Person In Need of Supervision

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Person in need of supervision, or PINS is a term frequently used by social services agencies in the United States to describe a juvenile who is not currently in the household of a parent or legal guardian, or is currently not under their control as evidenced by the person's status offense[1], who is not an emancipated minor. The term is often abbreviated PINS. Usually, a person in need of supervision is a runaway, an orphan, a truant, or an unruly child.

The term is most commonly used as a term of art in New York State in the United States, where the term is used in a key statute governing the treatment of juveniles. Hawaii also has the term in its statutes. Virginia has a similar designation which it calls "Child In Need of Supervision" sometimes abbreviated "CHINS".