Tennessee Code Title 37. Juveniles § 37-1-101

(1) Provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental and physical development of children coming within its provisions;

(2) Consistent with the protection of the public interest, remove from children committing delinquent acts the taint of criminality and the consequences of criminal behavior and substitute therefor a program of treatment, training and rehabilitation;

(3) Achieve the foregoing purposes in a family environment whenever possible, separating the child from such child's parents only when necessary for such child's welfare or in the interest of public safety;

(4) Provide a simple judicial procedure through which this part is executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their constitutional and other legal rights recognized and enforced;

(5) Provide simple interstate procedures that permit resort to cooperative measures among the juvenile courts of the several states when required to effectuate the purposes of this part;

(6) Generally deinstitutionalize children who have not been found to be delinquent; and

(7) Provide developmentally appropriate interventions based on current scientific research in related fields, including neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and criminology.