NEVADA DIVISION OF CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES
Overview of Nevada's Juvenile Justice System
Nevada’s formal
juvenile justice system is established for the most part
by Chapter 62 of the Nevada Revised Statutes (N.R.S.).
With the following exceptions, Chapter 62 applies to any
person less than 18 years of age or any person less than
21 years of age who commits an act of delinquency before
reaching the age of 18 years. The exception relates to
a person under the age of 18 years charged with:
Murder or attempted murder
or any related crime arising out of the same facts
as a murder or attempted murder; or
If the child has been previously adjudicated
delinquent for committing an offense which would
have been a felony if committed in this state by an
adult and the child was 16 years of age or older at
the time of the alleged offense; or
A sexual assault involving the use or threatened use
of force or violence against the victim; or
Any offense involving the
use or threatened use of a deadly weapon or an
attempt to
commit such an offense.
Nevada’s law also
provides that a child 14 years of age or older who is
charged with an offense which would be a felony if
committed by an adult may be certified for treatment as
an adult, but no child under the age of 14 may be so
certified. Certification as an adult must be made by the
juvenile court, but the juvenile court may retain
jurisdiction in lieu of certification at it’s discretion
except as noted in. The juvenile court may also retain
jurisdiction over an adult who is charged with a
delinquent act committed before his 18th birthday.
As a practical
matter, children under the age of 8 are diverted to a
wide array of services provided by the Division of Child
and Family Services (DCFS) of the Nevada Department of
Human Resources. Children between the ages of 8 and 12
may be committed to the custody of DCFS for suitable
placement in a public or private institution or agency
authorized to care for children or otherwise placed by
the juvenile court. It is not until a child reaches the
age of 12 that they may be committed to one of the two
staff secure institutions operated by the State. A third
facility opened in June of 2000 was closed in January of
2002 as the private providers contact was terminated.
Funding to re-open the facility was approved by the 2003
Legislature and re-opened as a state run facility in
January 2004.
