# Title 27 — Judicial Branch of Government

## Chapter 27-21 — Division of Juvenile Services

### § 27-21-00.1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:
1. "Placement hearing" means a review of the placement of a child by a team of at least
three individuals, selected by the division director, who have not had a direct
involvement with the child. The child, or the child's representative, must be given the
opportunity to inform the reviewing team of the child's interest and concerns. A
summary record of these proceedings must be made.
2. "Temporary placement" means the placement of a child who may be a danger to self
or others in a facility or setting for a short period of time until the most appropriate
placement can be determined for the child. A temporary placement may also be the
prompt removal of a child from a placement into an alternative setting until another
more appropriate setting can be found.
### § 27-21-01. Creation of division of juvenile services - Director.

A division of juvenile services is hereby created and established with the powers and duties
prescribed by this chapter. The division of juvenile services must be created within the
department of corrections and rehabilitation, and its chief administrative officer must be
appointed by the director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation and must be known
as the director of the division of juvenile services. On July 27, 1989, each child committed to the
custody of the state youth authority will, by operation of law, be committed to the custody of the
division of juvenile services subject to the order committing the child.
### § 27-21-02. Division of juvenile services - Powers and duties.

The division of juvenile services is the administrative agency which shall take custody of
delinquent and unruly children committed to its care by the juvenile courts. Upon committing a
child to the custody of the division of juvenile services, the juvenile court, law enforcement
officers, and other public officials shall make available to the division of juvenile services all
pertinent data in their possession with respect to the child. Upon taking custody or if authorized
by the court prior to receiving custody of a child, the division of juvenile services shall process
the child through such diagnostic testing and evaluation programs as may be necessary to
determine the treatment and rehabilitation which is in the best interest of the child and in the
best interest of the state. In doing so, the division of juvenile services may utilize the
psychological, addiction, psychiatric, career and technical education, medical, and other
diagnostic and testing services that are available, examine all the pertinent circumstances, and
review the reasons for the child's commitment. Upon completion of the diagnostic testing and
evaluation of a child committed to its custody, the division shall make disposition under
subsection 1, 2, or 3 and inform the court of its disposition. Upon completion of the diagnostic
testing and evaluation of a child not in its custody, the division shall develop and recommend to
the juvenile court an individualized treatment and rehabilitation plan for the child. This plan must
include recommendations for the disposition of the child as follows:
1. Placement in the care of the child's parent, relative, guardian, or in a foster home or
suitable private institution licensed by the state for the care or treatment and
rehabilitation of children;
2. Placement in the care of the North Dakota youth correctional center; or
3. Placement in the care of a career and technical education, training, or other treatment
and rehabilitation institution for children or young adults within this state or in another
state in the event that adequate facilities for the child's treatment and rehabilitation are
not available within this state and the committing juvenile court concurs in the
placement.
4. If the division of juvenile services receives any money on behalf of a child committed
to its custody and care under this section for child support, payments in excess of
foster care maintenance payments, or money received from the social security

administration, the division may establish an account for the child and use the money
in a manner it determines will serve the best interests of the child, including setting
aside any amounts for the child's future needs or making all or part of the money
available to the person responsible for meeting the child's daily needs to be used for
the child's benefit.
### § 27-21-02.1. Placement procedures.

The division of juvenile services shall retain custody of the child as granted by the authority
of the committing court and the Uniform Juvenile Court Act. The court in an order committing the
child to the division may require court approval before a placement may be made to a more
restrictive setting. All other placements may be made by the division at any time it appears to be
in the child's best interest and in the best interest of the state.
1. A child, child's parent, or guardian who objects to a placement to a more restrictive
setting made by the division may request a placement hearing to review the
placement.
2. In an emergency, or for reasons of safety and security, the division may temporarily
place a child in an appropriate facility. A child, child's parent, or guardian who objects
to the temporary placement may request a placement hearing to review the placement
determined by the division.
3. The division may conduct a permanency hearing, as authorized by section 27-20.4-23,
if an appropriate permanency plan may be carried out without exceeding the division's
authority.
### § 27-21-03. Temporary care.

Repealed by S.L. 2021, ch. 245, § 45.
### § 27-21-04. Creation of state youth authority advisory board - Members - Meetings -

Powers and duties.
Repealed by S.L. 1989, ch. 157, § 12.
### § 27-21-05. Division of juvenile services to report to the committing juvenile court.

Within ten days after the completion of diagnostic testing and evaluation of a child, the
division shall develop and recommend an individualized treatment and rehabilitation plan to the
committing juvenile court unless the recommendation is temporary care pursuant to section
### § 27-21-03. The division shall review each placement and the current status of each child

committed to the division at least every three months to determine whether a change in
placement or program is necessary for the continued accomplishment of the treatment and
rehabilitation plan of the child, and shall report the findings to the committing juvenile court.
### § 27-21-06. Division of juvenile services to contract with facilities in other states for

care.
1. The division of juvenile services may contract and make placements with the
appropriate agencies or departments of other states in order that they may receive
care of committed children for career and technical education, training, or other
treatment and rehabilitation purposes contemplated by this chapter. Before contracting
with any agency or department of another state, the director of the division, or the
director's designee, shall assess the facilities that are offered by such department or
agency, and, after contracting, forward to the committing juvenile court a summary on
the facilities that are furnished by such agency or department and such other
information pertaining thereto as may reasonably be requested.
2. Any contract or placement entered into must provide for:
a. Its duration.
b. Payments to be made to the other state for maintenance and extraordinary
medical and dental expenses of children received, and for participation in or

receipt of rehabilitative or correctional services, facilities, programs, or treatment
not reasonably included as part of normal maintenance.
c. Participation in programs of youth employment, the crediting of payments
received by children on account thereof, and the crediting of proceeds from the
disposal of any products resulting from such programs.
d. Transportation of children to and from the other state.
e. The right of the director, or the director's designee, to have at all reasonable
times access to any institution in which a child in its care may be placed, either
temporarily or otherwise, for the purpose of inspecting the facilities thereof and
visiting the child under commitment to the division of juvenile services.
f. The submission of reports by each institution in accordance with section 27-21-07
concerning the progress of treatment or rehabilitation of each child placed in its
care.
g. Such other matters as may be necessary and appropriate to fix the obligations,
responsibilities, and rights of both states.
Children under the custody of the division of juvenile services who are in the care of an
institution of another state are at all times subject to the jurisdiction of this state, and at any time
may be removed therefrom for change of placement as provided in section 27-21-02. All
children placed in care in another state must be treated in a reasonable and humane manner
and must be treated equally with other children placed in care in the same institution. Placement
of a child in another state does not deprive the child of any legal rights the child would have had
if placed in an institution in this state.
### § 27-21-07. Report by caretaker to division of juvenile services.

Any person, agency, department, or career and technical education, training, or other
treatment and rehabilitation institution, either within or outside of this state, that has received
care of a child under this chapter, other than temporary care, shall:
1. Submit to the director of the division, in such form as the director may reasonably
prescribe, a quarterly report of the progress of the child; and
2. Submit to the director of the division, in such form as the director may reasonably
prescribe, any interim report of the progress of the child that the director deems
necessary in the interest of the child.
Quarterly and interim reports must be made available to the committing juvenile court.
### § 27-21-08. Planning - Development.

The division of juvenile services shall provide treatment and rehabilitation programs and
services and aid in the development of new or improved means of prevention, control,
supervision, and management of children committed to its custody.
### § 27-21-09. Cooperation with other agencies and departments of the state - Right to

inspect facilities of state institutions - Right to examine children.
1. The division of juvenile services may enter contracts with service providers as
necessary to meet the mission of the division.
2. The division of juvenile services shall cooperate with and receive the cooperation of
the department of health and human services, the department of public instruction, the
department of career and technical education, the juvenile courts, and such other
agencies and departments of the state as may be necessary to carry out the
objectives of this chapter.
3. The division of juvenile services may inspect at all reasonable times the facilities of
those institutions within the state it is authorized to utilize under this chapter, and may
examine any child it has placed in the care of such institution, and may contract with
public and private agencies to provide services for them or to retain from them
required services to meet the purpose and objective of this chapter.

### § 27-21-10. Cooperation with federal agencies and departments.

Repealed by S.L. 1989, ch. 157, § 12.
### § 27-21-11. Transfer of students from the North Dakota youth correctional center to

other institutions.
The director of the division of juvenile services may transfer students of the North Dakota
youth correctional center to the state hospital whenever the director is satisfied, upon
investigation and following appropriate standards of due process, that such transfer is
advisable. If any student, so transferred, is maintained at the expense of the county from which
the student was committed, the cost of the student's maintenance in the institution to which the
student is transferred must be charged to such county and must be collected therefrom upon
notice to the county auditor of said county by the director.
### § 27-21-12. Division of juvenile services files and records confidentiality.

1. The files and records of the division of juvenile services relating to a juvenile
committed to the division may not be disclosed directly or indirectly to any person,
organization, or agency, except as provided in this section.
2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law relating to confidentiality, except for the
confidentiality requirements of federal drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation
laws, the division may disclose all or part of a juvenile's files and records, including
juvenile court orders, medical, psychological, education, and treatment and counseling
records, to individuals employed by the following if the knowledge is reasonably
necessary in the best interest of the juvenile and for the protection of others:
a. The district court or juvenile court.
b. A parent or legal guardian of the juvenile, the parent's or legal guardian's counsel,
or the juvenile's counsel, when the juvenile court has committed the juvenile to
the custody of the division of juvenile services, and the records are relevant to a
proceeding under chapter 27-20.4 or to a placement hearing under section
27-21-02.1, or when disclosure is necessary for the juvenile's treatment and
rehabilitation plan. If the juvenile court determines that it is against the best
interests of the juvenile to disclose records to a parent or legal guardian, the
juvenile court may issue an order prohibiting disclosure and describing the
records that may not be disclosed.
c. An employee or agent of any division of the department of corrections and
rehabilitation when necessary to carry out the duties of the department.
d. The department of health and human services or a human service zone.
e. A licensed hospital or medical facility, a public or private treatment facility, or a
residential care or treatment facility, when necessary for the evaluation,
treatment, or care of a juvenile in the custody of the division of juvenile services.
f. A law enforcement agency when the division has reasonable grounds to believe
the juvenile has committed a delinquent act or has threatened to commit a
delinquent act involving serious bodily injury, or when the juvenile is required to
register, or is registered, under section 12.1-32-15.
g. A school district or multidistrict special education program in which the juvenile is
enrolled.
h. The office of the attorney general.
i. The risk management division of the office of management and budget and
investigators, consultants, or experts retained by the state for the purpose of
investigating and defending claims under chapter 32-12.2.
3. A person, agency, or institution receiving information or records under this section may
not redisclose the information or records and shall maintain the confidentiality of the
information or records.
4. The division may disclose nonidentifying information for research and statistical
purposes.
5. The division may disclose the files and records of a juvenile under section 27-20.2-21.

6. The division shall disclose information to the extent necessary to comply with section
12.1-34-02.
7. In all other cases, records and files of the division of juvenile services relating to a
juvenile committed to its custody may only be open to inspection upon written leave of
the juvenile court upon a showing in writing of a legitimate interest, but only to the
extent necessary to respond to the legitimate interest.
8. The records of the division relating to an individual who is or has been in the custody
of the division may be disclosed to any court or probation staff for use in conducting a
presentence investigation in a criminal case in which the individual is a defendant.
9. The records of the division relating to an individual who is or has been in the custody
of the division may be disclosed to the United States social security administration
upon written authorization for disclosure by the individual's parent or legal guardian if
the individual is a child, or if the individual is no longer a child, by the individual.
