- The Juvenile Court had adapted as its mission statement the classic opening paragraphs of the Juvenile Court Law.
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- Provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental, and physical development of children coming within its provisions;
- Consistent with the protection of the public interest, to remove from children committing delinquent acts the taint of criminality and the consequences of criminal behavior and to substitute, therefore, a program of treatment, training, and rehabilitation;
- Achieve the foregoing purposes in a family environment whenever possible, separating the child from his or her parents only when necessary for the child's welfare or in the interest of public safety;
- Provide a simple judicial procedure through which these functions are executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their constitutional and other legal rights are recognized and enforced. (from TCA 37-1-101)