As of January 1, 2014 there were changes made to Georgia’s juvenile codes. Article 5 creates a new approach for intervening with children who are currently considered ‘unruly.’ Children in Need of Services (CHINS) include children who have committed an act that would not be against the law but for the fact they are children, such as skipping school, running away from home, and violating curfew. CHINS also include children who are “habitually disobedient” to their parents and place themselves or others in unsafe circumstances through their behavior.
POLK/HARALSON COUNTY
S,K.O,R.E.
VISION STATEMENT
VISION STATEMENT
The SKORE Team
will be a voluntary or court ordered option for children coming to the attention
of the Polk/Haralson Counties Juvenile Court following a CHINS complaint, through a LIPT
[Local Interagency Planning Team] referral, or in a delinquency or other
proceeding which has dependency issues. The Team will be utilized to help focus
on the positive aspects of a child and family and to strengthen the family with
assistance from the community. The Court will inform the child and family of
this diversion option through the CHINS Attorney/Guardian ad Litem who will
refer them to the CHINS/SKORE Coordinator for the process to be initiated.
CORE
VALUES
1. The name “SKORE” is an
acronym which expresses the core value and goal of this project: Supporting Kids
on the Road to Excellence.
2. SKORE, and its
constituent team members, exists to support the family, not supplant the
family. Further, the SKORE team is in place to prevent Court involvement when
possible.
3. Except where there is
a proven safety risk to a child, a family member, or the public, families are
best served by supporting their efforts to solve their own
problems.
4. Disruption of the
family unit caused by the removal of a child should be a last resort. It should
occur, ideally, only after all community-based resources that can be offered and
still maintain safety, have been offered.
5. When separation of a
child from family is necessary, the separation should be for the shortest time
possible and the child should, where possible, be placed with an extended family
member, fictive kin, or another person having an ongoing commitment to the
child.
6. Every decision
affecting a child or a family should be made with an understanding of the trauma
the child or family may have suffered in the past, and/or the trauma that the
child or the family may suffer as a result of the decisions made.
SPECIFIC
GOALS
- Keep kids out of Court.
- Keep kids out of foster care.
- Keep kids out of detention.
- Keep kids in the community.
- Keep kids in school.
