Tribe: Poarch Band of Creek Indians
Sec. 10-2-2 Policy
(a) The Juvenile Justice Code shall be liberally interpreted and construed to fulfill the following expressed purposes:
(1) To preserve and retain the unity of the family whenever possible and to provide for the care, protection, and wholesome mental and physical development of children coming within the provisions of this Tribal Code;
(2) To recognize that alcohol and substance abuse is a disease which is both preventable and treatable;
(3) To remove from children committing Juvenile Offenses, the legal consequences of criminal behavior and to substitute therefore a program of supervision, care, and rehabilitation consistent with the protection of the Poarch Band of Creek Indian Reservation;
(4) To achieve the purposes of this Tribal Code 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 interests of public safety;
(5) To separate clearly in the judicial and other processes affecting children under this Tribal Code the “Juvenile Offender” and the “Family in Need of Services,” and to provide appropriate and distinct dispositional options for treatment and rehabilitation of these children and families;
(6) To provide judicial and other procedures through which the provisions of this Tribal Code are executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their civil and other legal rights recognized and enforced;
(7) To provide a continuum of services for children and their families from prevention to residential treatment, with emphasis whenever possible on prevention, early intervention and community-based alternatives; and
(8) To provide a forum where an Indian Child charged to be “delinquent” or a “status offender” in other jurisdictions may be referred for adjudication and/or disposition.