Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 41. MINORS

CHAPTER 5. YOUTH COURT ACT

Part 15. Formal Proceeding -- Hearing -- Disposition

Disposition Of Youth In Need Of Intervention Or Youth Who Violate Consent Adjustments

41-5-1512. Disposition of youth in need of intervention or youth who violate consent adjustments. (1) If a youth is found to be a youth in need of intervention or to have violated a consent adjustment, the youth court may enter its judgment making one or more of the following dispositions:

(a) place the youth on probation. The youth court shall retain jurisdiction in a disposition under this subsection.

(b) place the youth in a residence that ensures that the youth is accountable, that provides for rehabilitation, and that protects the public. Before placement, the sentencing judge shall seek and consider placement recommendations from the youth placement committee if a committee has been established as provided for in 41-5-121.

(c) commit the youth to the youth court for the purposes of placement in a private, out-of-home facility subject to the conditions in 41-5-1522. In an order committing a youth to the youth court, the court shall determine whether continuation in the youth's own home would be contrary to the welfare of the youth and whether reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the youth from the youth's home.

(d) order restitution for damages that result from the offense for which the youth is disposed by the youth or by the person who contributed to the delinquency of the youth;

(e) require the performance of community service;

(f) require the youth, the youth's parents or guardians, or the persons having legal custody of the youth to receive counseling services;

(g) require the medical and psychological evaluation of the youth, the youth's parents or guardians, or the persons having legal custody of the youth;

(h) require the parents, guardians, or other persons having legal custody of the youth to furnish services the court may designate;

(i) order further care, treatment, evaluation, or relief that the court considers beneficial to the youth and the community;

(j) subject to the provisions of 41-5-1504, commit the youth to a mental health facility if, based on the testimony of a professional person as defined in 53-21-102, the court finds that the youth is found to be suffering from a mental disorder, as defined in 53-21-102, and meets the criteria in 53-21-126(1);

(k) place the youth under home arrest as provided in Title 46, chapter 18, part 10;

(l) order confiscation of the youth's driver's license, if the youth has one, by the juvenile probation officer for a specified period of time, not to exceed 90 days. The juvenile probation officer shall notify the department of justice of the confiscation and its duration. The department of justice may not enter the confiscation on the youth's driving record. The juvenile probation officer shall notify the department of justice when the confiscated driver's license has been returned to the youth. A youth's driver's license may be confiscated under this subsection more than once. The juvenile probation officer may, in the juvenile probation officer's discretion and with the concurrence of a parent or guardian, return a youth's confiscated driver's license before the termination of the time period for which it had been confiscated. The confiscation may not be used by an insurer as a factor in determining the premium or part of a premium to be paid for motor vehicle insurance covering the youth or a vehicle or vehicles driven by the youth and may not be used as grounds for denying coverage for an accident or other occurrence under an existing policy.

(m) defer imposition of sentence for up to 45 days for a placement evaluation at a suitable program or facility with the following conditions:

(i) The court may not order placement for evaluation at a correctional facility of a youth who has committed an offense that would not be a criminal offense if committed by an adult or a youth who has violated a consent adjustment.

(ii) The placement for evaluation must be on a space-available basis. The court shall pay the cost of the placement for evaluation from its judicial district's allocation provided for in 41-5-130 or 41-5-2012.

(n) order placement of a youth in a youth assessment center for up to 10 days; or

(o) order the youth to participate in mediation that is appropriate for the offense committed.

(2) The court may not order a local government entity to pay for care, treatment, intervention, or placement. A court may not order a local government entity to pay for evaluation and in-state transportation of a youth.

(3) The court may not order a state government entity to pay for care, treatment, intervention, placement, or evaluation that results in a deficit in the annual allocation established for that district under 41-5-130 without approval from the office of court administrator.

(4) Pursuant to 41-5-114, the youth, the youth's parents, or the youth's guardian may not be required to pay a contribution covering any fees, obligations, or costs as part of a disposition under this section.

History: En. 10-1222 by Sec. 22, Ch. 329, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 571, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 10-1222; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 29, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 246, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 129, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 233, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 27, Ch. 361, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 363, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 465, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 531, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 612, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 14, Sp. L. June 1986; amd. Sec. 101, Ch. 370, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 515, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 62, Ch. 609, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 172, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 210, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 434, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 616, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 105, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 201, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 511, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 696, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 358, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 438, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 195, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 185, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 375, L. 1997; amd. Secs. 33, 78(1)(b), Ch. 550, L. 1997; Sec. 41-5-523, MCA 1995; redes. 41-5-1512 by Sec. 47, Ch. 286, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 587, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 398, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 76, Ch. 2, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 143, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 16, Ch. 344, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 339, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 13, Ch. 506, L. 2023.