Other Families & Children Topics: Family Law Overview Divorce, Legal Separation & Annulment Custody & Visitation Child, Spousal, & Partner Support Parentage Adoption Introduction to Juvenile Court Juvenile Dependency (Abuse & Neglect) Juvenile Delinquency Emancipation Special Education Guardianship (Probate Court) Families & Children Links Families & Children Questions & Answers Families & Children Forms & Instructions

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Introduction to Juvenile Court

Click on a topic below:

What is juvenile court?

What can the court do?

Should I have a lawyer?

Where can I get more information?

What is juvenile court?
Juvenile court is part of the superior court. It deals with 3 kinds of cases:

• Juvenile Delinquency: cases involving children that do things that would be crimes if they were done by adults.
• Juvenile Status Offenses: cases involving children that do things that are only against the law because they are done by children. For example, cutting school or running away from home.
• Juvenile Dependency (Abuse and Neglect): cases where there may be abuse or neglect in the home. The juvenile court's job is to protect the children in the family.

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What can the court do?
The juvenile court can make orders in delinquency and dependency cases. For example, these orders can:

• Take children from their homes;
• Send children to live with relatives or in foster care or group homes;
• Cancel a parent's rights;
• Create new parental rights;
• Work with other agencies to get the services the child needs; or
• Send delinquent children to a locked facility, like a detention hall, a ranch, or the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice.

If the court takes a child from their home, a government agency is responsible for the child. The agency is in charge of the child's health, education, and care. The court can also order the agency to assist the parents in making their home safe for the child.

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Should I have a lawyer?
Juvenile cases are very serious. They can change your life and your child's life. Know your rights and how the court works. Talk to a lawyer for help.

In a delinquency case, the child has the right to a lawyer.

In a dependency (abuse or neglect) case, the parent has the right to a lawyer. And, most times, the court will get a lawyer for the child. Click here for more information about your right to a lawyer.

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Where can I get more information?
Click on a topic below:

• Juvenile Delinquency
• General Information About Delinquency Cases
• What Happens If My Child Is Arrested?
• Juvenile Hall
• The Juvenile Court Process
• My Child Was Taken Away From Me; Where Will He or She Go?
• Juvenile Court Records
• Can My Child Be Tried in Adult Court?
• Financial Responsibility

 

• Juvenile Dependency (Abuse & Neglect)
• Abuse & Neglect: Information for Parents
• Dependency Court: Information for Parents
• Juvenile Court Guardianship
• Caregivers & the Courts: A Primer on Juvenile Dependency Proceedings for California Foster Parents & Relative Caregivers

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Last modified: 03/17/2008

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