Delinquency
Juvenile handles delinquency cases involving children under the age of 18, and works closely with the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Judiciary, State Attorneys, Public Defenders, and law enforcement agencies. The division dockets all cases, attends court hearings, and maintains all of the required court records. Juvenile records are maintained confidentially under Florida law.
Forms & Assistance
Frequently Asked Questions
For more questions about juvenile delinquency, please call (850) 606-4120.
No. If the child meets the criteria to be detained securely, he/she is transported to the Leon Regional Juvenile Detention Center, djj.state.fl.us/detention-centers, until the detention hearing is held and the court determines detention status. If the child does not meet the criteria to be detained, the child will be released to the proper custodian with a written notice to appear before the juvenile judge at a later date.
Juvenile case information is confidential and cannot be discussed over the telephone. With proper identification, parties authorized to have access to the court file, i.e., parents, legal guardian, child, and his/her attorney, can visit the Clerk’s Office located in the Leon County Courthouse, 301 South Monroe Street.
Contact the Leon County Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) at (850) 574-8814 or visit this website discvillage.com/juvenileJAC.html.
The JAC is a centralized processing, referral, and evaluation center for all juveniles arrested in this area. The facility includes a Truancy Center, Civil Citation (diversion) Program, Central Booking and Intake, Assessment and Referral, Case Management, and a comprehensive Management Information System.
Our office will perform a record search for a fee, if you have proper identification. You may also get photocopies for a fee. Click here for our fee schedule.
Visit this website ccys.org or call Capital City Youth Service at (850) 576-6000.
Juvenile delinquency involves anyone under the age of 18 that has been charged with a crime.
The waiting period can be up to six hours.
Dependency
Juvenile Dependency handles cases involving children who have been abandoned, abused, or neglected. Juvenile records are maintained confidentially under Florida Law.
Forms & Assistance
Frequently Asked Questions
For more questions about juvenile dependency, please call (850) 606-4120.
The Department of Children and Families DCFS will notify you of court dates. If you need information regarding any future court date and time of hearing, you may visit our office at 301 S. Monroe Street, Suite 100, Tallahassee, FL. Proper identification is required.
The Department of Children and Families, DCFS – (850) 488-0500.
Under Florida Statutes, Chapter 984, a “child in need of services” is a child for whom there is:
- No pending investigation into an allegation or suspicion of abuse, neglect, or abandonment
- No pending referral alleging the child is delinquent
- No current supervision by Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) or DCFS for an adjudication of dependency or delinquency.
The child must also be found by the court:
- To have persistently run away from the child’s parents or legal custodians, despite reasonable efforts of the child, the parents or legal custodians, and appropriate agencies to remedy the conditions contributing to the behavior
- To be habitually truant from school, while subject to compulsory school attendance, despite reasonable efforts to remedy the situation
- To have persistently disobeyed the reasonable and lawful demands of the child’s parents or legal custodians, and to be beyond their control, despite efforts by the child’s parents or legal custodians and appropriate agencies to remedy the conditions contributing to the behavior.
Under Florida Statutes, chapter 984, a “family in need of services” means a family that has a child who is:
- Running away
- Persistently disobeying reasonable and lawful demands of the parent or legal custodian and is beyond the control of the parent or legal custodian
- Habitually truant from school or engaging in other serious behaviors that place the child at risk of future abuse, neglect, or abandonment or at risk of entering the Juvenile justice system.
A family is not eligible to receive services if, at the time of the referral, there is an open investigation into an allegation of abuse, neglect, or abandonment or if the child is currently under supervision by DJJ or DCFS due to an adjudication of dependency or delinquency.
Under Florida Statutes, Chapter 39, a dependent child is one who has been found by a court to:
- Have been abandoned, abused, or neglected by the child’s parent or parents or legal custodians
- Have been surrendered to the Florida Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) or a licensed child-placing agency for purpose of adoption
- Have been voluntarily placed with a licensed child-caring agency, a licensed child-placing agency, an adult relative, or DCFS, after which placement, a case plan has expired and the parents or legal custodians have failed to comply with the requirements of the plan
- Have been voluntarily placed with a licensed child-caring agency for the purposes of subsequent adoption, and the parents have signed a consent pursuant to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure
- Have no parent or legal custodians capable of providing supervision and care
- Be at substantial risk of imminent abuse, abandonment, or neglect by the parents or legal custodians.
Contact the Probate Division in our office at (850) 606-4180.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about Guardianships.