713-835-1194

TEXAS FAMILY CODE

TITLE 3. JUVENILE JUSTICE CODE

CHAPTER 51. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 51.01.  PURPOSE AND INTERPRETATION.  This title shall be construed to effectuate the following public purposes:

(1)  to provide for the protection of the public and public safety;

(2)  consistent with the protection of the public and public safety:

(A)  to promote the concept of punishment for criminal acts;

(B)  to remove, where appropriate, the taint of criminality from children committing certain unlawful acts;  and

(C)  to provide treatment, training, and rehabilitation that emphasizes the accountability and responsibility of both the parent and the child for the child’s conduct;

(3)  to provide for the care, the protection, and the wholesome moral, mental, and physical development of children coming within its provisions;

(4)  to protect the welfare of the community and to control the commission of unlawful acts by children;

(5)  to achieve the foregoing purposes in a family environment whenever possible, separating the child from the child’s parents only when necessary for the child’s welfare or in the interest of public safety and when a child is removed from the child’s family, to give the child the care that should be provided by parents;  and

(6)  to provide a simple judicial procedure through which the provisions of this title are executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their constitutional and other legal rights recognized and enforced.

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