Robertson County Juvenile Court/Youth Services

𝙇𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙨...

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔.

Many juvenile courts across the State of Tennessee have been inundated with children/youth charged with threats to the school or the school community. Robertson County Juvenile Court has not seen an uptick in these offenses, but at the same time, we recognize that it is important to talk about this very serious issue and share information as prevention efforts. We want you as the parent or guardian of a child/youth and your child/youth to be informed.

Here are the possible charges that can be taken out against any child/youth involved in this behavior:
1. 39-13-114 – Communicating a Threat Concerning a School or a School Employee.
2. 39-13-805 – Commission of Acts of Terrorism
3. 39-16-502 – False Report
4. 39-16-517 – Threat of Mass Violence on School Property or at a school-related activity.
5. 39-17-308 – Harassment
6. 39-17-1309 – Carrying Weapons on School Property.
7. 39-17-1319 – Handgun Possession Prohibited.

When students post threats on social media, when they pose with guns (remember handguns are illegal for anyone under 18 to possess); when they send threatening texts, and in general when they pose a risk to our community, they can be charged with an offense and possibly arrested. This is in addition to any discipline that the school may issue.
If a child/youth is arrested for the offense(s) the child/youth may be detained which means your child/youth will not be allowed to return home. Among other things that may occur, a mental health assessment(s) will be necessary and there may be other evaluations required.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥/𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 “𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦”, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

If a child/youth makes a threat or another student reports that they received a text or message about a threat from your child/youth then the likely course of action, in any combination, will follow:
The SRO gets with school admin;
The student is taken to administrator's office;
The school calls the parent;
The school or a designee calls Mobile Crisis;
A decision will be made by the police and the DA’s office as to whether to charge and what the exact charge should be.
The school does a risk assessment at school;
A police officer will go to the home to determine if there are any guns or other weapons or bombs, etc. available to the child/youth;
The child/youth may be arrested and taken to detention pending the next course of action.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒓. 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒌𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚.

A wonderful opportunity to bring awareness to Human Trafficking!

𝑨 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑳𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝑱𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑱𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅/𝒐𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔, 𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. Be careful what you post on social media and what you write or say. A new law provides that a juvenile adjudicated delinquent for a violation of TCA 39-16-517 Threats of Mass Violence will lose their driving privileges or ability to get a driver’s license for 1 year. No driving if a juvenile is convicted of Threats of Mass Violence. Worthy to note that this offense is now a Class E felony under revisions to this law. See the new law in the picture below. Public Chapter 727

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬, if you want to keep your money in your pockets or make sure you are not completing public service work then you need to stay on top of what your kid is doing and what crimes he/she is committing because as a parent this is always your responsibility. A new law named the “𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑨𝒄𝒕” 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 $𝟐𝟓𝟎 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 $𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝟐𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆. TCA 37-1-131 (b)(1). Not having the ability to pay will result in the performance of public service hours. See the new law in the picture below. Public Chapter 943

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 if the school your child attends asks in writing if your child has been adjudicated (convicted) of certain offenses and you fail to disclose or withhold, then you may be charged with a Class B misdemeanor. Again, there must be a conviction. A pre-trial diversion, post-trial diversion, dismissal, or informal adjustment will not trigger nor require the disclosure. See the new law in the picture below TCA 49-6-3051 also a listing of the offenses that this new law applies in highlights. Public Chapter 721

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡/𝐣𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 for suspicion of committing a delinquent or unruly offense must be recorded by audio or video unless certain exceptions apply. See the new law in the picture below TCA 37-1-126. Public Chapter 565

🗣️ 🆓 TRAINING OPPORTUNITY!!

Excited about our new Safe Babies Court program and our new Safe Babies Court Director! Learn more at the Robertson County Safe Baby Court page! This is going to be huge for our families with infants and/or toddlers!

Warning: Long post—proceed at your own risk! Haha!

Hello! I am Tiffany Mangum Thomson, the Safe Baby Court Coordinator for Robertson County! Many of you here know me, but many of you don’t! I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and my background experience and education.

I was born and raised in Arizona and have also lived in Wyoming, Montana and many years in Utah. My family and I moved to Robertson County TN a few months into the pandemic in 2020.
I have my undergraduate degree from Utah Valley University in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Social Work and a minor in American Sign Language.

After my undergrad, I moved back to my home state of Arizona where my first job out of school was on the development team for a residential treatment center for youth. Once that got going, the family services team from that agency recruited me to become a Family Support Specialist. This gave me my first opportunity to work in Child Welfare. Our agency had contracts with The Department of Child Protective Services to do family preservation, reunification and supervise visits.

I then moved back to Utah and worked as a Permanency worker for the Department of Child and Family Services. After spending so much time seeing the effects of drugs on families and children, I took a position as a Drug and Alcohol prevention specialist with a school district in Salt Lake City.

Once my kids started joining my family (I have 5 of them!) I transitioned to working in the alternative education field where I owned a preschool and tutored and taught many different classes privately and through homeschool programs. I taught Chinese children English as a Second Language for many years waking up at 3am to teach via the internet (before we all transitioned to an online world!)

Shortly after moving to TN I re-entered the child welfare world as a CASA advocate coordinator. This role helped acquaint me with the laws of child welfare in TN. I met great advocates and got to know my community better. I then worked for United Way Greater Nashville and the Community Impact Coordinator for Robertson County. I got an even better education of Robertson County and the great nonprofits and passionate people that love to serve!

During this time, I went back to school and got a master’s degree in Conflict Management from Lipscomb University. During this education I became a Rule 31 listed Mediator in civil, family, and domestic violence mediation. I was reminded how much I love alternative dispute resolution and trauma informed justice practices.

I started as the Safe Baby Court Coordinator in April and have enjoyed the development stage of this great program! I can’t wait for it to start benefiting the children and families here in Robertson County! If you have any questions, please reach out! I would love to get to know YOU better!

Robertson County Juvenile Court will be closed today in observation of the Juneteenth Freedom Holiday. We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable day while recognizing the significance and importance of why today is celebrated!

Robertson County Safe Baby Court Training: Day 2️⃣!!

💚

10 weeks until Robertson County Recovery Fest 🥳

Mark your calendars! Aug 24th 12-3pm at the Robertson County Fairgrounds 🗓✔️

We are so excited for the 1st-EVER recovery fest in Robertson County! Like 👍 and follow ✅ our page and please share our posts so we can make sure everyone knows about RobCo Recovery Fest! 👏

Robertson County Safe Baby Court Kickoff!! We are so thrilled to have this valuable and dynamic program in Robertson County!

Food for thought🤔.

Mentoring Opportunity Available!!

If you are in or near the Nashville area and would like to be a mentor, please join us! 👑

Save the date for this exciting opportunity!!🗓️

Robertson County Juvenile Court has an exciting opportunity for career growth and to be rewarded by helping families at the same time too! Now accepting applications for our new Safe Babies Court! More information about Safe Babies Court will follow soon!

The staff of the Robertson County Juvenile Court wishes everyone a wonderful, love and family filled Thanksgiving! Our office and court will be closed on Thursday November 23rd and Friday, November 24th in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Tuesday, October 17, 2023, was our New Member Spotlight! Our club president, Mike Norton, facilitated a fun Q&A to help us all learn more our newest club members (pictured seated, left to right):

David Walker, Youth Services Officer with Robertson County Juvenile Court/Youth Services

Kristy Alary, Robertson County Family YMCA

Guy Stanley, Retired Teacher and advocate for Robertson County Players

Michaela Willbanks, Assistant Director of Stokes Brown Public Library

Sharon West, Youth Services Officer with Robertson County Juvenile Court/Youth Services

More new members not pictured but guaranteed to be in the next new member panel 😉: John West, Register of Deeds for Robertson County, and Jake Partin, Branch Manager of United Community Bank in downtown Springfield.

Model respect.
"Children look to adults for clues about behavioral expectations. If they see their caregivers and teachers treating others with respect and compassion, they’re more likely to do the same.

Children are master imitators. If we expect them to always say please and thank you, we must do the same. " HONORABLE CHARACTER™

Robertson County Juvenile Court YSOs David Walker and Sharon West were out and about this morning making positive connections and networking with the City of Springfield- Coffee With A Cop event. As the event states "Coffee with a Cop creates an opportunity for officers and civilians to develop positive relationships in the community." We are committed to working together to build a better future for our youth and children!

The Robertson County Juvenile Court will be closed on Monday, September 4, 2023, in observance of the Labor Day Holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, during normal business hours. Thanks to all of our workers and their contributions to our Nation's "strength, prosperity and well-being."

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR History of Labor Day

Are you or someone you know in need of a new Air Conditioning Unit? If so, check out the giveaway below being offered by Electrolux. Sign up for your chance to win at the locations listed below, one of which is the Robertson County Juvenile Court/Youth Services Office located on the 2nd Floor of the Robertson County Office Building (531 South Brown Street in Springfield, TN).

The Youth Services Window is the only window open on the right side of the 2nd Floor Hallway (enter via the General Sessions Court side of the building). Our hours are 8AM-4:30PM, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). This is an amazing giveaway, so be sure to enter to win!

Congrats to our own, Shanna Fisher, who yesterday was elected Vice Chair of the Robertson County Prevention Coalition! Shanna is a lifetime resident of Robertson County, Tennessee, and is a Team Leader for Robertson County Juvenile Court/Youth Services.

Please join us in celebrating Shanna’s new title! She is indeed an asset to our team and we are proud of her for accepting the nomination to further serve Robertson County through her new position with RCPC!! Congrats, Shanna🥳👏🎉!!

Shouting out "Hey Look here, check this out!" with all the lung power in us on this one! Positive things happening for our kids/youth! People, there are great things going on in our county with even greater people ready to invest in our youth. Check out this link for the news coverage on this special program! Plus, our very own Mr. David Walker is a part of this!
https://www.newschannel5.com/news/mentoring-will-play-a-big-part-in-new-robertson-county-flag-football-league-for-boys-and-girls

🗣️: 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍!!

Good morning! The School Nutrition Program of Robertson County Schools is providing FREE 5-day meal kits, including food plus a gallon of milk TODAY from 9:00-11:00 am. Kits may be picked up at the Board of Education at 800 M.S. Couts Blvd in Springfield. Children do not have to be present to receive your kit.

Come take advantage of this great resource❤️!

𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧/𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥! A new law is in effect this school year adding a new zero tolerance offense. Your student can now be expelled for making threats of mass violence against a school or school activity. Zero tolerance offenses also include drug offenses and weapon possession offenses. According to state law "..."𝑍𝑒𝑟𝑜 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒” 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 (1) 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒-𝑏𝑦-𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙." Talk to your child about the seriousness of any school threats--especially posted on social media. Have the conversation with your child to make sure he/she knows and understands that making school threats, having drugs in their possession or a weapon at school can get them in a lot of trouble and "kicked out" of school. Engage with your child's school if there are issues with bullying, mental health diagnosis/concerns, academic struggles, anger issues, etc. We want your child to have a successful school year without any interruption in their education. Discussion and dialogue with your child is key to preventing a zero-tolerance offense and a likely delinquent (criminal) charge too.

How we address our children is very important. Emphasis on praise and giving compliments are vital to a child's development. Both build confidence, promotes good behavior, motivates, and builds resilience. Raise up a child!

The Robertson County Juvenile Court will be closed on the 4th of July to celebrate and observe our Nation's independence. We wish everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!

Great day for swearing-in CASA Advocates! A voice for our dependency and neglected children!

Robertson County Juvenile Court wishes everyone a wonderful Juneteenth holiday. Please take a few minutes to reflect on the importance of Juneteenth and why it is recognized by our great nation. If you need to transact business with the Juvenile Court, all Robertson County offices are open for business today.