Shannon Hathaway – Juvenile Court Director / YSO

Juvenile Court Mission Statement

• Provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental, and physical development of children coming within its provisions;
• Consistent with the protection of the public interest, to remove from children committing delinquent acts the taint of criminality and the consequences of criminal behavior and to substitute, therefore, a program of treatment, training, and rehabilitation;
• Achieve the foregoing purposes in a family environment whenever possible, separating the child from his or her parents only when necessary for the child’s welfare or in the interest of public safety;
• Provide a simple judicial procedure through which these functions are executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their constitutional and other legal rights are recognized and enforced. (from TCA 37-1-101)