Belmont County Juvenile Court

If you are scheduled for Court:

Please arrive promptly at the scheduled time. Appropriate attire is required. All persons summoned into Court must be clothed in a proper and respectable manner. Shorts, tank tops, inappropriate/revealing/midriff or cutoff tee-shirts, baggy/sagging jeans and any informal type of clothing will be unacceptable. No hats or sunglasses are to be worn in the courtroom. No food or drink may be brought into the Court. All juveniles must bring their social security numbers, birth certificate and operator’s license with them on all cases.

Case Procedures

1.
Complaint:
The complainant goes to the Prosecutor's Office and fills out a statement of facts that is provided by that office. Those who may file a complaint are the police, school officials, parents, victims, or any adult who had knowledge of the offense. The Intake Clerk at the Prosecutor's Office then obtains approval of the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney assigned to Juvenile Court, as to the proper charge to be filed. The complaint is typed, signed by the complainant and is then forwarded to the Juvenile Court's Chief Deputy Clerk. The clerk files the complaint which is set for a plea hearing, or passes it on to the Program Coordinator for one of the proper Diversion Programs for unofficial handling. If a formal complaint is filed, proper notices are sent to the child, parent, guardian or custodian.

2.
Plea Hearing:
At this hearing, a person is apprised of their right to counsel and other constitutional and procedural rights as well as being made aware of the allegations regarding the charge.

If a child denies the charge, the matter is set for pretrial.

If a child admits the charge or is subsequently found to be delinquent or unruly, the matter may then be continued for a predisposition investigation and report or immediate disposition.

3.
Pretrial:
At this step, the principals in the case gain information to formulate planning for further proceedings.

4.
Adjudicatory Hearing:
This hearing is to determine whether a child is a juvenile traffic offender, delinquent, unruly, abused, neglected or dependent child, or otherwise within the jurisdiction of the Court.

5.
Dispositional Hearing:
This hearing determines what action shall be taken after adjudication concerning the child who is within jurisdiction of the Court. The Court considers the child's previous record, relationship with the parents(s), school reports, and the child's statements. Another consideration is the protection of the community from this type of behavior and whether such behavior will continue. The theme of rehabilitations is a key factor at this stage.

Intake Program

Complaints are screened daily and the complaints that the court feels can be rectified without a formal hearing will be mediated. The Court will not mediate habitual or violent juvenile offenders. These youths will come to Court. The youths whom the Court feels can be mediated will be flagged for the Intake Coordinator. The Intake Coordinator will talk with the youths and their parents, do an assessment, and make recommendations to the Court for referrals. Some of the youths who are coming through the juvenile system could be referred at the onset of problems and be diverted from the juvenile system. If the families would receive a proper referral and follow-up, they could receive wrap-around services and prevent removal from the home. Currently, when the Court receives a complaint, a hearing date is set. There is no assessment tool in place to identify any problems that a youth may be experiencing. The only time a youth is evaluated is if it is ordered by the Court. Once the youth has been ordered, the youth will be seen by Mental Health Services or Drug and Alcohol for an assessment and treatment if necessary. The intake Coordinator will screen the complaints, make arrangements to meet with the youth and parents, do an assessment on this youth, and enter the youth's name in a database. The Intake Coordinator will keep a copy of the complaint along with the assessment. This assessment would be a useful tool for any agency with which this youth may become involved in the future. This information sharing program would be beneficial to the agencies that deal with high-risk juveniles and crime. The assessment tool that the Court will use us called Treatment Intervention Inventory TII - Juvenile.

The following Local Rules of Procedure have been established by the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division:

1.1 Intake Procedure. Chief Deputy Clerk and Intake Coordinator will review delinquency complaints. Complaints which are (1) a first offense (2) not a felony (3) the juvenile is not incarcerated (4) not an aggravated offense and (5) no objection is rendered by the prosectur's office will be referred to the Intake Coordinator

1.2 The Intake Coordinator will receive directly from the prosecutor's office any unruly complaints that are also first offenses in which the juvenile is not incarcerated.

1.3 The Court may in the Court's sole discretion and with the approval of the prosecuting attorney refer cases to the Intake Coordinator to further the interest of justice.

1.4 Upon the referral of a complaint to the Intake Coordinator, the Intake Coordinator shall immediately send a letter to the juvenile and the legal parent(s), custodian(s) or guardian(s) advising said persons of the intake procedure. A meeting will be scheduled with the juvenile and the parent(s), custodian(s) or guardian(s) at a time to be chosen by the Intake Coordinator. A fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) will be charged for the services rendered on behalf of the Juvenile Court by the Intake Coordinator. Said fee shall be payable by money order at the time of the initial conference.

1.5 The Intake Coordinator will discuss with the juvenile and parent(s), custodian(s) or guardian(s) a resolution of the complaint in an attempt to avoid formal court intervention. Should the juvenile voluntarily terminate the program, appear to make no or minimal efforts with the recommendations of the Intake Coordinator or receive a second offens during the intake procedure then the original complaint will be formally filed with the Court and referred to the judge.

1.6 The Intake Coordinator is hereby authorized to develop an Intake Form, which is to completed by the juvenile and the juvenile's parent(s), custodian(s) or guardian(s) and delivered to the Intake Coordinator at the first meeting.

1.7 All cases referred to the Intake Coordinator will receive an intake case number but will not receive a formal case number from the Clerk of the Juvenile Court. The Intake Coordinator will keep a database of all juveniles referred for the intake procedure and the outcome of the intake process.

Since March of 2000, 420 youth have participated in the intake program. The recidivism rate during this period was 11%.

Court Dispositions
Disposition can be any one or more of the following:

Dismissal Fine and Court Costs

Restitution Community Service

Diversion Probation

License Suspension Detention

Placement with Children Services Placement out-of-home

Group Home Placement Commitment to Department of Youth Services

Referrals to outside agency services Referrals to Court programs

Legal Definitions

Delinquent Child (Section 2151.02 Ohio Revised Code)
A person under the age of eighteen years:

(A) Who violates any law of this state, the United States, or any ordinance or regulation of a political subdivision of the state, which would be a crime if committed by an adult.

(B) Who violates any lawful order of the Juvenile Court.

Juvenile Traffic Offender (Section 2151.02.2 Ohio Revised Code)

A person under the age of eighteen years who violates any trffic law, traffic ordinance, or any traffic regulation of this state, the United States, or any political subdivision of this state.

Unruly Child (Section 2151.02.2 Ohio Revised Code)
A person under the age of eighteen years:

(A) Who does not subject him/herself to the reasonable control of his/her parents, teachers, guardians, or custodian, by reason of being wayward or habitually disobedient

(B) Who is a habitual truant from home or school

(C) Who so deports him/herself as to injure or endanger the health or morals of others.

(D) Who attempts to enter the marriage relation in any state without the consent of his/her parents, custodian, legal guardian, or other legal authority.

(E) Who is found in a disreputable place, visits or patronizes a place prohibited by law or associates with vagrant, vicious, criminal, notorious or immoral person.

(F) Who engages in an occupation prohibited by law, or is in a situation dangerous to life or limb or injurious to the health or morals of him/herself or others.

(G) Who has violated a law applicable only to a child.

Neglected Child (Section 2151.03 Ohio Revised Code)
A person under the age of eighteen years:

(1) Who is abandoned by his parents, guardian or custodian

(2) Who lacks proper parental care because of the faults or habits of his parents, guardian, or custodian

(3) Whose parents, guardian, or custodian neglects or refuses to provide him/her with proper or nevessary subsistence, education, medical or surgical care or treatment, or other care necessary for his health, morals, or well being.

(4) Whose parents, guardian, or custodian neglects or refuses to provide him/her with the special care made nevessary by his mental condition

(5) Whose parents, legal guardian, or custodian have placed or attempted to place him in violation of sections 5103.06 and 5103.17 of the Revised Code.

(6) Who, because of the omission of his parents, guardian, or custodian, suffers physical or mental injury that harms or threatens to harm the child's health or welfare.

Abused Child (Section 2151.03.1 Ohio Revised Code)
A person under the age of eighteen years:

(A) Who is a victim of "sexual activity" as defined under chapter 2907.01 of the Ohio Revised Code, where such avtivity whould constitute an offense under that chapter, except that the Court need not find that any person has been convicted of the offense in order to find that the child is an abused child.

(B) Who is endangered as defined in the section 2919.22 of the Ohio Revised Code, except that the Court need not find that any person has been convicted under that section in order to find that the child is an abused child.

(C) Who exhibits evidence of any physical or mental injury or death, inflicted other than by accidental means, or an injury or death which is at variance with the history given of it. Except as provided in division (D) of this section, a child exhibiting evidence of corporal punishment or other physical disciplinary measure by parent, guardian, custodian, person having custody or control, or person in loco parentis of a child is not an abused child under this division if the measure is not prohibitied under section 2919.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.

(D) Because of the acts of his/her parents, guardians, suffers physical or mental injury that harms or threatens to harm the child's health or welfare.

(E) Is subjected to out-of-home care child abuse.

Dependent Child (Section 2151.04 Ohio Revised Code)
A person under the age of eighteen years:

(A) Who is homeless or destitute or without proper care of support, through no fault of his/her parents, guardian, or custodian.

(B) Who lacks proper care of support by reason of the mental or physical condition of his/her parents, guardian, or custodian.

(C) Whose condition or environment is such as to warrant the state, in the interests of the child, assuming his/her guardianship

(D) To whome both the following apply:

(1) He/she is residing in a household in which a parent, guardian, custodian, or other members of the household has abused or neglected a sibling of the child.

(2) Because of the circumstances surrounding the abuse or neglect of the siblings and the other conditions in the household of the child, the child is in danger of being abused or neglected by that parent, guardian, custodian, or member of the household.