Sarah Harris, your supervisor at the New York pretrial diversion program, has been pleased with your work and believes you are ready to handle an entire case on your own. The facts of the case are as follows: Steve Z. is a 15-year-old who is chronically
Sarah Harris, your supervisor at the New York pretrial diversion program, has been pleased with your work and believes you are ready to handle an entire case on your own. The facts of the case are as follows:
Steve Z. is a 15-year-old who is chronically truant to and absent from school. He is living with his single father, Larry Z., who believes he does not have any control or say over what his son does. The 15-year-old’s parents divorced when he was 11, and a bitter custody fight ensued that eventually led to his father gaining sole legal and sole physical custody of him.
His mother was a severe substance abuser addicted to methamphetamine, had several arrests for prostitution, and had sporadic housing. While her mental health has always been questionable, she was never formally diagnosed with any DSM IV TR mental disorder, but this may simply be a function of her refusal to show up at scheduled evaluations as part of her probation.
She could not physically care for him according to court documents from the parties’ custody trial. The 15-year-old was recently suspended from school for bringing marijuana to his history class. The school contacted the police and the 15-year-old has been charged with possession of marijuana, which is a minor misdemeanor. The court has released him to the pretrial diversion program. The school has reported the father to the local Child Protective Services (CPS) Agency for educational neglect because of the 15-year-old’s repeated absence and truancy to school.