Aging Out of the Juvenile Court’s Jurisdiction for Dependency and Neglect Cases

The juvenile courts of Tennessee have exclusive jurisdiction of dependency and neglect proceedings. This means that only the juvenile court can hear dependency and neglect proceedings. These proceedings pertain to children who are subject to abuse or neglect, unlawfully kept out of school, are living with a parent or guardian who are not fit to properly care for the children, or are in such a condition of want or suffering where the children’s moral or physical health are in danger.

There are only a few ways for the juvenile court to lose jurisdiction over a dependency and neglect case once jurisdiction is established. T.C.A. § 37-1-103(c) states that once a juvenile court gains jurisdiction over a dependency and neglect case, such jurisdiction shall continue until the case has been dismissed, or until the custody determination is transferred to another juvenile, circuit, chancery or general sessions court exercising domestic relations jurisdiction, or until a petition for adoption is filed regarding the child in question as set out in § 36-1-116(f). A juvenile court shall retain jurisdiction to the extent needed to complete any reviews or permanency hearings for children in foster care as may be mandated by federal or state law.

            The 2011 amendment to T.C.A. § 37-1-103(c) removed language that stated that the juvenile court’s exclusive jurisdiction over dependency and neglect proceedings continues until the minor child in questions reaches the age of eighteen. Since 2011, the juvenile court does not simply lose jurisdiction over a dependency and neglect case because the child in question has reached eighteen years of age. The State of Tennessee has a vested interest in seeing dependency and neglect cases to finality, and this is shown in the limited circumstances provided by law where the juvenile court can lose its exclusive jurisdiction over a dependency and neglect case.