What You Need To Know About Juvenile Dependency

By Essie Osborn


Sometimes a child may be abused or neglected by a parent or guardian. When this is taken to a court of law, it is treated as a juvenile dependency case. It therefore involves various actions with the aim to protect children as well as reunite families when need be. They are normally undertaken by the courts of law, which must intervene in every proceeding. It is the duty of the court to determine whether the claims of neglect or abuse of the child are valid.

It is also the duty of the court to decide if the victim should be made a dependent of the court or just urged to remain with the family. However, it is the child to come up with the final decision on the matter. If he/she declines the chance to be reunited with the family or guardian, then the court considers that. In that case, a new residence is set up for him to be relocated.

The court works collaborates with community partners to assist the parents of dependent children. This involves offering treatment to parents suffering from drug addiction. A dependency drug court can also be set up in order to offer extra care for parents with bigger problems. There are several community partners that help the court in this area.

The types of groups working together with the court include Health and Human Service Agencies, County Counsels, Dependency Legal Groups, and Alcohol and Drug Service departments. In some places, there are also volunteers who can help in such cases. There is a specific criterion used by the court to handle dependency cases. Normally, a dependency case only appears for court hearing when the victim has been taken away from the family.

If the child has been taken away, the court notifies the parent on when to appear at the court. This is done by social workers who have to contact the parent as well as inform him/her about the date and time to appear at the court. The dependency hearings, however, are only determined by the type of the case at hand. Generally, the court is responsible for protecting the rights of both the family and the child as well as ensuring that they are exercised in line with the law.

The court is also required to act as the monitor of the government in order to ensure that things are in order. It also appoints attorneys to represent those involved in the case. Dependency hearing requires the court to consider a number of factors. For instance, it has to check the magnitude of the case, reports from the police officers or social workers, and the age of the child.

The court may also have to look into the background of the family, arguments of the attorney, as well as medical and psychiatric records. Additionally, the court also needs to appoint an attorney for each parent or victim in every case. There are a group of people who can be allowed to testify in dependency hearing. They include; police officers, social workers, teachers, doctors, witnesses, or even the child.

In most cases the hearing program is initiated by a petition from the Social Service Agency. This is then used for the identification of all parties involved and those required for the hearing as well the actual allegations against the victim. After that, the clerk of the court files the petition and schedules the hearing of the case.




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