Juvenile Probation services provide information to judges, monitor court ordered conditions and services for children and their families to increase the chances of successful rehabilitation of juveniles. Juvenile cases are processed at twelve (12) Juvenile Matters Courts throughout the state.

Juvenile Probation has jurisdiction for handling cases of children aged seventeen (17) years old and younger (at the time of an alleged offense). When making determinations regarding cases, the court has a responsibility to consider the child’s best interest as well as community safety.

Types of Juvenile Referrals

• Any federal or state law
• An order of the Superior Court
• Committing an infraction (if under 16 years old), or
• Violating a municipal or local ordinance (if under 16 years old) other than an ordinance regulating behavior or a child in a family with service needs.

Family with Service Needs (FWSN) - A juvenile may be referred as a FWSN if she or he:

• Has run away from home without good cause
• Is beyond the control of a parent or parents or a guardian
• Has participated in indecent or immoral conduct
• has been truant or is habitually truant
• Has been continuously and overtly defiant of school rules
• Is 13 years old or older and has engaged in sexual intercourse with another person 13 years old or older and not more than 2 years older or younger than the juvenile.
  

Types of Juvenile Case Handling

Non-Judicial Handling is used for first or second time summons issued to a juvenile for minor delinquency or FWSN charges. These charges may be handled informally by a Juvenile Probation Officer. If the child admits responsibility for the alleged offenses, and the child and parent or parents or guardian agree to cooperate with Probation, the Officer may:

• Dismiss the matter
• Require the child to make restitution or perform community service
• Place the child in a program for treatment and supervise the child for up to 6 months.

Approximately half of all juvenile cases are handled this way.

Judicial Handling - Cases handled by a judge when:

• A child is not willing to admit responsibility for having committed a minor offense and the child and parent refuse to cooperate with probation
• More serious charges are involved
• The child has admitted to being delinquent twice before
• The child has a prior Judicial adjudication for either delinquency or being a child from a family with service needs (FWSN)

In these cases, the child goes before a judge, may have the services of a public defender or defense attorney and a prosecutor (state’s attorney) is involved in the case. Approximately half of all juvenile cases are handled this way.

Types of Dispositions / Sentencing

Charges can be:

• Dismissed
• Nolled (“Nolle” is short for a Latin term “nollo prosequi,” which means "no prosecution". It is where the prosecutor agrees to drop the case against the child but keeps the right to reopen the case and prosecute at any time during the next 13 months. The nolle is entered on the court record and the child is released from any further court involvement. If the child stays out of trouble during the 13 months, the case is removed from the official court records and the police remove the case from their records.)

Additionally, juveniles adjudicated as FWSN or delinquent may be:

• Placed on FWSN supervision
• Placed on Probation, or Vocational Probation/supervision
• Ordered to take part in community-based programming
• Ordered to make restitution
• Participate in community service, or
• Committed to the Department of Children and Families

Juvenile Probation Officers
Juvenile Probation Officers are involved in all FWSN, and delinquency cases both before and after the case is decided.

Before a case is decided an officer may supervise a juvenile if the Court orders it. After a case is decided or if the child admits to specific charges, officers:

• Complete assessments
• Write Pre-Disposition Studies, and make recommendations for conditions of probation, program/services referrals, or placement away from the community.
• Supervise non-judicial cases.

Once cases are decided and a child is placed under court orders or conditions of probation or supervision, Juvenile Probation Officers monitor the juvenile to see if the he or she follows court orders and conditions. Juvenile Probation Officers may also arrange for additional services for juveniles they monitor or supervise and sanction juveniles they monitor or supervise if they do not follow the conditions of their probation or supervision. If a juvenile does not follow the conditions of his or probation or supervision officers remain involved in additional court hearings as well as make recommendations on the case.

In addition to the standard juvenile probation services the Court Support Services Division has created several specialized units to address the specialized needs of different populations that enter the courts. These specialized units are:

Low risk - Juvenile Probation Officers interview children charged with minor offenses and supervise low risk offenders who are placed on either non-judicial supervision or on probation by the courts.

Gender responsive – Juvenile Probation Officers are assigned to each court location, and manage a caseload of 25 girls referred to the court for delinquency or FWSN or both. Each gender officer has extensive training in the specialized needs of girls, the effects of trauma, special education advocacy, family mediation, and holding girls’ group meetings.

• Early intervention - Juvenile Probation Officers manage the cases of juveniles twelve (12) years old or younger who are referred to the court for either delinquency or FWSN.  These officers have specialized training in early child development and work closely with the Department of Children and Families.
• High risk/gang involved – Juvenile Probation Officers manage cases of juveniles referred for serious juvenile offenses and gang involvement. Officers have extensive training in gangs, officer safety, and firearm identification. Clients referred to this unit are placed on longer terms of probation, up to 2 years, and receive multiple services including cognitive behavioral, educational support and vocational services.