Section 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.Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, Sec. 2, eff. 1/1/1996. Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544, Sec. 1, eff. 9/1/1973.