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1. My child is out of control – what do I do?

You can contact the Children's Mobile Intensive Crisis Team which will help you access resources in the community to assist your child/family in dealing with mental health and behavioral issues. View the Riverwood Center Children's Mobile Intensive Crisis Team pamphlet (PDF). Contact the Juvenile Division Intake Manager at 269-983-7111 Ext. 8354.

You can, also, contact the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office at 269-983-8311, and they can assist you in the filing of an Incorrigibility petition. 

2. What are the telephone rules/visitation rules, etc. at the Berrien County Juvenile Center?

Go to the Berrien County Juvenile Center website.

3. How do I expunge a juvenile record?

Go to the Berrien County Juvenile Probation website.

4. What happens if I miss my court date?

If you miss a juvenile delinquency case hearing, you should immediately contact your Probation Officer.  His/her contact information is available at Berrien County Probation website.

If you miss a hearing in a child protective (neglect/abuse) case, you should immediately contact your attorney, the DHHS caseworker or the Court directly.  In order to contact the Court, you can call the Family Division at 269-983-7111 ext. 8316.

5. How do I get a court appointed attorney on my case?

 In a juvenile delinquency case, all youth are entitled to an attorney.  The Court will appoint an attorney for the youth, unless the youth chooses to hire a private attorney. The Court does not appoint an attorney for the parents/guardians in juvenile delinquency proceedings, but they may hire a private attorney to represent them.

In a child protective (neglect/abuse) case, a Guardian ad Litem (an attorney who   represents the child’s best interests) will be appointed for all children in the case. Legal parents are entitled to an attorney to represent them in these proceedings.  If you qualify financially for a court appointed attorney, the Court will assign one to you.  In order to find out if you qualify for a court appointed attorney, call the Family Division at 269-983-7111 ext. 8316.

6. How does the Juvenile Delinquency process work?

See the Family Guide to Juvenile Court at the Juvenile Probation website.

7. As a parent/guardian of a youth involved in a juvenile delinquency case, what might my financial responsibility be?

See attached document on Parental Reimbursement: (The Parental Reimbursement PDF)

8. My paperwork says I need to be fingerprinted – how do I get that done?

Call the Law Enforcement agency that made the arrest, and they will give you instructions on how/where to go about being fingerprinted.

9. How do I find out what is on my juvenile delinquency record?

Contact the Berrien County Family Division at 269-983-7111 Ext. 8316.

10. Can I get copies of documents from a juvenile case file?

You can review the legal portion of a juvenile case file, and get copies of documents at the cost of $1 per page.  Certain portions of a juvenile file are confidential and cannot be reviewed or copied by the public, including the Dispositional Report and the Social File (which includes all DHHS reports and medical reports).  You must submit a written request to review a file or get copies of documents.  The request form can be found here.

           

11. What juvenile files are open to the public?

All legal pleadings and court Orders in any juvenile case are open to the public. 

In juvenile delinquency proceedings, consent case and diversion case information is not available to the public.  In addition, all documents in the Social File and the Dispositional Report are not public records.

In child protective proceedings, all documents in the Social File are not public records.

12. How can I volunteer to work with children/youth that are court involved?

We have many interesting volunteer opportunities in the Family Division.  Contact the Intake Manager at 269-983-7111 Ext. 8354 to find out more about these opportunities to serve Berrien County children and their families.