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Juvenile Dependency

Services for Families and Children
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This section tells you about:

• Substance abuse services
• Juvenile Dependency Drug Treatment Court
• Victim-Witness services and money
• Mental health services
• Parenting classes
• Domestic violence services
• Mediation
• Family conferencing (Family Decision Making)
• Educational services
• Health services
• Location
   

Substance abuse services

A lot of kids are in Juvenile Dependency Court because their parents have drug problems. The Court works with the Department of Alcohol and Drug Services to evaluate and treat the parents.

• Drug assessment:
  You can get drug abuse assessment right away at the Terraine Courthouse (called Drug Court). Your lawyer can help you make an appointment.
   
• Treatment plan:
  An expert will make a treatment plan. That can be:
   
  • In-patient or residential treatment
  • Living in a therapeutic housing unit (THU)
  • Serious out-patient treatment
  • AA/NA meetings
  • Getting a sponsor
  • Drug tests, or
  • Other things like going to the Juvenile Dependency Drug Treatment court

Juvenile Dependency Drug Treatment Court:

This is a special court for parents who have drug problems. The parents sign a contract with the court for treatment. And they agree to be supervised. A team from the court supervises the parent.

Your lawyer can give you an application for Drug Court.

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Goal of Dependency Drug Treatment Court:

The goal of the Juvenile Drug Court is to give parents with drug problems the support and services they need.

The Dependency Drug Treatment Court tries to:

• Give the parents drug abuse assessment right away.
• Make a drug treatment plan for every parent.
• Treat every parent with a drug problem right away. The treatment will be appropriate. It will meet the needs of each parent.
• Check up on every parent in regular court appearances. Social Services and the substance abuse provider also supervise the parent.
• Give the parents reasons to do well, and make them take responsibility.
• Work with service providers, other courts, and the community to make sure that the parents and children have the resources they need while they recover and when the parents move back to the community.
• Help parents to reach their goals and go back to living normal lives as soon as possible. The court tries to give the parents a chance to get custody of their children.
   

• If you are a direct victim of crime, you can get these services. You can get services if you saw domestic violence (even a child). You can also get these services if you take care of a child who saw crime, like domestic violence.
   
• To get these services, contact the social worker on the case.
  Or, contact the Victim-Witness program:
  777 North First Street, Suite 220
  San Jose, CA 95112
  (408) 286-9663
  

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1-800-704-0900
Or, go to their website: www.sccmhd.org.
 

• Domestic violence assessments
  The Dependency Court can order 1 or both parents to have a domestic violence assessment. This shows what services the parents need.
  
   
• Batterer’s Intervention Services:
  The Dependency Court can order the abuser (batterer) to go to a batterer’s program. These programs last 52 weeks.
  
   
• Other family services:
  The court can order a parent to go to:
   
  • Anger management classes
  • Parenting without violence classes
  • Counseling, or
  • Other services that can end the violence in the family

  The court can order caretakers to take the children to counseling or assessments. This can help them deal with the violence they saw.
  
  

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• Services for victims of domestic violence:
  The court can tell a victim where to get help. Usually, the court recommends a domestic violence agency. These agencies have different services for victims of violence, like:
   
  • Advocacy
  • Domestic violence advocates
  • Legal help
  • Group meetings
  • Temporary housing

Family conferencing (family decision making)

The Department of Family and Children’s Services has Family Conferencing. A family conference is when the family, friends, a specialist and others get together. They talk about how to take care of and protect a child. The social worker decides to have a Family Conference.

To learn more, call:
(408) 975-5100
 

• Test the child to find out what kind of education they need.
   
• Make an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) if one of the parties asks for it.
   
• If the child doesn’t live at home, they’ll try to take them to the school they went to when they lived at home.
   
• If the child doesn’t live with the parents, and the parents can’t participate in the child’s education, the court can take away the parents’ rights to make educational decisions. The court will ask the SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area) Office to name an “educational surrogate” for the child.
   

Location of services

To learn more, click here Juvenile Dependency Resources and Referrals.

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