• Typically, the judge determines a plan for services aimed at reunifying or rehabilitating the family. 2. In a juvenile-delinquency case, after an adjudication hearing at which the state proves its case against the juvenile or after a juvenile’s pleading true to the charges against him, a hearing at which the court determines what sanctions, if any, will be imposed on the juvenile.
• At a disposition hearing, the court balances the best interests of the child against the need to sanction the child for his or her actions. If the juvenile is adjudicated a delinquent, the probation staff prepares a social history of the youth and his family and recommends a disposition. After reviewing the social history and various recommendations, the court enters a disposition. Among the possible juvenile sanctions are a warning, probation, restitution, counseling, or placement in a juvenile-detention facility. Probation is the most common sanction.
— Also termed dispositional hearing. Cf. adjudication hearing. 3. See permanency hearing. [Cases: Infants 203. C.J.S. Infants §§ 51–52, 62, 64–67.]
