Power of Juvenile Court to order maintenance of child

72.-(1) Where a child is brought before a Juvenile Court under the provisions of this Law the Court, in addition to, or in lieu of any other order which it is empowered to make, may, if it appears to the Court that the parent, guardian or other person liable to maintain the child possesses the means to contribute in whole or in part to his maintenance, make an order on such parent, guardian or other person (hereinafter in this section referred to as “the maintenance order”) to contribute to the maintenance of such child, for such period as may be specified in the maintenance order, such sum as may appear to the Court that such parent, guardian or other person is reasonably able to contribute.

(2) A maintenance order may be made on the complaint or application of the Director or any welfare officer or any police officer and the sum contributed by the parent, guardian or such other person shall be paid to the Director or any welfare officer or any police officer making the complaint or application and shall be applied for the maintenance of the child.

(3) A maintenance order may, at any time, be altered, varied, suspended or discharged by the Court and the Court may, upon application of the Director or any welfare officer or any police officer, from time to time, increase or diminish the amount of any payment ordered to be made.

(4) Where any person who without proper cause fails to comply with a maintenance order, the Court may order that the arrears due under the maintenance order be levied and recovered as a penalty in all respects in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law or of any Law amending or substituted for the same including the power to commit to prison in lieu of issuing a warrant for execution, provided that no order shall be made for the recovery of arrears falling due more than six months prior to the making of the order.

(5) No warrant of execution or of commitment under subsection (4) of this section shall affect the force and effect of a maintenance order unless the Court shall otherwise direct.

(6) When any parent, guardian or other person has, under this section, been ordered to contribute to the maintenance of a child, he shall give notice of any change of address to the Registrar of the Court which made the order and, if he fails to do so without reasonable excuse, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding .25.