Second. the return of absconders and escapees to the State from which they absconded or escaped. Third. investigation. placement. and supervision of a delinquent juvenile who is to be placed in a State other than the one in which he committed an offense. and Fourth. additional measures for the protection of juveniles and the public that any two or more of the member States may find advisable to undertake cooperatively. These provisions in the compact thus provide the member States a maximum of opportunity for the proper handling of refugee juveniles. both as to their return to their home States when this is deemed advisable. and also in the matter of helping the delinquent youngsters in many instances by providing them the most effective programs of rehabilitation. All these benefits. however. are presently denied the District of Columbia. which thus exists as an island of isolation in which this highly effective program cannot operate. The neighboring States of Maryland and Virginia. for example. enjoy this legal structure by which they can have children returned to them who have run away to other States. and also can return to other States children who have run away and come within their borders. However. the juvenile authorities in both these States complain that they cannot exercise either of these legal prerogatives in the case of juveniles who abscond from Maryland or Virginia into the District of Columbia or vice versa. And worst of all. of course. is the plight of the District of Columbia itself. which lacks the advantages of the compact in its relationship to all the States. As a consequence. since juvenile delinquents and runaways are not subject to the extradition process which may be applied in the case of an adult criminal. the transfer of juvenile refugees to or from the District at present can legally be accomplished only through arrangements between the welfare departments of the District of Columbia and of the other State involved. This is highly unsatisfactory for many reasons. First. there is no opportunity for a judicial proceeding to determine the status of the youth in question.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees