
§ 51.01. PURPOSE AND INTERPRETATION.  This title shall be 
construed to effectuate the following public purposes:
		(1)  to provide for the protection of the public and 
public safety;         
		(2)  consistent with the protection of the public and 
public safety:        
			(A)  to promote the concept of punishment for 
criminal acts;               
			(B)  to remove, where appropriate, the taint of 
criminality from children committing certain unlawful acts;  and
			(C)  to provide treatment, training, and 
rehabilitation that emphasizes the accountability and 
responsibility of both the parent and the child for the child's 
conduct;
		(3)  to provide for the care, the protection, and the 
wholesome moral, mental, and physical development of children 
coming within its provisions;
		(4)  to protect the welfare of the community and to 
control the commission of unlawful acts by children;
		(5)  to achieve the foregoing purposes in a family 
environment whenever possible, separating the child from the 
child's parents only when necessary for the child's welfare or in 
the interest of public safety and when a child is removed from the 
child's family, to give the child the care that should be provided 
by parents;  and
		(6)  to provide a simple judicial procedure through 
which the provisions of this title are executed and enforced and in 
which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their 
constitutional and other legal rights recognized and enforced.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1973.  
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.

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Last modified: August 10, 2007