetary gain and psychological satisfaction.
4. Age and Delinquency – age is inversely related to delinquency. As youthful offender mature, their offending rates decline.
Aging-out-process – as youthful offender matures, the likelihood that they will commit crimes decline. This phenomenon
can be traced on the following causes:
1.
Growing older means having to face the future.
2.
With maturity comes the ability to resist the quick fix to problems.
3.
Maturation coincides with increased levels of responsibility.
4.
Personalities can change with age.
5.
Young adults become more aware of the risks that accompany crime.
Chronic Offender – a delinquent with five or more juvenile arrest. They do not age out of crime but continue their law
violating behavior into adulthood.
Age of onset – age at which youths begin their delinquent careers; early onset is believed to be linked to chronic
offending patterns. According to this view there are two classes of offenders: (1) those who begin committing crime in late
adolescence and cease offending as they enter adulthood; and (2) those who begin their offending careers early in life and
maintain a high rate of offending throughout their lifespan.
Juvenile Victimization:
The chance of victimization declines with age. Research shows that teens are twenty times more likely to become victims of violent
crimes than their grandparents. Moreover, male teenagers have a significantly higher chance than females of becoming victims of
violent crime. Most teens are victimized by people with whom they are acquainted and their victimization is more likely to occur
during the day.
T HE O RIE S OF CRIME AND DEL INQ UE NCY

Etiology – a branch of knowledge concern with causation. It also refers to a scientific analysis of the causes of crime.
Theory – a tentative concept that explains certain phenomenon.
Demonological Theory

Middle Ages (1200-1600)

People who engaged in crime and other forms of deviant behavior were thought to be possessed by demons or evil spirits.
Classical Theory
Cesare Beccaria 1738 -1794

All of us have free will to make a choice between getting what we want legally or illegally.

Holds that decisions to violate the law are weighed against possible punishments, and to deter crime the pain of
punishment must outweigh the benefit of illegal gain.
Jeremy Bentham

People are basically hedonistic, that is they desire a high degree of pleasure and avoid pain.

People commit crimes because the pleasure anticipated from the criminal act is much
greater than the subsequent pain that might be expected from it.

He developed felicitous calculus or moral calculus for estimating the probability that a
person will engage in a particular kind of behavior.

His theory was based on the doctrine of Utilitarianism that the purpose of all actions should
be to bring out the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
Neoclassical Theory

Recognized that not all persons are equally rational and personally responsible for their behavior.

Children and lunatics should not be regarded as criminals and should be freed from punishment.
Routine Activities Theory


Lawrence E. Cohen and Marcus Felson

Criminals are not impulsive or unpredictable; Offenses can be expected if there is a motivated offender and a suitable target
that is not protected by capable guardians.

Crimes are influenced by the interaction of three variables:
1. Lack of capable guardians.
Research shows that crime levels are relatively low in neighborhoods where residents keep watchful eye on their
property as well as their neighbor’s.
1)
Police officers
2)
Home owners
3)
Security systems
4)
Neighbors
5)
Parents
2. Suitable targets.
The availability of suitable targets such as easily transportable commodities will increase delinquency rates. The
more wealth a home contains, the more likely it will become a target.
1)
Expensive cars
2)
Easily transportable goods
3)
Easily sold goods
4)
Unlocked homes
3. Motivated Offenders.
Delinquency rates might increase if there is a surplus of youths of the same age category competing for a limited
number of jobs and educational opportunities.
1)
Unemployed
2)
Drug addict gang member
3)
Teenage boys
Rational Choice (Situational) Theory


Derek Cornish and Ronald Clarke

Law violating behavior occurs when a reasoning offender decides to take the chance of violating the law after considering
his or her personal situation, values and situational factors.
Situation
1)
Need for money
2)
Learning experiences
3)
Opportunities for conventional success
Values
1)
Conscience
2)
Moral values
3)
Need for peer approval
Situational Factors
1)
How well the target is protected
2)
Whether people are at home
3)
How wealthy the neighborhood is
4)
The likelihood of getting caught
5)
The punishment if apprehended
Deterrence Theory

Stresses the idea that an individual’s choice to commit delinquent acts is influenced by the threat of punishment.

The guiding principle of this theory is that, the more severe, certain and swift the punishment, the greater its deterrent effect
will be.

Deterrence is the act of preventing a criminal act before it occurs, through the threat of punishment and sanctions.
Positivist Theory
Auguste Comte 1798 - 1857

He is the founder of sociology and positivism.

Our behavior is determined by measurable factors such as external social forces beyond individual control as well as
internal forces (mental capabilities and biological makeup).

People were perceived and understood as organisms that are part of the animal kingdom whose behavior is very much
influenced (if not determined) by social, cultural, and biological antecedents, rather than as self-determined beings who are
free to do what they want
Cesare Lombroso 1835


People who engage in criminal behavior are “born criminals.”

Criminals are distinguished from non-criminals by the manifestation of multiple physical stigmata which are the visible
indicators of atavism, a primitive or subhuman type of man.

Types of Criminals:
1. Born Criminals – homo delinquents or atavism, with subhuman and savage behavior.
2. Criminal by Passion - characterized by a romantic sensitivity and capacity for altruistic motives in the
commission of crime.
3. Insane Criminals – suffering from abnormalities and disease of the mind
4. Criminaloid – less savage and predatory than born criminals but more occasional
5. Pseudo-criminals – those who kill in self defense.
Enrico Ferri 1856 – 1929


He developed the field of criminal sociology and was the chief architect of the positivist school of criminology.

He developed a scientific classification of criminals.
1. Born or instinctive criminal - who carries from birth, through unfortunate heredity from his progenitors, they are
characterized by a reduced resistance to criminal stimuli and also an evident and precocious propensity to crime.
2. Insane criminal - affected by a clinically identified mental disease or by a neuropsychopathic condition which
groups him with the mentally diseased.
3. Passional (passionate) criminal - who, in two varieties, the criminal through passion (a prolonged and chronic
mental state), or through emotion (explosive and unexpected mental state), represents a type at the opposite pole
from the criminal due to congenital tendencies.
4. Occasional criminal - who constitutes the majority of lawbreakers and is the product of family and social milieu
more than of abnormal personal physiomental conditions.
5. habitual criminal - or rather, the criminal by acquired habit, who is mostly a product of the social environment in
which, due to abandonment by his family, lack of education, poverty, and bad companions. . . ,already in his
childhood begins as an occasional offender.
Raffaele Garofalo 1852 – 1934


He defined natural crime as a conduct which offends the basic moral sentiments of pity (revulsion against the voluntary
infliction of suffering on others) and probity (respect for property rights of others).

He rejected the doctrine of free will.

He developed four classes of criminals:
1. Murderers – those who are satisfied from vengeance.
2. Violent criminals – those who commit very serious crimes.
3. Thieves / deficient criminals – those who commit crimes against property.
4. Lascivious criminals – those who commit crimes against chastity.

The Holy Three in Criminology : Cesare Lomroso, Enrico Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo
Somatotype Theory

William Sheldon

He correlated body type to temperament
1. Ectomorph
2. Mesomorph
3. Endomorph

Criminals and delinquents manifest distinct physique (mesomorphic) that make them predisposed to violent behavior.
Sociobiological Theory (Biosocial Theory)


Edward O. Wilson

Sociobiology is the study of the origin of behavioral traits.

Social behavior is a product of evolutionary history and genetics hence delinquent behavior is viewed as being
genetically programmed into certain individuals.
XYY Chromosome Theory


Richard Fox

The presence of extra y chromosome among males doubles their aggressive traits.

Supermales
Freudian Theory (Psychoanalytical Theory)


Sigmund Freud

Crime is a result of abnormal behavior due to an imbalanced ego between uncontrolled drives (id) and society’s
expectation about behavior (super ego).

According to Freud, the mind can be divided into two main parts:
1. Conscious Mind – includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we
can think and talk about rationally.
2. Unconscious Mind – the reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges and memories that are outside of our conscious
awareness. This dimension is represented by unpleasant feelings such as pain, anxiety and conflict. It can affect
our behavior even though we are unaware of it.

A normal adult personality has three developed components:
1. Id – is responsible for our basic drives such as food, water, sex, and basic impulses. It is ruled by the pleasure–
pain principle; it is without a sense of time, completely illogical, primarily sexual, infantile in its emotional
development, and will not take "no" for an answer. It is regarded as the reservoir of the libido or "instinctive
drive to create". The mind of a newborn child is regarded as completely "id-ridden".It is divided into two
categories: Life instincts (Eros) are those that are crucial to pleasurable survival, such as eating and copulation.
Death instincts, (Thanatos) are our unconscious wish to die, as death puts an end to the everyday struggles for
happiness and survival. Freud noticed the death instinct in our desire for peace and attempts to escape reality
through fiction, media, and substances such as alcohol and drugs. It also indirectly represents itself through
aggression.
2. Ego – an organized conscious mediator between the person and reality. It acts according to the reality principle
that is, it seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bringing
grief. Ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the
passion. It has a set of psychic functions such as judgment, tolerance, reality-testing, control, planning, defense,
synthesis of information, intellectual functioning, and memory. The ego is the mediator between the id and the
super-ego, trying to ensure that the needs of both the id and the super-ego are satisfied, allowing them to
express their desires, drives and morals in realistic and socially appropriate ways. When the ego is personified,
it is like a slave to three harsh masters: the id, the super-ego and the reality. It has to do its best to suit all three,
however, that the ego seems to be more loyal to the id, to minimize conflicts it pretends to have a regard for
reality. But the super-ego is constantly watching every move that the ego takes and punishes it with feelings of
guilt, anxiety, and inferiority. To overcome this, the ego employs Defense Mechanism to lessen the tension,
frustration and anxiety (neurotic fear) by covering up our impulses that are threatening.
Example :
1. Denial – outright refusal to admit or recognize that something has occurred or is currently occurring.
2. Displacement – taking out frustrations, feelings, and impulses on people or objects that are less
threatening.
3. Intellectualization – allows us to avoid thinking about the stressful emotional aspect the situation and
focus only on the intellectual component.
4. Fantasy – desires are satisfied thru imagination.
5. Compensation - conceals your undesirable shortcomings by exaggerating desirable behaviors.
6. Projection – taking unacceptable qualities or feelings and ascribing them to other people.
7. Rationalization – involves explaining unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational logical manner
avoiding the true explanation for the behavior.
8. Reaction formation – exaggerate an opposed attitude or feelings.
9. Regression - flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state.
10. Repression - protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from
becoming conscious
11. Sublimation - allows us to act out unacceptable impulses by converting these behaviors into a more
acceptable form.
3. Super-ego – is an organized part of the personality structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious, that includes
the individual's perfection, spiritual goals, and conscience that criticizes and prohibits his or her drives,
fantasies, feelings, and actions. It helps us fit into the society by getting us to act in socially acceptable ways
and maintaining our sense of morality and proscription from taboos. Super-ego's demand opposes the id’s, so
the ego has a hard time in accommodating the two.
Diet Theory

Alexander Schauss, Clifford Simonsen and Jeffrey Bland

Children who developed poor nutritional habits can grow into disturbed adolescents and disturbed adults.
Biochemical Theory

Schoenthaler

Improper intake of food and minerals are responsible for the anti-social behavior of an individual.
Flawed Personality Theory


Criminals are people with impotent superego.

Flawed personality is a type of personality that cannot internalize the major values and norms of the society.

Psychopath/ Sociopath
Neurological Abnormalities (Theory)


Roth, Douglas, Damaso and White

Severe trauma to the brain at an earlier stage of development may result to conduct disorder.

Premature births may result to bad behavior

Brain injuries during infancy may prevent people from learning normal rules of social and moral behavior.

Brain tumors and head injuries may result to anti-social behaviors.
Differential Association Theory


Edwin Sutherland and Donnald Cressey

Criminal behavior is learned and not inherited. It is learned thru the process of socialization.
Social Learning Theory


Albert Bandura, Walter Mischel and Richard Walters

Criminal and delinquent behaviors are learned from the society through the Behavior Modeling Process. This theory
further holds that a person’s learning and social experiences, coupled with his or her values and expectations determine
behavior.

Sources of behavior:
1. Parents (Adults to whom they are in close contacts with)
2. Mass-media
3. Environment

Steps in Behavior Modeling Process:
1. Attention
2. Retention
3. Reproduction
4. Motivation
Feeblemindedness Theory (Mental Deficiency Theory)


Goddard, Healy and Bronner

The cause of crime and delinquency is mental deficiency. Juvenile Delinquents are viewed as retarded or lacking the
capacity to know the difference between right and wrong or cannot foresee serious consequences of misbehavior for
themselves and for others or cannot avoid being induced into crime by others.

The Intelligence Quotient Test (IQ Test) which is the ratio of person’s mental age to chronological age is used in order to
measure the Degree of Intelligence of a person.

Degree of Intelligence:
genius - 140 and above
very superior - 130 – 139
high superior - 120 – 129
bright - 110 – 119
high normal - 100 – 109
low normal - 90 – 99
dull - 80 – 89
Inferior - 70 – 79
moron - 50 – 69
imbecile - 25 – 49
idiot - below 25
Anomie Theory

Emile Durkheim

Crime as a result of anomie and the anger and frustration that people feel due to their inability to achieve their dream.
Social Strain Theory


Robert Merton

Anomie results from the discrepancy between the culturally prescribed goals and the availability of the legitimate means.

Behavioral Patterns of individuals in response to means and ends:
1. Conformity –occurs when individuals both embrace conventional social goals and also have the means at their
disposal to attain them.
2. Innovation – occurs when individuals accept the goals of society but rejects or is incapable of attaining them
through legitimate means.
3. Ritualism – less concern about accumulating wealth and instead gain pleasure from practicing traditional
ceremonies regardless of whether they have a real purpose or goal.
4. Retreatism - rejects both the goals and the means of the society.
5. Rebellion – involves substituting an alternative set of goals and means for conventional ones
Sub-cultural Theory

Albert Cohen

Criminal behaviors result from blocked goals and status frustration.

Delinquent subculture (gangs) exists because it offers a solution to the status problems and frustrations that working-
class boys experience in their effort to achieve middle-class success.
Differential Opportunity Theory


Cloward and Ohlin

Blocked goals will result to a sense of alienation in which those affected may turn to illegitimate means to achieve
the standard success goals.
General Strain Theory


Robert Agnew

People commit crimes are to reduce or escape from strain, seek revenge against those who have inflicted the strain,
or reduce the negative feelings that result from strain.

Sources of strain:
1. failure to achieve goals
2. Removal or denial of previously valued stimuli and positive achievements
3. Presentation of or exposure to negative stimuli
Culture-Conflict Theory (Cultural Transmission Theory) (Social Disorganization Theory or Ecological Theory)

Deviance is a normal political process brought out by inner struggle for dominance, that the obedience to the norms
of the lower-class culture puts people in conflict with the norms of the dominant culture.

Heterogeneity of the population resulted in an inharmonious mixture of ethnic, religious, political and social class
subcultures.

Crime increases when traditional social guidelines no longer work or when there is a decline in group unity due to
ineffective behavior patterns.
Social Bond Theory (Social Control Theory)


Travis Hirschi

People engage in crime and delinquency because of broken or weak social bonds.

Social Bonds:
1. Attachment
2. Commitment
3. Involvement
4. Beliefs
Containment Theory

Walter Reckless

People commit crimes because of weak inner and outer containment factors.

Containment Factors
1. Inner containment – the ability of a person to resist temptations to deviate and maintain normative loyalty.
 Self Control (balanced ego)
 Self Concept (good self image)
 Internalization of the social norms (well develop conscience)
2. Outer Containment – formidable array of legal demands an d prohibitions that keep most people within the
behavioral bounds of society.
 Laws/ social norms
 Parental relationship
 School supervision and discipline
 Strong group cohesion
Neutralization Theory

Gresham Sykes

Delinquency occurs because many young persons, under simultaneous pressure from the larger society to conform
and from a subculture with conflicting values to deviate, extends a set of psychological defense mechanisms to
justify delinquent behavior.

Techniques of neutralization
1. Denial of responsibility
2. Denial of injury
3. Denial of victim
4. Condemnation of the condemners
5. Appeal to higher loyalties
Labeling Theory

Frank Tannenbaum, Edwin Lemert, and Howard Becker

It is the societal treatment of the offender that makes a hardened criminal out of an accidental or occasional one.
Radical and Conflict Theory


Richard Quinney

The cause of crime is the unequal distribution of wealth and power and the repressive effort of the dominant class to
control the subordinate class.
Maturation Theory

Criminal tendency or criminal involvement decreases as the person becomes older (Aging-out Phenomenon)
TREATMENT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS
Treatment Ideology
1. Medical Model – also known as Treatment Model, assumes that juvenile delinquency is a disease that can be treated.
This model attempts to identify the cause of the disease (delinquency) and prescribe medication (treatment).
2. Rehabilitation Model – opposes secure confinement, rather supports and stresses that youths should be given a chance to
be reformed before subjected to incarcerative punishments. This model provides experiences that enable youths to
overcome various psychological and social limitations that have contributed to their delinquent behavior.
3. Community Reintegration Model – believes that youths who commit delinquent acts are alienated from their
communities. In this model youths are placed in residential treatment centers while provided with positive experiences
and participates in everyday events such as attending school and other social activities.
4. Prevention/Control Model – provides intervention strategies for youths at risk in their early years.
5. Just-Desert Model – stresses offender’s accountability, regardless of the offense committed. Offers punishment
commensurate to the seriousness of the offense committed.
6. Reality Therapy Model – also known as Shock Probation, involves a short prison stay designed to shock the youth and
to impress upon him or her the seriousness of the problem and potential consequence of further delinquency.
7. Justice Model – advocates fair and reasonable treatment of those adjudicated as delinquent.
8. Restorative Justice Model – combines punitive and treatment approaches and attempts to restore justice to those who are
affected (offender-victim-community).
JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS

HISTORY
Roman Law – the age of seven was used in Roman times to separate infants from those older children who were accountable to the
law for their actions. Children under the age of 7 were not accountable for any criminal acts they may commit.
English Common Law - adhered the same standards.
Parens Patriae – literally means “Father of the country”. Means that the king is in charge of, makes decisions about, and has the
responsibility for all matters involving juveniles. It is the doctrine that oversees the welfare of children.
Workhouses (Bridewell Workhouse) – instead of incarcerating inmates, workhouses were created by sheriffs and jailers to engage
inmates to cheap labors for profit. Youth offenders were included and became indentured servants for seven years to merchants and
businessmen. The indentured service usually lasted until they reach adulthood or age of 21.
Hospital of Saint Michael – In Italy, this corrective facility was established in 1704 to provide shelter for young people who
violated the law. They were trained to perform semiskilled and skilled labor to enable to find employment upon their release.
Youths were housed in individual cells during rest periods and evening hours.
Walnut Street Jail – a renovated Philadelphia Jail which was made thru the effort and interference of the Quakers in 1787. It has
significance in the history of Corrections since, innovative in three respects:
1. Pioneered the solitary confinement.
2. Prisoners were segregated according to the seriousness of their offense.
3. Women and children were maintained din separate rooms during evening hours apart from their male counterparts.
Child Savers – mostly private homes converted to settlements for children who were in trouble with the law by Child Savers
Organization.
New York House of Refuge – established in 1825, this facility was devoted to managing status offenders. Compulsory education
and other forms of training were provided to these children. The problem with this facility was the prison-like regimen which is not
therapeutic and as a consequence many of the youths eventually pursued criminal careers. Included in this facility were the House
of Reformatory in Boston and Western House of Refuge.
Reform Schools – opened in Westborough Massachusetts in 1848, established to supervise unruly juveniles. Characterized by strict
discipline, absolute control of juvenile’s behavior and compulsory work to various trades.
Hull House - operated by Jane Addams in Chicago Illinois in 1889, a settlement home used by children where constructive
activities and teachings were offered.
Illinois Juvenile Court – the first juvenile court, established in 1899. It includes juveniles under the age of 16who were found in
violation of any state or local laws or ordinance. No minimum age was specified that would limit its jurisdiction. During the next
ten years 20 states passed similar act to establish juvenile court and by the end of World War II all states had created their own
juvenile court.
LAWS AND ISSUANCES FOR CHILDREN
DATE LAWS AND ISSUANCES

1924 Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child
1956
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court
(provided a unique form of adjudication to youthful offenders and disposal of family cases)
December 10, 1974 PD 603

“Child and Youth Welfare Code”
Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos
BP 129
“Judiciary Reorganization Act”
January 10, 1980
(abolished the JDRC and authorized the Supreme Court to designate branches of RTC and
MTC to function exclusively on juvenile and domestic relations cases)
November 20, 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(“Youthful Offender” to “Children In Conflict with the Law”)
RA 6809
“An Act Lowering the Age of Majority from 21 to 18 Years”
Pres. Corazon C. Aquino
December 13, 1989
(AN ACT LOWERING THE AGE OF MAJORITY FROM TWENTY-ONE TO
EIGHTEEN YEARS AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE EXECUTIVE ORDER
NUMBERED TWO HUNDRED NINE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES)
RA 7610
“Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination”
Pres. Corazon C. Aquino
July 17, 1992
(AN ACT PROVIDING FOR STRONGER DETERRENCE AND SPECIAL
PROTECTION AGAINST CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES)
RA 8369
“Family Court Act of 1997”
Pres. Fidel V. Ramos
(AN ACT ESTABLISHING FAMILY COURTS, GRANTING THEM EXCLUSIVE
October 28, 1997
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION OVER CHILD AND FAMILY CASES, AMENDING
BATAS PAMBANSA BILANG 129, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
JUDICIARY REORGANIZATION ACT OF 1980, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES)
RA 9344
“Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006”
Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
April 28, 2006 (AN ACT ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE
SYSTEM CREATING THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE COUNCIL UNDER THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THERETO AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES)
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 603 (Salient Feature)

The Child and Youth Welfare Code
ARTICLE 2.Title and Scope of Code. — The Code shall be known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code. It shall apply to
persons below twenty-one years of age except those emancipated in accordance with law. "Child" or "minor" or "youth" as used in
this Code, shall refer to such persons.
*EMANCIPATION - Freeing someone from the control of another; especially a parent's relinquishing authority and
control over a minor child.
Notes from The Family Code of the Philippines

Art. 234. Emancipation takes place by the attainment of majority. Unless otherwise provided, majority commences at the
age of twenty-one years. Emancipation also takes place:
(1) By the marriage of the minor; or
(2) By the recording in the Civil Registrar of an agreement in a public instrument executed by the parent
exercising parental authority and the minor at least eighteen years of age. Such emancipation shall be
irrevocable.
Art. 236. Emancipation for any cause shall terminate parental authority over the person and property of the child who
shall then be qualified and responsible for all acts of civil life.
Art. 237. The annulment or declaration of nullity of the marriage of a minor or of the recorded agreement mentioned in
the foregoing articles shall revive the parental authority over the minor but shall not affect acts and transactions that took
place prior to the recording of the final judgment in the Civil Register.
Amended by Republic Act No. 6809

SECTION 1. Article 234 of Executive Order No. 209, the Family Code of the Philippines, is hereby amended to read as
follows:
ART. 234. Emancipation takes place by the attainment of majority. Unless otherwise provided, majority
commences at the age of eighteen years.
SECTION 2. Article 236 of the same Code is also hereby amended to read as follows:
ART. 236. Emancipation shall terminate parental authority over the person and property of the child who shall
then be qualified and responsible for all acts of civil life.
ARTICLE 3.Rights of the Child. — All children shall be entitled to the rights herein set forth without distinction as to legitimacy
or illegitimacy, sex, social status, religion, political antecedents, and other factors.
(1) Every child is endowed with the dignity and worth of a human being from the moment of his conception, as generally
accepted in medical parlance, and has, therefore, the right to be born well.
(2) Every child has the right to a wholesome family life that will provide him with love, care and understanding, guidance and
counseling, and moral and material security.
The dependent or abandoned child shall be provided with the nearest substitute for a home.
(3) Every child has the right to a well-rounded development of his personality to the end that he may become a happy, useful and
active member of society.
The gifted child shall be given opportunity and encouragement to develop his special talents.
The emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted child shall be treated with sympathy and understanding, and shall be
entitled to treatment and competent care.
The physically or mentally handicapped child shall be given the treatment, education and care required by his particular
condition.
(4) Every child has the right to a balanced diet, adequate clothing, sufficient shelter, proper medical attention, and all the basic
physical requirements of a healthy and vigorous life.
(5) Every child has the right to be brought up in an atmosphere of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and the strengthening
of his character.
(6) Every child has the right to an education commensurate with his abilities and to the development of his skills for the
improvement of his capacity for service to himself and to his fellowmen.
(7) Every child has the right to full opportunities for safe and wholesome recreation and activities, individual as well as social,
for the wholesome use of his leisure hours.
(8) Every child has the right to protection against exploitation, improper influences, hazards, and other conditions or
circumstances prejudicial to his physical, mental, emotional, social and moral development.
(9) Every child has the right to live in a community and a society that can offer him an environment free from pernicious
influences and conducive to the promotion of his health and the cultivation of his desirable traits and attributes.
(10) Every child has the right to the care, assistance, and protection of the State, particularly when his parents or guardians fail or
are unable to provide him with his fundamental needs for growth, development, and improvement.
(11) Every child has the right to an efficient and honest government that will deepen his faith in democracy and inspire him with
the morality of the constituted authorities both in their public and private lives.
(12) Every child has the right to grow up as a free individual, in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, tolerance, and universal
brotherhood, and with the determination to contribute his share in the building of a better world.
ARTICLE 5. Commencement of Civil Personality. — The civil personality of the child shall commence from the time of his
conception, for all purposes favorable to him, subject to the requirements of Article 41 of the Civil Code.
ARTICLE 41 (Civil Code)

For civil purposes, the foetus is considered born if it is alive at the time it is completely delivered from the mother’s
womb. However, if the foetus had an intra-uterine life of less than seven months, it is not deemed born if it dies within
twenty-four hours after its complete delivery from the maternal womb.
Comment:
Personality does not begin at birth; it begins at conception. This personality at conception is called presumptive
personality. It is of course that birth should occur later, otherwise the foetus will be considered as never having possessed
legal personality.
Two kinds of Children

1. Ordinary – with intra-uterine life of at least seven months. (mere birth is sufficient)
2. Extraordinary – if the intra-uterine life is less than seven months. (the child must have lived for at least 24 hours
after its complete delivery from the maternal womb)
ARTICLE 17.Joint Parental Authority. — The father and mother shall exercise jointly just and reasonable parental authority and
responsibility over their legitimate or adopted children. In case of disagreement, the father's decision shall prevail unless there is a
judicial order to the contrary.
In case of the absence or death of either parent, the present or surviving parent shall continue to exercise parental authority over
such children, unless in case of the surviving parent's remarriage, the court, for justifiable reasons, appoints another person as
guardian.
Amended by Art. 212 of The Family Code of the Philippines

In case of absence or death of either parent, the parent present shall continue exercising parental authority. The remarriage
of the surviving parent shall not affect the parental authority over the children, unless the court appoints another person to
be the guardian of the person or property of the children.
In case of separation of his parents, no child under five years of age shall be separated from his mother unless the court finds
compelling reasons to do so.
Amended by Art. 213 of The Family Code of the Philippines

In case of separation of the parents, parental authority shall be exercised by the parent designated by the court. The court
shall take into account all relevant considerations, especially the choice of the child over seven years of age, unless the
parent chosen is unfit. No child under seven years of age shall be separated from the mother unless the court finds
compelling reasons to order otherwise.
ARTICLE 18. Grandparents. — Grandparents shall be consulted on important family questions but they shall not interfere in the
exercise of parental authority by the parents.
ARTICLE 19. Absence or Death of Parents. — Grandparents and in their default, the oldest brother or sister who is at least
eighteen years of age, or the relative who has actual custody of the child, shall exercise parental authority in case of absence or
death of both parents, unless a guardian has been appointed in accordance with the succeeding provision.
ARTICLE 20. Guardian. — The court may, upon the death of the parents, appoint a guardian for the person and property of the
child, on petition of any relative or friend of the family or the Department of Social Welfare.
ARTICLE 21. Dependent, Abandoned or Neglected Child. — The dependent, abandoned or neglected child shall be under the
parental authority of a suitable or accredited person or institution that is caring for him, after the child has been declared abandoned
by either the court or the Department of Social Welfare.
Comment: from The Family Code of the Philippines

Art. 217. In case of foundlings, abandoned, neglected and other children similarly situated, parental authority shall be
entrusted in summary judicial proceedings to the heads of children’s homes, orphanages and similar institutions duly
accredited by the proper government agency.
*Foundlings – is an infant found by others abandoned and exposed, without a known parent or person having custody or
charge of it.
*Abandoned child – one who has no proper parental care or guardianship, or whose parents or guardians have deserted
him for a period of at least six continuous months.
*Neglected child – one whose basic needs have been deliberately unattended or inadequately attended.
ARTICLE 25. Hearings Confidential. — The hearing on guardianship and custody proceedings may, at the discretion of the
court, be closed to the public and the records thereof shall not be released without its approval.
Additional notes related to Parental Authority from The Family Code of the Philippines
Art. 218. The school, its administrators and teachers or the individual, entity or institutions engaged in child care shall
have special parental authority and responsibility over the minor child while under their supervision, instruction or
custody.
Authority and responsibility shall apply to all authorized activities whether inside or outside the premises of the school,
entity or institutions. (349a)
Art. 219. Those given the authority and responsibility under the preceding Article shall be principally and solitarily liable
for damages caused by the acts or omissions of the unemancipated minor, the parents, judicial guardians or the persons
exercising substitute parental authority over said minor shall be subsidiarily liable.
The respective liabilities of those referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not apply if it is proved that they exercised
the proper diligence required under the particular circumstances.
Art. 228. Parental authority terminates permanently:

(1) Upon the death of the parents;
(2) Upon the death of the child; or
(3) Upon emancipation of the child
Art. 229. Unless subsequently revived by a final judgment, parental authority also terminates:
(1) Upon adoption of the child;
(2) Upon appointment of a general guardian;
(3) Upon judicial declaration of abandonment of the child in a case filed for the purpose;
(4) Upon final judgment of a competent court divesting the party concerned of parental authority
ARTICLE 27. Who May Adopt. — Any person of age and in full possession of his civil rights may adopt: Provided, That he is in
a position to support and care for his legitimate, legitimated, acknowledged natural children, or natural children by legal fiction, or
other illegitimate children, in keeping with the means, both material and otherwise, of the family.
In all cases of adoption the adopter must be at least sixteen years older than the person to be adopted.
ARTICLE 28. Who May Not Adopt. — The following persons may not adopt:
(1) A married person without the written consent of the spouse;
(2) The guardian with respect to the ward prior to final approval of his accounts;
(3) Any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(4) An alien who is disqualified to adopt according to the laws of his own country or one with whose government the Republic
of the Philippines has broken diplomatic relations.
ARTICLE 29. Adoption by Husband and Wife. — Husband and Wife may jointly adopt. In such case, parental authority shall be
exercised as if the child were their own by nature.
ARTICLE 30. Who May Not Be Adopted. — (Only minors may be adopted, except in the cases when the adoption of a person of
majority age is allowed).The following may not be adopted: as amended by Art. 187 of the Family Code of the Philippines
(1) A person of legal age, unless he or she is a child by nature of the adopter or his or her spouse, or, prior to the adoption, said
person had been consistently considered and treated by the adopter as his or her own child during minority.
(2) An alien with whose government the Republic of the Philippines has no diplomatic relations; and
(3) A pesrson who has already been adopted unless such adoption has been previously revoked or rescinded.
ARTICLE 31. Whose Consent is Necessary. — The written consent of the following to the adoption shall be necessary: as
amended by Art. 188 of the Family Code of the Philippines
(1) The person to be adopted, if ten years of age over;
(2) The parents by nature of the child, the legal guardian, or the proper government instrumentality;
(3) The legitimate and adopted children, ten years of age or over, of adopting parent or parents;
(4) The illegitimate children, ten years of age or over, of the adopting parent, if living with said parent and the latter's spouse, if
any; and
(5) The spouse, if any, of the person adopting or to be adopted. (31a, EO91 and PD 603)
ARTICLE 32. Hurried Decisions. — In all proceedings for adoption, steps should be taken by the court to prevent the natural
parents from making hurried decisions caused by strain or anxiety to give up the child, and to ascertain, that all measures to
strengthen the family have been exhausted and that any prolonged stay of the child in his own home will be inimical to his welfare
and interest.
ARTICLE 33. Case Study. — No petition for adoption shall be granted unless the Department of Social Welfare, or the Social
Work and Counseling Division, in case of Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, has made a case study of the child to be
adopted, his natural parents as well as the prospective adopting parents, and has submitted its report and recommendations on the
matter to the court hearing such petition. The Department of Social Welfare shall intervene on behalf of the child if it finds, after
such case study, that the petition should be denied.
ARTICLE 35. Trial Custody. — No petition for adoption shall be finally granted unless and until the adopting parents are given
by the court a supervised trial custody period of at least six months to assess their adjustment and emotional readiness for the legal
union. During the period of trial custody parental authority shall be vested in the adopting parents.
The court may, upon its own motion or on motion of the petitioner, reduce or dispense with the trial period if it finds that it is to the
best interest of the child. In such case, the court shall state its reasons for reducing said period.
ARTICLE 36. Decree of Adoption. — If, after considering the report of the Department of Social Welfare or duly licensed child
placement agency and the evidence submitted before it, the court is satisfied that the petitioner is qualified to maintain, care for, and
educate the child, that the trial custody period has been completed, and that the best interests of the child will be promoted by the
adoption, a decree of adoption shall be entered, which shall be effective as of the date the original petition was filed. The decree
shall state the name by which the child is thenceforth to be known.
ARTICLE 37. Civil Registry Record. — The adoption shall be recorded in the local civil register and shall be annotated on the
record of birth, and the same shall entitle the adopted person to the issuance of an amended certificate of birth.
ARTICLE 38. Confidential Nature of Proceedings and Records. — All hearings in adoption cases shall be confidential and shall
not be open to the public. All records, books and papers relating to the adoption cases in the files of the court, of the Department of
Social Welfare, and of any other agency or institution participating in the adoption proceedings, shall be kept strictly confidential.
ARTICLE 39. Effects of Adoption. — The adoption shall:

(1) Give to the adopted person the same rights and duties as if he were a legitimate child of the adopter: Provided, That an
adopted child cannot acquire Philippine citizenship by virtue of such adoption;
(2) Dissolve the authority vested in the natural parent or parents, except where the adopter is the spouse of the surviving natural
parent;
(3) Entitle the adopted person to use the adopter's surname; and
(4) Make the adopted person a legal heir of the adopter .
ARTICLE 40. Rescission by Adopted. — The adopted person or the Department of Social Welfare or any duly licensed child
placement agency if the adopted is still a minor or otherwise incapacitated, may ask for the rescission of the adoption on the same
grounds that cause the loss of parental authority.
ARTICLE 41. Revocation by Adopter. — The adopter may petition the court for the revocation of the adoption in any of these
cases:
(1) If the adopted person has attempted against the life of the adopter and/or his spouse;
(2) When the adopted minor has abandoned the home of the adopter for more than three years and efforts have been exhausted
to locate the minor within the stated period;
(3) When by other acts the adopted person has definitely repudiated the adoption.
ARTICLE 42. Effects of Rescission or Revocation. — Where the adopted minor has not reached the age of majority at the time of
the revocation or rescission referred to in the next preceding articles, the court in the same proceeding shall determine whether he
should be returned to the parental authority of his natural parents or remitted to the Department of Social Welfare or any duly
licensed child placement agency or whether a guardian over his person and property should be appointed.
Where the adopted child has reached the age of majority, the revocation or rescission, if and when granted by the court, shall release
him from all obligations to his adopting parents and shall extinguish all his rights against them: Provided, That if the said adopted
person is physically or mentally handicapped as to need a guardian over his person or property, or both, the court may appoint a
guardian in accordance with the provisions of existing law.
In all cases of revocation or rescission, the adopted shall lose the right to continue using the adopter's surname and the court shall
order the amendment of the records in the Civil Register in accordance with its decision.
Special Categories of Children:

1. Dependent child is one who is without a parent, guardian or custodian; or one whose parents, guardian or other custodian for
good cause desires to be relieved of his care and custody; and is dependent upon the public for support. (Art. 141)
2. Abandoned child is one who has no proper parental care or guardianship, or whose parents or guardians have deserted him for
a period of at least six continuous months. (Art. 141)
3. Neglected child is one whose basic needs have been deliberately unattended or inadequately attended. Neglect may occur in
two ways: (Art. 141)
a. Physical neglect exist when the child is malnourished, ill clad and without proper shelter.
b. Emotional neglect exists: when children are maltreated, raped or seduced; when children are exploited, overworked or
made to work under conditions not conducive to good health; or are made to beg in the streets or public places, or when
children are in mortal danger, or exposed to gambling, prostitution and other vices.
4. Mentally Retarded Child refers to a child who is (1) socially incompetent, that is, socially inadequate and occupationally
incompetent and unable to manage their own affairs; (2) mentally subnormal; (3) retarded intellectually from birth or early age;
(4) retarded at maturity; (5) mentally deficient as a result of constitutional origin, through hereditary or disease, and (6)
essentially incurable. (Art. 168)
Classification of Mental Retardation (Art. 169)
a. Custodial Group. The members of this classification are severely or profoundly retarded, hence, the least capable
group. This includes those with I.Q.s to 25.
b. Trainable Group. The members of this group consist of those with I.Q.s from about 25 to about 50; one who belongs
to this group shows a mental level and rate of development which is 1/4 to 1/2 that of the average child, is unable to
acquire higher academic skills, but can usually acquire the basic skills for living to a reasonable degree. He can
likewise attain a primary grade level of education if he receives effective instruction.
c. Educable Group. This group's I.Q. ranges from about 50 to about 75, and the intellectual development is
approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of that expected of a normal child of the same chronological age. The degree of success or
accomplishment that they will reach in life depends very much on the quality and type of education they receive, as
well as on the treatment at home and in the community. Many of the educable retardates may reach 5th or 6th grade
educational level and can develop occupational skills which may result in partial or complete economic independence
in adulthood.
d. Borderline or Low Normal Group. This is the highest group of mentally retarded, with I.Q.s from about 75 to about
89. The members of this classification are only slightly retarded and they can usually get by in regular classes if they
receive some extra help, guidance and consideration. They have to spend much more time with their studies than do
most children in order to pass. Those who cannot make it are usually handicapped by one or more other conditions
aside from that of intelligence.
5. Physically Handicapped Children - those who are crippled, deaf-mute, blind, or otherwise defective which restricts their
means of action on communication with others. (Art. 170)
6. Emotionally Disturbed Children - are those who, although not afflicted with insanity or mental defect, are unable to maintain
normal social relations with others and the community in general due to emotional problems or complexes. (Art. 171)
7. Mentally Ill Children - are those with any behavioral disorder, whether functional or organic, which is of such a degree of
severity as to require professional help or hospitalization. (Art. 172)
8. Youthful Offender (defined as follows)

Is one who is over nine years but under twenty-one years of age at the time of the commission of the offense. (Based on
the unamended provision of PD 603)
Is a child minor or youth, including one who has emancipated in accordance with the law, who is over nine years but
under eighteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense. (Based on PD 603 as amended by PD 1179
AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER THREE, TITLE EIGHT OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
NUMBERED SIX HUNDRED AND THREE OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, Aug. 15, 1977)
ARTICLE 189. Youthful Offender Defined. — A youthful offender is one who is over nine years but under twenty-one years of
age at the time of the commission of the offense.
A child nine years of age or under at the time of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability and shall be committed to the
care of his or her father or mother, or nearest relative or family friend in the discretion of the court and subject to its supervision.
The same shall be done for a child over nine years and under fifteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense,
unless he acted with discernment, in which case he shall be proceeded against in accordance with Article 192.
Notes from PD 1179:

Section 1. Articles 189 and 190 of Presidential Decree No. 603 are hereby amended to read as follows:
Art. 189. Youthful Offender, Defined. A youthful offender is a child, minor or youth, including one who is emancipated
in accordance with law who is over nine years but under eighteen years of age at the time of the commission of the
offense.
A Child nine years of age or under at the time of the commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability
and shall be committed to the care of his or her father or mother, or nearest relative or family friend in the discretion of
the court and subject to its supervision. The same shall be done for a child over nine years and under fifteen years of age
at the time of the commission of the offense, unless he acted with discernment, in which case he shall be proceeded
against in accordance with Article 192.
The provisions of Article 80 of the Revised Penal Code are hereby repealed by the provisions of this Chapter
Notes from Revised Penal Code:

Art. 80. Suspension of sentence of minor delinquents. — Whenever a minor of either sex, under sixteen years of age at the
date of the commission of a grave or less grave felony, is accused thereof, the court, after hearing the evidence in the
proper proceedings, instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, shall suspend all further proceedings and shall
commit such minor to the custody or care of a public or private, benevolent or charitable institution, established under the
law of the care, correction or education of orphaned, homeless, defective, and delinquent children, or to the custody or
care of any other responsible person in any other place subject to visitation and supervision by the Director of Public
Welfare or any of his agents or representatives, if there be any, or otherwise by the superintendent of public schools or his
representatives, subject to such conditions as are prescribed herein below until such minor shall have reached his majority
age or for such less period as the court may deem proper.
The court, in committing said minor as provided above, shall take into consideration the religion of such minor, his
parents or next of kin, in order to avoid his commitment to any private institution not under the control and supervision of
the religious sect or denomination to which they belong.
The Director of Public Welfare or his duly authorized representatives or agents, the superintendent of public schools or
his representatives, or the person to whose custody or care the minor has been committed, shall submit to the court every
four months and as often as required in special cases, a written report on the good or bad conduct of said minor and the
moral and intellectual progress made by him.
The suspension of the proceedings against a minor may be extended or shortened by the court on the recommendation of
the Director of Public Welfare or his authorized representative or agents, or the superintendent of public schools or his
representatives, according as to whether the conduct of such minor has been good or not and whether he has complied
with the conditions imposed upon him, or not. The provisions of the first paragraph of this article shall not, however, be
affected by those contained herein.
If the minor has been committed to the custody or care of any of the institutions mentioned in the first paragraph of this
article, with the approval of the Director of Public Welfare and subject to such conditions as this official in accordance
with law may deem proper to impose, such minor may be allowed to stay elsewhere under the care of a responsible
person.
If the minor has behaved properly and has complied with the conditions imposed upon him during his confinement, in
accordance with the provisions of this article, he shall be returned to the court in order that the same may order his final
release.
In case the minor fails to behave properly or to comply with the regulations of the institution to which he has been
committed or with the conditions imposed upon him when he was committed to the care of a responsible person, or in
case he should be found incorrigible or his continued stay in such institution should be inadvisable, he shall be returned to
the court in order that the same may render the judgment corresponding to the crime committed by him.
The expenses for the maintenance of a minor delinquent confined in the institution to which he has been committed, shall
be borne totally or partially by his parents or relatives or those persons liable to support him, if they are able to do so, in
the discretion of the court; Provided, That in case his parents or relatives or those persons liable to support him have not
been ordered to pay said expenses or are found indigent and cannot pay said expenses, the municipality in which the
offense was committed shall pay one-third of said expenses; the province to which the municipality belongs shall pay
one-third; and the remaining one-third shall be borne by the National Government: Provided, however, That whenever the
Secretary of Finance certifies that a municipality is not able to pay its share in the expenses above mentioned, such share
which is not paid by said municipality shall be borne by the National Government. Chartered cities shall pay two-thirds of
said expenses; and in case a chartered city cannot pay said expenses, the internal revenue allotments which may be due to
said city shall be withheld and applied in settlement of said indebtedness in accordance with section five hundred and
eighty-eight of the Administrative Code.
ARTICLE 190. Physical and Mental Examination. — It shall be the duty of the law-enforcement agency concerned to take the
youthful offender, immediately after his apprehension, to the proper medical or health officer for a thorough physical and mental
examination. Whenever treatment for any physical or mental defect is indicated, steps shall be immediately undertaken to provide
the same.
The examination and treatment papers shall form part of the record of the case of the youthful offender.
ARTICLE 191. Care of Youthful Offender Held for Examination or Trial. — A youthful offender held for physical and mental
examination or trial or pending appeal, if unable to furnish bail, shall from the time of his arrest be committed to the care of the
Department of Social Welfare or the local rehabilitation center or a detention home in the province or city which shall be
responsible for his appearance in court whenever required: Provided, That in the absence of any such center or agency within a
reasonable distance from the venue of the trial, the provincial, city and municipal jail shall provide quarters for youthful offenders
separate from other detainees. The court may, in its discretion, upon recommendation of the Department of Social Welfare or other
agency or agencies authorized by the Court, release a youthful offender on recognizance, to the custody of his parents or other
suitable person who shall be responsible for his appearance whenever required.
ARTICLE 192. Suspension of Sentence and Commitment of Youthful Offender. — If after hearing the evidence in the proper
proceedings, the court should find that the youthful offender has committed the acts charged against him the court shall determine
the imposable penalty, including any civil liability chargeable against him. However, instead of pronouncing judgment of
conviction, the court shall suspend all further proceedings and shall commit such minor to the custody or care of the Department of
Social Welfare, or to any training institution operated by the government, or duly licensed agencies or any other responsible
person, until he shall have reached twenty-one years of age or, for a shorter period as the court may deem proper, after considering
the reports and recommendations of the Department of Social Welfare or the agency or responsible individual under whose care he
has been committed.
The youthful offender shall be subject to visitation and supervision by a representative of the Department of Social Welfare or any
duly licensed agency or such other officer as the Court may designate subject to such conditions as it may prescribe.
ARTICLE 193. Appeal. — The youthful offender whose sentence is suspended can appeal from the order of the court in the same
manner as appeals in criminal cases.
ARTICLE 194. Care and Maintenance of Youthful Offender. — The expenses for the care and maintenance of the youthful
offender whose sentence has been suspended shall be borne by his parents or those persons liable to support him: Provided, That in
case his parents or those persons liable to support him cannot pay all or part of said expenses, the municipality in which the
offense was committed shall pay one-third of said expenses or part thereof; the province to which the municipality belongs shall
pay one-third; and the remaining one-third shall be borne by the National Government. Chartered cities shall pay two-thirds of
said expenses; and in case a chartered city cannot pay said expenses, part of the internal revenue allotments applicable to the
unpaid portion shall be withheld and applied to the settlement of said indebtedness.
All city and provincial governments must exert efforts for the immediate establishment of local detention homes for youthful
offenders.
ARTICLE 195. Report on Conduct of Child. — The Department of Social Welfare or its representative or duly licensed agency
or individual under whose care the youthful offender has been committed shall submit to the court every four months or oftener as
may be required in special cases, a written report on the conduct of said youthful offender as well as the intellectual, physical,
moral, social and emotional progress made by him.
ARTICLE 196. Dismissal of the Case. — If it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the youthful offender whose sentence
has been suspended, has behaved properly and has shown his capability to be a useful member of the community, even before
reaching the age of majority, upon recommendation of the Department of Social Welfare, it shall dismiss the case and order his
final discharge.
ARTICLE 197. Return of the Youth Offender to Court. — Whenever the youthful offender has been found incorrigible or has
wilfully failed to comply with the conditions of his rehabilitation programs, or should his continued stay in the training institution
be inadvisable, he shall be returned to the committing court for the pronouncement of judgment.
When the youthful offender has reached the age of twenty-one while in commitment, the court shall determine whether to dismiss
the case in accordance with the next preceding article or to pronounce the judgment of conviction.
In any case covered by this article, the youthful offender shall be credited in the service of his sentence with the full time spent in
actual commitment and detention effected under the provisions of this Chapter.
ARTICLE 198. Effect of Release of Child Based on Good Conduct. — The final release of a child pursuant to the provisions of
this Chapter shall not obliterate his civil liability for damages. Such release shall be without prejudice to the right for a writ of
execution for the recovery of civil damages.
ARTICLE 199. Living Quarters for Youthful Offenders Sentence. — When a judgment of conviction is pronounced in
accordance with the provisions of Article 197, and at the time of said pronouncement the youthful offender is still under twenty-
one, he shall be committed to the proper penal institution to serve the remaining period of his sentence: Provided, That penal
institutions shall provide youthful offenders with separate quarters and, as far as practicable, group them according to appropriate
age levels or other criteria as will insure their speedy rehabilitation: Provided, further, That the Bureau of Prisons shall maintain
agricultural and forestry camps where youthful offenders may serve their sentence in lieu of confinement in regular penitentiaries.
ARTICLE 200. Records of Proceedings. — Where a youthful offender has been charged before any city or provincial fiscal or
before any municipal judge and the charges have been ordered dropped, all the records of the case shall be destroyed immediately
thereafter.
Where a youthful offender has been charged and the court acquits him, or dismisses the case or commits him to an institution and
subsequently releases him pursuant to this Chapter, all the records of his case shall be destroyed immediately after such acquittal,
dismissal or release, unless civil liability has also been imposed in the criminal action, in which case such records shall be
destroyed after satisfaction of such civil liability. The youthful offender concerned shall not be held under any provision of law, to
be guilty of perjury or of concealment or misrepresentation by reason of his failure to acknowledge the case or recite any fact
related thereto in response to any inquiry made of him for any purpose.
"Records" within the meaning of this article shall include those which may be in the files of the National Bureau of Investigation
and with any police department, or any other government agency which may have been involved in the case.
ARTICLE 201. Civil Liability of Youthful Offenders. — The civil liability for acts committed by a youthful offender shall
devolve upon the offender's father and, in case of his death or incapacity, upon the mother, or in case of her death or incapacity,
upon the guardian. Civil liability may also be voluntarily assumed by a relative or family friend of the youthful offender.
ARTICLE 202. Rehabilitation Centers. — The Department of Social Welfare shall establish regional rehabilitation centers for
youthful offenders. The local government and other non-governmental entities shall collaborate and contribute their support for the
establishment and maintenance of these facilities.
RA 9344
Section 1. Short Title and Scope. - This Act shall be known as the "Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006." It shall cover the
different stages involving children at risk and children in conflict with the law from prevention to rehabilitation and reintegration.
SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. - The following terms as used in this Act shall be defined as follows:
(a) "Bail" refers to the security given for the release of the person in custody of the law, furnished by him/her or a
bondsman, to guarantee his/her appearance before any court. Bail may be given in the form of corporate security, property
bond, cash deposit, or recognizance.
(b) "Best Interest of the Child" refers to the totality of the circumstances and conditions which are most congenial to the
survival, protection and feelings of security of the child and most encouraging to the child's physical, psychological and
emotional development. It also means the least detrimental available alternative for safeguarding the growth and
development of the child.
(e) "Child" refers to a person under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(d) "Child at Risk" refers to a child who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing criminal offenses because of
personal, family and social circumstances, such as, but not limited to, the following:
(1) being abused by any person through sexual, physical, psychological, mental, economic or any other means
and the parents or guardian refuse, are unwilling, or unable to provide protection for the child;
(2) being exploited including sexually or economically;
(3) being abandoned or neglected, and after diligent search and inquiry, the parent or guardian cannot be found;
(4) coming from a dysfunctional or broken family or without a parent or guardian;
(5) being out of school;
(6) being a streetchild;
(7) being a member of a gang;
(8) living in a community with a high level of criminality or drug abuse; and
(9) living in situations of armed conflict.
(e) "Child in Conflict with the Law" refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an
offense under Philippine laws.
(f) "Community-based Programs" refers to the programs provided in a community setting developed for purposes of
intervention and diversion, as well as rehabilitation of the child in conflict with the law, for reintegration into his/her
family and/or community.
(g) "Court" refers to a family court or, in places where there are no family courts, any regional trial court.
(h) "Deprivation of Liberty" refers to any form of detention or imprisonment, or to the placement of a child in conflict
with the law in a public or private custodial setting, from which the child in conflict with the law is not permitted to leave
at will by order of any judicial or administrative authority.
(i) "Diversion" refers to an alternative, child-appropriate process of determining the responsibility and treatment of a child
in conflict with the law on the basis of his/her social, cultural, economic, psychological or educational background
without resorting to formal court proceedings.
(j) "Diversion Program" refers to the program that the child in conflict with the law is required to undergo after he/she is
found responsible for an offense without resorting to formal court proceedings.
(k) "Initial Contact With-the Child" refers to the apprehension or taking into custody of a child in conflict with the law by
law enforcement officers or private citizens. It includes the time when the child alleged to be in conflict with the law
receives a subpoena under Section 3(b) of Rule 112 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure or summons under
Section 6(a) or Section 9(b) of the same Rule in cases that do not require preliminary investigation or where there is no
necessity to place the child alleged to be in conflict with the law under immediate custody.
(I) "Intervention" refers to a series of activities which are designed to address issues that caused the child to commit an
offense. It may take the form of an individualized treatment program which may include counseling, skills training,
education, and other activities that will enhance his/her psychological, emotional and psycho-social well-being.
(m) "Juvenile Justice and Welfare System" refers to a system dealing with children at risk and children in conflict with the
law, which provides child-appropriate proceedings, including programs and services for prevention, diversion,
rehabilitation, re-integration and aftercare to ensure their normal growth and development.
(n) "Law Enforcement Officer" refers to the person in authority or his/her agent as defined in Article 152 of the Revised
Penal Code, including a barangay tanod.
(0) "Offense" refers to any act or omission whether punishable under special laws or the Revised Penal Code, as amended.
(p) "Recognizance" refers to an undertaking in lieu of a bond assumed by a parent or custodian who shall be responsible
for the appearance in court of the child in conflict with the law, when required.
(q) "Restorative Justice" refers to a principle which requires a process of resolving conflicts with the maximum
involvement of the victim, the offender and the community. It seeks to obtain reparation for the victim; reconciliation of
the offender, the offended and the community; and reassurance to the offender that he/she can be reintegrated into society.
It also enhances public safety by activating the offender, the victim and the community in prevention strategies.
(r) "Status Offenses" refers to offenses which discriminate only against a child, while an adult does not suffer any penalty
for committing similar acts. These shall include curfew violations; truancy, parental disobedience and the like.
(s) "Youth Detention Home" refers to a 24-hour child-caring institution managed by accredited local government units
(LGUs) and licensed and/or accredited nongovernment organizations (NGOs) providing short-term residential care for
children in conflict with the law who are awaiting court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies or
jurisdiction.
(t) "Youth Rehabilitation Center" refers to a 24-hour residential care facility managed by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD), LGUs, licensed and/or accredited NGOs monitored by the DSWD, which provides
care, treatment and rehabilitation services for children in conflict with the law. Rehabilitation services are provided under
the guidance of a trained staff where residents are cared for under a structured therapeutic environment with the end view
of reintegrating them into their families and communities as socially functioning individuals. Physical mobility of
residents of said centers may be restricted pending court disposition of the charges against them.
(u) "Victimless Crimes" refers to offenses where there is no private offended party.
SEC. 5. Rights of the Child in Conflict with the Law. - Every child in conflict with the law shall have the following rights,
including but not limited to:
(a) the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
(b) the right not to be imposed a sentence of capital punishment or life imprisonment, without the possibility of release;
(c) the right not to be deprived, unlawfully or arbitrarily, of his/her liberty; detention or imprisonment being a disposition
of last resort, and which shall be for the shortest appropriate period of time;
(d) the right to be treated with humanity and respect, for the inherent dignity of the person, and in a manner which takes
into account the needs of a person of his/her age. In particular, a child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adult
offenders at all times. No child shall be detained together with adult offenders. He/She shall be conveyed separately to or
from court. He/She shall await hearing of his/her own case in a separate holding area. A child in conflict with the law
shall have the right to maintain contact with his/her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional
circumstances;
(e) the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the
deprivation of his/her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt
decision on such action;
(f) the right to bail and recognizance, in appropriate cases;
(g) the right to testify as a witness in hid/her own behalf under the rule on examination of a child witness;
(h) the right to have his/her privacy respected fully at all stages of the proceedings;
(i) the right to diversion if he/she is qualified and voluntarily avails of the same;
(j) the right to be imposed a judgment in proportion to the gravity of the offense where his/her best interest, the rights of
the victim and the needs of society are all taken into consideration by the court, under the principle of restorative justice;
(k) the right to have restrictions on his/her personal liberty limited to the minimum, and where discretion is given by law
to the judge to determine whether to impose fine or imprisonment, the imposition of fine being preferred as the more
appropriate penalty;
(I) in general, the right to automatic suspension of sentence;
(m) the right to probation as an alternative to imprisonment, if qualified under the Probation Law;
(n) the right to be free from liability for perjury, concealment or misrepresentation; and
(o) other rights as provided for under existing laws, rules and regulations.
SEC. 6. Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility. - A child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the time of the commission of the
offense shall be exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to an intervention program pursuant to
Section 20 of this Act.
A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age shall likewise be exempt from criminal liability and be
subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment, in which case, such child shall be subjected to the
appropriate proceedings in accordance with this Act.
The exemption from criminal liability herein established does not include exemption from civil liability, which shall be enforced in
accordance with existing laws.
SEC. 8. Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC). - A Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) is hereby created and
attached to the Department of Justice and placed under its administrative supervision. The JJWC shall be chaired by an
undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It shall ensure the effective implementation of this Act and
coordination among the following agencies:
(a) Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC);
(b) Department of Education (DepEd);
(c) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG);
(d) Public Attorney's Office (PAO);
(e) Bureau of Corrections (BUCOR);
(f) Parole and Probation Administration (PPA)
(g) National Bureau of Investigation (NBI);
(h) Philippine National Police (PNP);.
(i) Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP);
(i) Commission on Human Rights (CHR);
(k) Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA);
(l) National Youth Commission (NYC); and
(m) Other institutions focused on juvenile justice and intervention programs.
The JJWC shall be composed of representatives, whose ranks shall not be lower than director, to be designated by the concerned
heads of the following departments or agencies:
(a) Department of Justice (DOJ);
(b) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);
(c) Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC)
(d) Department of Education (DepEd);
(e) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
(f) Commission on Human Rights (CHR);
(g) National Youth Commission (NYC); and
(h) Two (2) representatives from NGOs, one to be designated by the Secretary of Justice and the other to be designated by
the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development.
SEC. 9. Duties and Functions of the JJWC. - The JJWC shall have the following duties and functions:
(a) To oversee the implementation of this Act;
(b) To advise the President on all matters and policies relating to juvenile justice and welfare;
(c) To assist the concerned agencies in the review and redrafting of existing policies/regulations or in the formulation of
new ones in line with the provisions of this Act;
(d) To periodically develop a comprehensive 3 to 5-year national juvenile intervention program, with the participation of
government agencies concerned, NGOs and youth organizations;
(e) To coordinate the implementation of the juvenile intervention programs and activities by national government
agencies and other activities which may have an important bearing on the success of the entire national juvenile
intervention program. All programs relating to juvenile justice and welfare shall be adopted in consultation with the
JJWC;
(f) To formulate and recommend policies and strategies in consultation with children for the prevention of juvenile
delinquency and the administration of justice, as well as for the treatment and rehabilitation of the children in conflict
with the law;
(g) To collect relevant information and conduct continuing research and support evaluations and studies on all matters
relating to juvenile justice and welfare, such as but not limited to:
(1) the performance and results achieved by juvenile intervention programs and by activities of the local
government units and other government agencies;
(2) the periodic trends, problems and causes of juvenile delinquency and crimes; and
(3) the particular needs of children in conflict with the law in custody.
The data gathered shall be used by the JJWC in the improvement of the administration of juvenile justice and welfare
system.
The JJWC shall set up a mechanism to ensure that children are involved in research and policy development.
(h) Through duly designated persons and with the assistance of the agencies provided in the preceding section, to conduct
regular inspections in detention and rehabilitation facilities and to undertake spot inspections on their own initiative in
order to check compliance with the standards provided herein and to make the necessary recommendations to appropriate
agencies;
(i) To initiate and coordinate the conduct of trainings for the personnel of the agencies involved in the administration of
the juvenile justice and welfare system and the juvenile intervention program;
(j) To submit an annual report to the President on the implementation of this Act; and
(k) To perform such other functions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 18. Development of a Comprehensive Juvenile Intervention Program. - A Comprehensive juvenile intervention program
covering at least a 3-year period shall be instituted in LGUs from the barangay to the provincial level.
The LGUs shall set aside an amount necessary to implement their respective juvenile intervention programs in their annual budget.
The LGUs, in coordination with the LCPC, shall call on all sectors concerned, particularly the child-focused institutions, NGOs,
people's organizations, educational institutions and government agencies involved in delinquency prevention to participate in the
planning process and implementation of juvenile intervention programs. Such programs shall be implemented consistent with the
national program formulated and designed by the JJWC. The implementation of the comprehensive juvenile intervention program
shall be reviewed and assessed annually by the LGUs in coordination with the LCPC. Results of the assessment shall be submitted
by the provincial and city governments to the JJWC not later than March 30 of every year.
SEC. 19. Community-based Programs on Juvenile Justice and Welfare. - Community-based programs on juvenile justice and
welfare shall be instituted by the LGUs through the LCPC, school, youth organizations and other concerned agencies. The LGUs
shall provide community-based services which respond to the special needs, problems, interests and concerns of children and which
offer appropriate counseling and guidance to them and their families. These programs shall consist of three levels:
(a) Primary intervention includes general measures to promote social justice and equal opportunity, which tackle
perceived root causes of offending;
(b) Secondary intervention includes measures to assist children at risk; and
(c) Tertiary intervention includes measures to avoid unnecessary contact with the formal justice system and other
measures to prevent re-offending.
SEC. 20. Children Below the Age of Criminal Responsibility. - If it has been determined that the child taken into custody is fifteen
(15) years old or below, the authority which will have an initial contact with the child has the duty to immediately release the child
to the custody of his/her parents or guardian, or in the absence thereof, the child's nearest relative. Said authority shall give notice to
the local social welfare and development officer who will determine the appropriate programs in consultation with the child and to
the person having custody over the child. If the parents, guardians or nearest relatives cannot be located, or if they refuse to take
custody, the child may be released to any of the following: a duly registered nongovernmental or religious organization; a barangay
official or a member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC); a local social welfare and development
officer; or when and where appropriate, the DSWD. If the child referred to herein has been found by the Local Social Welfare and
Development Office to be abandoned, neglected or abused by his parents, or in the event that the parents will not comply with the
prevention program, the proper petition for involuntary commitment shall be filed by the DSWD or the Local Social Welfare and
Development Office pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise ,known as "The Child and Youth Welfare Code".
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM (Title V)
SEC. 21. Procedure for Taking the Child into Custody. - From the moment a child is taken into custody, the law enforcement
officer shall:
(a) Explain to the child in simple language and in a dialect that he/she can understand why he/she is being placed under
custody and the offense that he/she allegedly committed;
(b) Inform the child of the reason for such custody and advise the child of his/her constitutional rights in a language or
dialect understood by him/her;
(e) Properly identify himself/herself and present proper identification to the child;
(d) Refrain from using vulgar or profane words and from sexually harassing or abusing, or making sexual advances on the
child in conflict with the law;
(e) Avoid displaying or using any firearm, weapon, handcuffs or other instruments of force or restraint, unless absolutely
necessary and only after all other methods of control have been exhausted and have failed;
(f) Refrain from subjecting the child in conflict with the law to greater restraint than is necessary for his/her apprehension;
(g) Avoid violence or unnecessary force;
(h) Determine the age of the child pursuant to Section 7 of this Act;
(i) Immediately but not later than eight (8) hours after apprehension, turn over custody of the child to the Social Welfare
and Development Office or other accredited NGOs, and notify the child's apprehension. The social welfare and
development officer shall explain to the child and the child's parents/guardians the consequences of the child's act
with a view towards counseling and rehabilitation, diversion from the criminal justice system, and reparation, if
appropriate;
(j) Take the child immediately to the proper medical and health officer for a thorough physical and mental examination.
The examination results shall be kept confidential unless otherwise ordered by the Family Court. Whenever the
medical treatment is required, steps shall be immediately undertaken to provide the same;
(k) Ensure that should detention of the child in conflict with the law be necessary, the child shall be secured in quarters
separate from that of the opposite sex and adult offenders;
(l) Record the following in the initial investigation:
1. Whether handcuffs or other instruments of restraint were used, and if so, the reason for such;
2. That the parents or guardian of a child, the DSWD, and the PA0 have been informed of the apprehension and
the details thereof; and
3. The exhaustion of measures to determine the age of a child and the precise details of the physical and medical
examination or the failure to submit a child to such examination; and
(m) Ensure that all statements signed by the child during investigation shall be witnessed by the child's parents or
guardian, social worker, or legal counsel in attendance who shall affix his/her signature to the said statement.
A child in conflict with the law shall only be searched by a law enforcement officer of the same gender and shall not be locked up in
a detention cell.
SEC. 22. Duties During Initial Investigation. - The law enforcement officer shall, in his/her investigation, determine where the
case involving the child in conflict with the law should be referred.
The taking of the statement of the child shall be conducted in the presence of the following: (1) child's counsel of choice or in the
absence thereof, a lawyer from the Public Attorney's Office; (2) the child's parents, guardian, or nearest relative, as the case may be;
and (3) the local social welfare and development officer. In the absence of the child's parents, guardian, or nearest relative, and the
local social welfare and development officer, the investigation shall be conducted in the presence of a representative of an NGO,
religious group, or member of the BCPC.
After the initial investigation, the local social worker conducting the same may do either of the following:
(a) Proceed in accordance with Section 20 if the child is fifteen (15) years or below or above fifteen (15) but below
eighteen (18) years old, who acted without discernment; and
(b) If the child is above fifteen (15) years old but below eighteen (18) and who acted with discernment, proceed to
diversion under the following chapter.
SEC. 23. System of Diversion. - Children in conflict with the law shall undergo diversion programs without undergoing court
proceedings subject to the conditions herein provided:
(a) Where the imposable penalty for the crime committee is not more than six (6) years imprisonment, the law
enforcement officer or Punong Barangay with the assistance of the local social welfare and development officer or other
members of the LCPC shall conduct mediation, family conferencing and conciliation and, where appropriate, adopt
indigenous modes of conflict resolution in accordance with the best interest of the child with a view to accomplishing the
objectives of restorative justice and the formulation of a diversion program. The child and his/her family shall be present
in these activities.
(b) In victimless crimes where the imposable penalty is not more than six (6) years imprisonment, the local social welfare
and development officer shall meet with the child and his/her parents or guardians for the development of the appropriate
diversion and rehabilitation program, in coordination with the BCPC;
(c) Where the imposable penalty for the crime committed exceeds six (6) years imprisonment, diversion measures may be
resorted to only by the court.
SEC. 24. Stages Where Diversion May be Conducted. - Diversion may be conducted at the Katarungang Pambarangay, the police
investigation or the inquest or preliminary investigation stage and at all 1evels and phases of the proceedings including judicial
level.
SEC. 25. Conferencing, Mediation and Conciliation. - A child in conflict with law may undergo conferencing, mediation or
conciliation outside the criminal justice system or prior to his entry into said system. A contract of diversion may be entered into
during such conferencing, mediation or conciliation proceedings.
SEC. 26. Contract of Diversion. - If during the conferencing, mediation or conciliation, the child voluntarily admits the
commission of the act, a diversion program shall be developed when appropriate and desirable as determined under Section 30.
Such admission shall not be used against the child in any subsequent judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative proceedings. The
diversion program shall be effective and binding if accepted by the parties concerned. The acceptance shall be in writing and signed
by the parties concerned and the appropriate authorities. The local social welfare and development officer shall supervise the
implementation of the diversion program. The diversion proceedings shall be completed within forty-five (45) days. The period of
prescription of the offense shall be suspended until the completion of the diversion proceedings but not to exceed forty-five (45)
days.
The child shall present himself/herself to the competent authorities that imposed the diversion program at least once a month for
reporting and evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.
Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract of diversion, as certified by the local social welfare and
development officer, shall give the offended party the option to institute the appropriate legal action.
The period of prescription of the offense shall be suspended during the effectivity of the diversion program, but not exceeding a
period of two (2) years.
SEC. 27. Duty of the Punong Barangay When There is No Diversion. - If the offense does not fall under Section 23(a) and (b), or
if the child, his/her parents or guardian does not consent to a diversion, the Punong Barangay handling the case shall, within three
(3) days from determination of the absence of jurisdiction over the case or termination of the diversion proceedings, as the case may
be, forward the records of the case of the child to the law enforcement officer, prosecutor or the appropriate court, as the case may
be. Upon the issuance of the corresponding document, certifying to the fact that no agreement has been reached by the parties, the
case shall be filed according to the regular process.
SEC. 28. Duty of the Law Enforcement Officer When There is No Diversion. - If the offense does not fall under Section 23(a) and
(b), or if the child, his/her parents or guardian does not consent to a diversion, the Women and Children Protection Desk of the
PNP, or other law enforcement officer handling the case of the child under custody, to the prosecutor or judge concerned for the
conduct of inquest and/or preliminary investigation to determine whether or not the child should remain under custody and
correspondingly charged in court. The document transmitting said records shall display the word "CHILD" in bold letters.
SEC. 29. Factors in Determining Diversion Program. - In determining whether diversion is appropriate and desirable, the
following factors shall be taken into consideration:
(a) The nature and circumstances of the offense charged;
(b) The frequency and the severity of the act;
(c) The circumstances of the child (e.g. age, maturity, intelligence, etc.);
(d) The influence of the family and environment on the growth of the child;
(e) The reparation of injury to the victim;
(f) The weight of the evidence against the child;
(g) The safety of the community; and
(h) The best interest of the child.
SEC. 30. Formulation of the Diversion Program. - In formulating a diversion program, the individual characteristics and the
peculiar circumstances of the child in conflict with the law shall be used to formulate an individualized treatment.
The following factors shall be considered in formulating a diversion program for the child:
(a) The child's feelings of remorse for the offense he/she committed;
(b) The parents' or legal guardians' ability to guide and supervise the child;
(c) The victim's view about the propriety of the measures to be imposed; and
(d) The availability of community-based programs for rehabilitation and reintegration of the child.
SEC. 31. Kinds of Diversion Programs. - The diversion program shall include adequate socio-cultural and psychological responses
and services for the child. At the different stages where diversion may be resorted to, the following diversion programs may be
agreed upon, such as, but not limited to:
(a) At the level of the Punong Barangay:
(1) Restitution of property;
(2) Reparation of the damage caused;
(3) Indemnification for consequential damages;
(4) Written or oral apology;
(5) Care, guidance and supervision orders;
(6) Counseling for the child in conflict with the law and the child's family;
(7)Attendance in trainings, seminars and lectures on:
(i) anger management skills;
(ii) problem solving and/or conflict resolution skills;
(iii) values formation; and
(iv) other skills which will aid the child in dealing with situations which can lead to repetition of the
offense;
(8) Participation in available community-based programs, including community service; or
(9) Participation in education, vocation and life skills programs.
(b) At the level of the law enforcement officer and the prosecutor:
(1) Diversion programs specified under paragraphs (a)(1) to (a)(9) herein; and
(2) Confiscation and forfeiture of the proceeds or instruments of the crime;
(c) At the level of the appropriate court:
(1) Diversion programs specified under paragraphs(a)and (b) above;
(2) Written or oral reprimand or citation;
(3) Fine:
(4) Payment of the cost of the proceedings; or
(5) Institutional care and custody.
SEC. 32. Duty of the Prosecutor's Office. - There shall be a specially trained prosecutor to conduct inquest, preliminary
investigation and prosecution of cases involving a child in conflict with the law. If there is an allegation of torture or ill-treatment of
a child in conflict with the law during arrest or detention, it shall be the duty of the prosecutor to investigate the same.
SEC. 33. Preliminary Investigation and Filing of Information. - The prosecutor shall conduct a preliminary investigation in the
following instances: (a) when the child in conflict with the law does not qualify for diversion: (b) when the child, his/her parents or
guardian does not agree to diversion as specified in Sections 27 and 28; and (c) when considering the assessment and
recommendation of the social worker, the prosecutor determines that diversion is not appropriate for the child in conflict with the
law.
Upon serving the subpoena and the affidavit of complaint, the prosecutor shall notify the Public Attorney's Office of such service,
as well as the personal information, and place of detention of the child in conflict with the law.
Upon determination of probable cause by the prosecutor, the information against the child shall be filed before the Family Court
within forty-five (45) days from the start of the preliminary investigation.
SEC. 34. Bail. - For purposes of recommending the amount of bail, the privileged mitigating circumstance of minority shall be
considered.
SEC. 35. Release on Recognizance. - Where a child is detained, the court shall order:
(a) the release of the minor on recognizance to his/her parents and other suitable person;
(b) the release of the child in conflict with the law on bail; or
(c) the transfer of the minor to a youth detention home/youth rehabilitation center.
The court shall not order the detention of a child in a jail pending trial or hearing of his/her case.
SEC. 36. Detention of the Child Pending Trial. - Children detained pending trial may be released on bail or recognizance as
provided for under Sections 34 and 35 under this Act. In all other cases and whenever possible, detention pending trial may be
replaced by alternative measures, such as close supervision, intensive care or placement with a family or in an educational setting or
home. Institutionalization or detention of the child pending trial shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest
possible period of time.
Whenever detention is necessary, a child will always be detained in youth detention homes established by local governments,
pursuant to Section 8 of the Family Courts Act, in the city or municipality where the child resides.
In the absence of a youth detention home, the child in conflict with the law may be committed to the care of the DSWD or a local
rehabilitation center recognized by the government in the province, city or municipality within the jurisdiction of the court. The
center or agency concerned shall be responsible for the child's appearance in court whenever required.
SEC. 37. Diversion Measures. - Where the maximum penalty imposed by law for the offense with which the child in conflict with
the law is charged is imprisonment of not more than twelve (12) years, regardless of the fine or fine alone regardless of the amount,
and before arraignment of the child in conflict with the law, the court shall determine whether or not diversion is appropriate.
SEC. 38. Automatic Suspension of Sentence. - Once the child who is under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the
commission of the offense is found guilty of the offense charged, the court shall determine and ascertain any civil liability which
may have resulted from the offense committed. However, instead of pronouncing the judgment of conviction, the court shall place
the child in conflict with the law under suspended sentence, without need of application: Provided, however, That suspension of
sentence shall still be applied even if the juvenile is already eighteen years (18) of age or more at the time of the pronouncement of
his/her guilt.
Upon suspension of sentence and after considering the various circumstances of the child, the court shall impose the appropriate
disposition measures as provided in the Supreme Court Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law.
SEC. 39. Discharge of the Child in Conflict with the Law. - Upon the recommendation of the social worker who has custody of the
child, the court shall dismiss the case against the child whose sentence has been suspended and against whom disposition measures
have been issued, and shall order the final discharge of the child if it finds that the objective of the disposition measures have been
fulfilled.
The discharge of the child in conflict with the law shall not affect the civil liability resulting from the commission of the offense,
which shall be enforced in accordance with law.
SEC. 40. Return of the Child in Conflict with the Law to Court. - If the court finds that the objective of the disposition measures
imposed upon the child in conflict with the law have not been fulfilled, or if the child in conflict with the law has willfully failed to
comply with the conditions of his/her disposition or rehabilitation program, the child in conflict with the law shall be brought before
the court for execution of judgment.
If said child in conflict with the law has reached eighteen (18) years of age while under suspended sentence, the court shall
determine whether to discharge the child in accordance with this Act, to order execution of sentence, or to extend the suspended
sentence for a certain specified period or until the child reaches the maximum age of twenty-one (21) years.
SEC. 41. Credit in Service of Sentence. - The child in conflict with the law shall be credited in the services of his/her sentence with
the full time spent in actual commitment and detention under this Act.
SEC. 42. Probation as an Alternative to Imprisonment. - The court may, after it shall have convicted and sentenced a child in
conflict with the law, and upon application at any time, place the child on probation in lieu of service of his/her sentence taking into
account the best interest of the child. For this purpose, Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 968, otherwise known as the "Probation
Law of 1976", is hereby amended accordingly.
SEC. 43. Confidentiality of Records and Proceedings. - All records and proceedings involving children in conflict with the law
from initial contact until final disposition of the case shall be considered privileged and confidential. The public shall be excluded
during the proceedings and the records shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone by any of the parties or the participants
in the proceedings for any purpose whatsoever, except to determine if the child in conflict with the law may have his/her sentence
suspended or if he/she may be granted probation under the Probation Law, or to enforce the civil liability imposed in the criminal
action.
The component authorities shall undertake all measures to protect this confidentiality of proceedings, including non-disclosure of
records to the media, maintaining a separate police blotter for cases involving children in conflict with the law and adopting a
system of coding to conceal material information which will lead to the child's identity. Records of a child in conflict with the law
shall not be used in subsequent proceedings for cases involving the same offender as an adult, except when beneficial for the
offender and upon his/her written consent.
A person who has been in conflict with the law as a child shall not be held under any provision of law, to be guilty of perjury or of
concealment or misrepresentation by reason of his/her failure to acknowledge the case or recite any fact related thereto in response
to any inquiry made to him/her for any purpose.
SEC. 44. Objective of Rehabilitation and Reintegration. - The objective of rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict
with the law is to provide them with interventions, approaches and strategies that will enable them to improve their social
functioning with the end goal of reintegration to their families and as productive members of their communities.
SEC. 45. Court Order Required. - No child shall be received in any rehabilitation or training facility without a valid order issued
by the court after a hearing for the purpose. The details of this order shall be immediately entered in a register exclusively for
children in conflict with the law. No child shall be admitted in any facility where there is no such register.
SEC. 46, Separate Facilities from Adults. - In all rehabilitation or training facilities, it shall be mandatory that children shall be
separated from adults unless they are members of the same family. Under no other circumstance shall a child in conflict with the
law be placed in the same confinement as adults.
The rehabilitation, training or confinement area of children in conflict with the law shall provide a home environment where
children in conflict with the law can be provided with quality counseling and treatment.
SEC. 47. Female Children. - Female children in conflict with the law placed in an institution shall be given special attention as to
their personal needs and problems. They shall be handled by female doctors, correction officers and social workers, and shall be
accommodated separately from male children in conflict with the law.
SEC. 48. Gender-Sensitivity Training. - No personnel of rehabilitation and training facilities shall handle children in conflict with
the law without having undergone gender sensitivity training.
SEC. 49. Establishment of Youth Detention Homes. - The LGUs shall set aside an amount to build youth detention homes as
mandated by the Family Courts Act. Youth detention homes may also be established by private and NGOs licensed and accredited
by the DSWD, in consultation with the JJWC.
SEC. 50. Care and Maintenance of the Child in Conflict with the Law. - The expenses for the care and maintenance of a child in
conflict with the law under institutional care shall be borne by his/her parents or those persons liable to support him/her: Provided,
That in case his/her parents or those persons liable to support him/her cannot pay all or part of said expenses, the municipality
where the offense was committed shall pay one-third (1/3) of said expenses or part thereof; the province to which the municipality
belongs shall pay one-third (1/3) and the remaining one-third (1/3) shall be borne by the national government. Chartered cities shall
pay two-thirds (2/3) of said expenses; and in case a chartered city cannot pay said expenses, part of the internal revenue allotments
applicable to the unpaid portion shall be withheld and applied to the settlement of said obligations: Provided, further, That in the
event that the child in conflict with the law is not a resident of the municipality/city where the offense was committed, the court,
upon its determination, may require the city/municipality where the child in conflict with the law resides to shoulder the cost.
All city and provincial governments must exert effort for the immediate establishment of local detention homes for children in
conflict with the law.
SEC. 51. Confinement of Convicted Children in Agricultural Camps and other Training Facilities. - A child in conflict with the
law may, after conviction and upon order of the court, be made to serve his/her sentence, in lieu of confinement in a regular penal
institution, in an agricultural camp and other training facilities that may be established, maintained, supervised and controlled by the
BUCOR, in coordination with the DSWD.
SEC. 52. Rehabilitation of Children in Conflict with the Law. - Children in conflict with the law, whose sentences are suspended
may, upon order of the court, undergo any or a combination of disposition measures best suited to the rehabilitation and welfare of
the child as provided in the Supreme Court Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law.
If the community-based rehabilitation is availed of by a child in conflict with the law, he/she shall be released to parents, guardians,
relatives or any other responsible person in the community. Under the supervision and guidance of the local social welfare and
development officer, and in coordination with his/her parents/guardian, the child in conflict with the law shall participate in
community-based programs, which shall include, but not limited to:
(1) Competency and life skills development;
(2) Socio-cultural and recreational activities;
(3) Community volunteer projects;
(4) Leadership training;
(5) Social services;
(6) Homelife services;
(7) Health services; .
(8) Spiritual enrichment; and
(9) Community and family welfare services.
In accordance therewith, the family of the child in conflict with the law shall endeavor to actively participate in the community-
based rehabilitation.
Based on the progress of the youth in the community, a final report will be forwarded by the local social welfare and development
officer to the court for final disposition of the case.
If the community-based programs are provided as diversion measures under Chapter II, Title V, the programs enumerated above
shall be made available to the child in conflict with the law.
SEC. 53. Youth Rehabilitation Center. - The youth rehabilitation center shall provide 24-hour group care, treatment and
rehabilitation services under the guidance of a trained staff where residents are cared for under a structured therapeutic environment
with the end view of reintegrating them in their families and communities as socially functioning individuals. A quarterly report
shall be submitted by the center to the proper court on the progress of the children in conflict with the law. Based on the progress of
the youth in the center, a final report will be forwarded to the court for final disposition of the case. The DSWD shall establish
youth rehabilitation centers in each region of the country.
SEC. 54. Objectives of Community Based Programs. - The objectives of community-based programs are as follows:
(a) Prevent disruption in the education or means of livelihood of the child in conflict with the law in case he/she is
studying, working or attending vocational learning institutions;
(b) Prevent separation of the child in conflict with the law from his/her parents/guardians to maintain the support system
fostered by their relationship and to create greater awareness of their mutual and reciprocal responsibilities;
(c) Facilitate the rehabilitation and mainstreaming of the child in conflict with the law and encourage community support
and involvement; and
(d) Minimize the stigma that attaches to the child in conflict with the law by preventing jail detention.
SEC. 56. After-Care Support Services for Children in Conflict with the Law. - Children in conflict with the law whose cases have
been dismissed by the proper court because of good behavior as per recommendation of the DSWD social worker and/or any
accredited NGO youth rehabilitation center shall be provided after-care services by the local social welfare and development officer
for a period of at least six (6) months. The service includes counseling and other community-based services designed to facilitate
social reintegration, prevent re-offending and make the children productive members of the community.
SEC. 57. Status Offenees. - Any conduct not considered an offense or not penalized if committed by an adult shall not be
considered an offense and shall not be punished if committed by a child.
SEC. 58. Offenses Not Applicable to Children. - Persons below eighteen (18) years of age shall be exempt from prosecution for the
crime of vagrancy and prostitution under Section 202 of the Revised Penal Code, of mendicancy under Presidential Decree No.
1563, and sniffing of rugby under Presidential Decree No. 1619, such prosecution being inconsistent with the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child: Provided, That said persons shall undergo appropriate counseling and treatment program.
SEC. 59. Exemption from the Application of Death Penalty. - The provisions of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, Republic
Act No. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and other special laws notwithstanding, no
death penalty shall be imposed upon children in conflict with the law.
RA 7610
Children refers to person below eighteen (18) years of age or those over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect
themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition.
Child abuse refers to an act or omission that could lead to a child suffering from emotional or physical harm. It also refers to the
maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of the child which includes any of the following:
1. Psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment;
Physical Injury refers to the damage of the body whether internal or external, which may range from cuts, bruises,
tears of skin and other serious bodily harm.
Psychological injury refers to an impairment of a child’s psychological or intellectual functioning that may be
manifested by a change in behavior, emotional response or awareness. This may be demonstrated thru severe anxiety,
depression, aggressive or withdrawal behavior.
Cruelty refers to anything done or said that debases, degrades or demeans the in born dignity or worth of a child as a
human being.
Neglect refers to the failure to provide the basic needs of the child.
2. Any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human
being;
3. Unreasonable deprivation of his basic needs for survival, such as food and shelter; or
4. Failure to immediately give medical treatment to an injured child resulting in serious impairment of his growth and
development or in his permanent incapacity or death.
Exploitation refers to acts that engage the child in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct for reward of any nature or due to any
nature of influence by an adult. It includes hiring, employing, persuading, inducing or coercing the child to perform an indecent
shows, pose or model in obscene publications or pornographic materials or to sell or distribute the same.
Lascivious conduct means activities that fell short of sexual intercourse. A means by which a person may obtain sexual
gratification without engaging in sexual intercourse. It may amount to intentional touching of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner
thigh, buttocks with or without clothing, masturbation or exhibition of genitals in public with intention to harass, abuse, degrade and
arouse sexual desire to anyone.
Sexual Abuse refers to anything deliberately done by any adult that results in the child engaging in any form of sexual activity with
any person willingly or otherwise.
Coercion refers to putting a child under duress to consent to engage in the activity.
Molestation means forcing the activity on a child without consent.

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JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 1

INT RO DUCT IO N TO S O CIET Y AND DE L INQ UE NCY

DE FINING DE L INQ UE NCY

Juvenile Delinquency/ Delinquency (based on various viewpoints)

Delinquent Personality Types:

NAT URE OF DE L INQ UE NCY

T HE O RIE S OF CRIME AND DEL INQ UE NCY

Theory – a tentative concept that explains certain phenomenon.

Routine Activities Theory

Rational Choice (Situational) Theory

Cesare Lombroso 1835

Enrico Ferri 1856 – 1929

Raffaele Garofalo 1852 – 1934

Sociobiological Theory (Biosocial Theory)

XYY Chromosome Theory

Freudian Theory (Psychoanalytical Theory)

Flawed Personality Theory

Neurological Abnormalities (Theory)

Differential Association Theory

Social Learning Theory

Feeblemindedness Theory (Mental Deficiency Theory)

Social Strain Theory

Differential Opportunity Theory

General Strain Theory

Social Bond Theory (Social Control Theory)

Radical and Conflict Theory

TREATMENT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

JUVENILE JUSTICE PROCESS

English Common Law - adhered the same standards.

LAWS AND ISSUANCES FOR CHILDREN

DATE LAWS AND ISSUANCES

December 10, 1974 PD 603

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 603 (Salient Feature)

Notes from The Family Code of the Philippines

Amended by Republic Act No. 6809

ARTICLE 41 (Civil Code)

Two kinds of Children

Amended by Art. 212 of The Family Code of the Philippines

Amended by Art. 213 of The Family Code of the Philippines

Comment: from The Family Code of the Philippines

Art. 228. Parental authority terminates permanently:

ARTICLE 39. Effects of Adoption. — The adoption shall:

Special Categories of Children:

8. Youthful Offender (defined as follows)

Notes from PD 1179:

Notes from Revised Penal Code:

(f) the right to bail and recognizance, in appropriate cases;

(I) in general, the right to automatic suspension of sentence;

(a) To oversee the implementation of this Act;

JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM (Title V)

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