B.A.T. v. State of Indiana

On June 26, 2014, B.A.T., who was fourteen years old, went into a rage at his

grandmother’s house. B.A.T. “turned his room upside down,” yelled and

cursed at his grandmother, grabbed a knife from the pantry, and stated that he

would kill himself and everyone else in the house. Transcript at 7. B.A.T. then

threw the knife down and ran out. His grandmother, who was his guardian,

called the police. When they arrived, she told them that she feared B.A.T. and

that she was unwilling to take custody of him. Over the previous month,

B.A.T. also had had multiple encounters with police related to alcohol use,

threatening others, and damaging property. B.A.T. was eventually

apprehended and placed at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center.

[4] On July 10, 2014, the State filed a delinquency petition. The State made the

following allegations: Count I, intimidation, a Class C felony if committed by

an adult; Counts II and V, habitual disobedience of a parent; and Counts III

and IV, illegal consumption, Class C misdemeanors if committed by an adult.

The following day, the State filed an amended delinquency petition, adding

Count VI, theft, a Class D felony if committed by an adult; and Count VII,

possession of alcohol by a minor, a Class C misdemeanor if committed by an



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adult. At an initial hearing on July 11, 2014, B.A.T. entered an admission to

Count VI, which was based on his actions in assisting another person in stealing

a bottle of tequila from a store. In exchange for his admission, the State

dismissed all remaining allegations. The court ordered B.A.T. to undergo a full

diagnostic evaluation at the Logansport Juvenile Correctional Facility after

which he would be returned to emergency shelter care at the Youth

Opportunity Center (YOC) pending the dispositional hearing.

[5] A dispositional hearing was held on August 28, 2014. The probation

department recommended that, based on the results of his diagnostic

evaluation, B.A.T. be placed at the YOC. The Court Appointed Special

Advocate made this same recommendation regarding placement in her report.

B.A.T. contested these recommendations for placement and argued that the

recommended services were available on an outpatient basis. In response,

B.A.T.’s probation officer testified as follows:

My concern is that grandmother doesn’t feel safe with him there and she has asked and wants [B.A.T.] to receive inpatient treatment. She does not feel that outpatient treatment is going to be intensive enough for him. I know that [B.A.T.] tends to minimize a lot of what’s been going on here – that he was joking and things like that. I don’t think [B.A.T.] understands the intensity of what he has done here that this is not just a joke. He needs the intensive treatment. I believe that what the DOC recommendation recommends, he won’t get that kind of intensive treatment on an outpatient basis.



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Id. at 28. The juvenile court noted that this was not B.A.T.’s first contact with

the juvenile court system and that it had previously addressed custodial issues

and family matters with B.A.T. The juvenile court found that it was in B.A.T.’s

best interest to be placed at the YOC.

[6] At a review hearing on November 20, 2014, it appeared that B.A.T. was

making progress. He was receiving community passes twice a week and was

being granted a home pass for the Thanksgiving holiday. At the next review

hearing on January 15, 2015, the court was informed that B.A.T.’s recent

overnight visit with his grandmother on or about December 20, 2014, was

problematic. During that visit, B.A.T. intimidated his grandmother into letting

him drive her car even though he does not have a driver’s license or a permit.

B.A.T.’s grandmother also reported that he made an unauthorized purchase

using her credit card. While at his grandmother’s home, B.A.T. became

extremely intoxicated and failed a drug test for benzodiazepines, opiates, and

marijuana. As a result of his behavior, B.A.T.’s home passes were suspended.

The trial court ordered that B.A.T. remain in placement at the YOC.

[7] At the April 16, 2015 review hearing, additional problems with B.A.T.’s

behavior were noted. B.A.T. had been involved in an incident with another

YOC resident and was placed in seclusion due to his “aggressive behavior.”

Appellant’s Appendix at 36. On March 5, 2015, B.A.T. admitted that he had

ingested another resident’s Adderall. Later in March, B.A.T. had been given a

two-hour, off-ground pass with his grandmother. Grandmother reported that

B.A.T. made demands of her, asked for cigarettes, and told her “he was grown



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up and he will do whatever he wants to do.” Id. at 37. As a result, B.A.T.’s

passes were again suspended. The juvenile court noted that B.A.T.’s eight

month placement at the YOC was one of the juvenile court’s longest

placements and that B.A.T. was not progressing. The court warned B.A.T., “if

you can’t make it at the YOC then you are going to go to the [DOC].”

Transcript at 65. The juvenile court gave B.A.T. forty-five days at the YOC to

demonstrate he could be trusted with trial home visits. A review hearing was

set for June 11, 2015.

[8] On May 15, 2015, the probation department filed a verified petition for

emergency change of residence and modification of the dispositional decree. A

hearing on the petition was held on May 18, 2015. During the hearing, the

court was informed that B.A.T.’s behavior had deteriorated and he was in

complete noncompliance. Examples of his behavior were presented to the

court. Specifically, on May 4, 2015, B.A.T. yelled at YOC staff who were

conducting a routine search and then he balled up his fists and advanced on

staff in an aggressive manner. Around this same timeframe, B.A.T. was

involved in several other incidents during which he refused to do as he was

instructed, claimed gang affiliation, and intimidated and verbally threatened

staff and other residents.

[9] On May 12, 2015, B.A.T. refused to attend school and ran around telling YOC

staff that he would not do “anything major” but that he would not “follow the

rules.” Id. at 73. He further explained to the staff that “he had to do something

really big before anything would happen to him.” Id. It was alleged in the



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petition that “safety ha[d] become a big issue and YOC was struggling to keep

control as he continues to incite other residents to participate in gang related

activity.” Appellant’s Appendix at 46. The YOC did not want B.A.T. returned to

the facility. The juvenile court found that B.A.T. had violated the terms and

conditions of his placement, noted the emergency nature of the removal, and

then ordered B.A.T. placed in the secure section of the Delaware County

Juvenile Detention Center.

[10] The juvenile court held a modification hearing on May 21, 2015. B.A.T.

admitted to violating the terms and conditions of his placement. B.A.T.’s

therapist at the YOC testified that B.A.T. had “tried to fool the system, just do

what [he] need[s] to do and get out of here without making any changes and

going right back to the same old behavior.” Transcript at 86. She also testified

that she had done all she could for B.A.T., but he did not take sessions seriously

as “[t]his is all a joke to him.” Id. B.A.T.’s cottage manager testified that the

YOC was not an appropriate place for B.A.T. and he also stated his belief that

B.A.T. was not taking his placement seriously. B.A.T.’s behavior was

disruptive and a danger to the other residents at the YOC.

[11] In its disposition, the court was sympathetic to the issues facing B.A.T., but

noted his escalating noncompliance and delinquent behaviors during his

placement at the YOC. The court rejected B.A.T.’s proposal for a ninety-day

secure placement in the juvenile detention center because such placement

would not provide B.A.T. with educational programming, services, or the

ability to rehabilitate that was available through the DOC. The juvenile court



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therefore entered a modified dispositional order making B.A.T. a ward of the

DOC. B.A.T. now appeals.

Discussion & Decision

[12] B.A.T. argues that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering his placement

in the DOC when there was a less restrictive disposition available. Specifically,

B.A.T. contends that the court should have accepted his proposal that he serve

ninety days of secure detention “where he could have continued to receive

treatment as opposed to punishment.” Appellant’s Brief at 6.

[13] Dispositional decrees where a juvenile is adjudicated a delinquent are intended

to promote rehabilitation. R.J.G. v. State, 902 N.E.2d 804, 806 (Ind. 2009).

This is in keeping with the legislative policy that juveniles are to be “treated as

persons in need of care, protection, treatment, and rehabilitation.” Id. The goal

in the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juveniles so that they do not

become adult criminals. R.H. v. State, 937 N.E.2d 386, 388 (Ind. Ct. App.

2010). Thus, the juvenile court is provided with a myriad of dispositional

alternatives to permit the court to find the disposition that best fits the unique

and varying circumstances of each child’s problems. Id. Because of the need to

tailor dispositions for each individual child, the juvenile court is accorded great

latitude and flexibility in its choice of specific dispositions for a juvenile

adjudicated delinquent. M.T. v. State, 928 N.E.2d 266, 268 (Ind. Ct. App.

2010), trans. denied.



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[14] To this end, the choice of the specific disposition of a juvenile adjudicated a

delinquent child is a matter within the sound discretion of the juvenile court

and will be reversed only if there has been an abuse of that discretion. J.S. v.

State, 881 N.E.2d 26, 28 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). The juvenile court’s discretion is

subject to the statutory considerations of the welfare of the child, the safety of

the community, and the policy of favoring the least harsh disposition. Id.; see

also I.C. § 31-37-18-6. An abuse of discretion occurs when the juvenile court’s

action is clearly erroneous and against the logic and effect of the facts and

circumstances before the court or the reasonable, probable, and actual

inferences that can be drawn therefrom. J.S., 881 N.E.2d at 28.

[15] In arguing that a less restrictive placement was appropriate, B.A.T. notes the

few instances where service providers and even the court recognized that he had

made some progress toward his rehabilitation goals. B.A.T. ignores the vast

majority of the record wherein his destructive behaviors all but tied the court’s

hands with regard to his placement. B.A.T. has been placed in the YOC for

nine months and has refused to participate in multiple opportunities to engage

in rehabilitation. B.A.T. continued to threaten and intimidate staff and other

residents, was often aggressive toward others, made gang signs, and refused to

follow instructions of staff because he believed he did not have to follow the

rules. He even flaunted his disobedience to staff saying he would continue to be

disruptive and misbehave and there was nothing they could do to stop him.

[16] Each time B.A.T. was given some freedom for progress he had seemingly

made, he quickly resorted back to his destructive behaviors. According to



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B.A.T.’s therapist, he was manipulating the system and did not take his

placement seriously. B.A.T.’s grandmother does not feel safe around B.A.T.

and would not take custody of him. B.A.T. was placed in the YOC with

intensive therapy. Because of B.A.T.’s disruptive behavior, the YOC will not

accept him back into the facility. B.A.T.’s claim that he now has the ability to

live with his grandmother after he completes a ninety-day secure placement,

that he will comply with probation, and that he will attend therapy is not

supported by the record. The juvenile court afforded B.A.T. numerous

opportunities and even warned him that continued noncompliance would result

in his placement in the DOC.

Based on the record before us, we cannot say the juvenile court abused its discretion when it placed B.A.T. in the DOC. Given his history, his aggressive and destructive behaviors, and his complete disregard for authority, the juvenile court was left with no other alternative. Judgment affirmed.