Juvenile Division

Mission

Our mission is to provide accurate and timely record keeping in a respectful and professional manner.

The Juvenile Division of the Circuit Court handles cases of children who are abused or neglected and are under the age of eighteen.  This division also handles cases involving children under the age of 17 who commit a crime or commit a status offense such as runaway or failure to attend school.  The juvenile division grants adoptions.

Duties

The Juvenile Division of the Circuit Clerk’s office is responsible for, but not limited to: filing and retrieval of all court documents and the creation of court dockets, scheduling of law days, and entering judgments/orders.

Process

Some records of the Juvenile Division are closed and not open to the public.  Others are available.  You may contact the Juvenile Division to see whether those records you are seeking are available for inspection. You will need to know the name of the juvenile.

Abuse or Neglect Cases

Cases that involve abused and neglected children are filed by the Cole County Juvenile Office.  The office most often files cases after there has been an investigation started by the Missouri State Division of Children's Services.  The Children's Division initiates investigations after a hot line report has been made or a complaint has been made to their office.

Safety Concerns

If Children's Division believes that the child is in risk of injury, they will contact the Juvenile Office to file a petition.  Once the petition has been filed, the Court will conduct a probable cause hearing within 72 hours. Parents will be notified of the hearing date.  An attorney will be appointed to represent the child.  Additional hearings will be held on a regular basis to review whether the child can be returned safely to the home.