When a child is arrested or referred to probation, intake is the first decision point. An intake officer, usually from the juvenile probation department, reviews the referral and decides whether to close the case, handle it informally through diversion, or ask the juvenile court to proceed with a formal petition.

A parent who has just gotten the call that a son or daughter is at the police station or in juvenile hall is often waiting on answers no one has given yet: whether the child is coming home tonight, what the probation officer is deciding, and whether this is already a court case. Most people facing this process have never heard the word "intake" before this week, and the pages they find tend to skip it. This guide walks through intake in order, from the referral through the detention decision, the child's rights during questioning and what follows if a petition is filed. It uses California's rules as the worked example and points out where other states differ.

Before You Start: What Juvenile Intake Is and Who It Covers

Intake is the stage where a probation officer or intake officer reviews a referral and decides what happens next. It comes before any court hearing. Intake is not a hearing, not a finding that the child did anything and not a disposition. A child can also reach intake without being arrested. Police, a school, a parent or an alleged victim can refer a minor.

The ages a juvenile court covers depend on the state. In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 602 places a minor who was between 12 and 17 years old, inclusive, when he or she allegedly violated a law within the juvenile court's jurisdiction, except as § 707 provides. A child under 12 is covered only when the allegation is murder, or rape, sodomy, oral copulation or sexual penetration by force, violence, duress, menace or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury. The court "may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court." A ward of the court is a minor placed under the juvenile court's supervision.

A juvenile case starts with a petition, the document that formally brings the allegations to juvenile court. Juvenile proceedings are not adult criminal cases. In the words of the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, juvenile court language "differs from that used in the criminal court system (where a person is convicted and sentenced)." A juvenile adjudication is not a conviction. For the full court sequence, see the juvenile court process guide.

Step 1: The Referral — How a Minor Enters the System

Law enforcement is the usual starting point. The OJJDP case flow description reports that law enforcement referrals made up most delinquency cases sent to juvenile court. The remaining referrals were made by others "such as parents, victims, schools, and probation officers."

Here is what each referral source typically involves:

  • Police or sheriff. An officer arrests or cites the minor and sends a report to probation.
  • Schools. A school reports conduct on campus that may be a crime.
  • Parents. A parent reports a child's conduct directly.
  • Victims. A person who says they were harmed reports the conduct.
  • Probation officers. An officer reports that a minor already under supervision has allegedly broken the terms.

A referral is not a charge. It is a report describing alleged conduct. OJJDP notes that police also decide at arrest whether to send a matter further or divert it out of the system.

In California, a minor taken into temporary custody is delivered to the probation officer. At that point, Welf. & Inst. Code § 628 requires the probation officer to "immediately investigate" and to "immediately release the minor" to a parent, legal guardian or responsible relative. The exception is when the evidence shows that remaining in the home is contrary to the minor's welfare and at least one of these conditions exists:

  • detention is a matter of immediate and urgent necessity to protect the minor, or reasonably necessary to protect another person or their property;
  • the minor is likely to flee the court's jurisdiction; or
  • the minor has violated a juvenile court order.

Once the minor is delivered to the probation officer, that officer makes the release decision under § 628. In California, a petition to declare a minor a ward under § 602 is filed by the prosecuting attorney (Welf. & Inst. Code § 650), and the probation officer decides whether to take the application for a petition to the prosecuting attorney (§ 653.5). How that authority is divided between probation and the prosecutor varies by state.

Step 2: The Intake Decision — Release, Diversion, or Petition

Intake generally ends one of three ways:

  1. Release with no further action. The case is closed.
  2. Diversion. The matter is resolved without a formal petition, often with conditions.
  3. A formal petition is filed with the juvenile court.

OJJDP describes the review this way. An intake officer first asks whether the evidence is sufficient. If it is not, the case is dismissed. If it is, the officer decides whether formal court intervention is needed.

Informal handling, which OJJDP says is sometimes labeled informal probation, resolves a case without a formal petition. The minor agrees to conditions for a set period, and OJJDP lists examples such as victim restitution, school attendance, drug counseling or a curfew. OJJDP adds that in most jurisdictions an informal disposition is offered only if the youth admits the act. If the youth complies, the case is dismissed. If not, it may be formally prosecuted.

In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 654 allows the probation officer to take a different path when the officer concludes the minor is, or would be, within the juvenile court's jurisdiction. With the consent of the minor and the parent or guardian, the officer may refer the minor to services in place of a petition. Those services can come from a health agency, a community-based organization, a local educational agency, another non-law-enforcement agency or the probation department.

If probation provides the services, the supervision program may last up to six months. The officer may still ask the prosecutor to file a petition at any time within that six-month period or a 90-day period after it. The officer may also file, or request a filing, if the minor has not participated within 60 days. Where the officer judges that the interests of the minor and the community can be protected, the statute directs the officer to make "a diligent effort" to proceed under § 654.

Step 3: Detention — Whether the Minor Is Held or Released

Detention, which means holding a minor in a secure facility while the case is pending, is a separate decision from the petition decision. The two can run at the same time. OJJDP reports that detention hearings are held within a time period defined by state statute, "generally within 24 hours."

California sets its own clock, starting with a 48-hour release rule. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 631, a minor in custody generally must be released within 48 hours, excluding nonjudicial days, unless a petition or a criminal complaint is filed within that time. This does not apply when the minor willfully misrepresented being 18 or older. If a minor is held more than 24 hours and then released without a petition, probation must prepare a written explanation within 72 hours, and a copy goes to the parents or guardian.

The detention hearing follows the petition. A detention hearing is the first court appearance, where a judge or referee decides whether the minor stays in custody. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 632, it must take place before the end of the next judicial day after the petition is filed. A different rule applies to a minor arrested without a warrant for a misdemeanor not involving violence, threats or weapons who is not on probation or parole. That minor must be brought before the court within 48 hours of custody, excluding nonjudicial days, after a petition is filed. A minor who is not brought before the court in time must be released.

The standard at the hearing is not guilt. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 635, the court hears evidence and orders release unless one of these applies:

  • the minor violated a juvenile court order;
  • the minor escaped a juvenile court commitment;
  • detention is a matter of immediate and urgent necessity to protect the minor, or reasonably necessary to protect another person or their property; or
  • the minor is likely to flee.

The court may consider how serious the alleged offense is along with other factors. It must also order release unless a prima facie showing is made that the minor is a person described in § 601 or § 602. Home supervision, with or without electronic monitoring, is an alternative to secure detention, and a minor receives equal consideration for it regardless of county of residence.

Step 4: The Minor's Rights During Questioning and Intake

The constitutional baseline comes from the U.S. Supreme Court. In In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), the Court held that in proceedings to determine delinquency which may result in commitment to an institution in which the juvenile's freedom is curtailed, due process requires notice of the charges, notice of the right to counsel, the privilege against self-incrimination and the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.

Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707 (1979), addressed how a minor's waiver of Miranda rights is judged. Miranda rights are the right to remain silent and to have an attorney before custodial questioning. The Court applied a "totality of the circumstances" test, meaning courts look at the whole situation. That includes the child's age, experience and education.

California adds a statutory protection. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 625.6, before a custodial interrogation and before any waiver of Miranda rights, "a youth 17 years of age or younger shall consult with legal counsel in person, by telephone, or by video conference." The consultation may not be waived.

When a court decides whether a youth's statements can be used, it must consider any failure to comply with § 625.6. The rule does not apply to admissibility when both of these are true:

  • the officer reasonably believed the information was necessary to protect life or property from an imminent threat; and
  • the officer's questions were limited to what was reasonably necessary to get that information.

It also does not require a probation officer to comply in the normal performance of duties under §§ 625, 627.5 or 628.

Step 5: After Intake — The Path to a Jurisdiction Hearing

Once a petition is filed, the case moves through a series of hearings:

  • Jurisdiction hearing, also called an adjudication hearing. At its beginning the petition is read, and the court asks whether the minor admits or denies the allegations. The court decides whether the allegations are true. It is usually heard by a judge, though OJJDP notes that some states give youth a right to a jury trial.
  • Disposition. If the allegations are sustained, the court decides what happens next, using juvenile options and terms rather than adult sentencing.

A minor adjudged a ward under § 602 may receive one of several dispositions. Probation, under which the minor remains in the community under supervision with conditions, is the most common. OJJDP also describes residential placement. California's Division of Juvenile Justice no longer operates.

In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 707 governs the transfer hearing, where the juvenile court decides whether a case moves to adult court. The prosecutor may move to transfer a minor alleged to have committed, at 16 or older, an offense listed in § 707(b) or any other felony. A transfer motion is also possible for a person who was 14 or 15 at the time of a listed offense but was not apprehended before juvenile court jurisdiction ended. To transfer, the court must find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under juvenile court jurisdiction. It considers statutory criteria that include the minor's degree of criminal sophistication. See when a juvenile is tried as an adult.

Sealing is the process by which a juvenile record is closed off from access. In California it is not automatic at 18.

  • Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 781, a person may petition for sealing five years or more after juvenile court jurisdiction ends, or at any time after turning 18. The court orders sealing if it finds no felony or moral-turpitude misdemeanor conviction since then and that rehabilitation has been attained to its satisfaction. A petition about an offense listed in § 707(b) that was committed after age 14 and resulted in wardship may be filed only in the circumstances § 781 lists, which depend on the person's age and on having completed probation supervision, and a record for which the person must register under Penal Code § 290.008 is not sealed.
  • Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 786, the court must dismiss the petition and seal the records when the person satisfactorily completes an informal supervision program under § 654.2, probation under § 725 or a term of probation. Satisfactory completion means no new wardship finding or felony or moral-turpitude misdemeanor conviction during the supervision or probation, and no failure to substantially comply with reasonable orders within the person's capacity. The court may not dismiss or seal when the petition was sustained on a § 707(b) offense committed at age 14 or older, unless that finding was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor or to a lesser offense not listed in § 707(b).

What Varies by State — and Why It Matters

The steps above follow California law, and much of the detail changes across state lines. OJJDP puts it plainly: "Each State's processing of law violators is unique," and processing often varies "from community to community depending on local practice and tradition."

Differences between states can include:

  • Age. The upper and lower ages of juvenile court jurisdiction.
  • Jury trials. Whether a jury trial is available in juvenile court.
  • Diversion. Who decides eligibility and which offenses qualify.
  • Detention. How soon a hearing must follow custody.
  • Adult court. The standards for moving a case there.
  • Records. When and how a record can be sealed.

The route to adult court is one of the sharpest differences. OJJDP reports that in many states prosecutors must file certain serious cases in criminal court. In a growing number of states, prosecutors may choose juvenile or adult court for a defined list of cases. That description is OJJDP's national summary, not California's rule.

A parent outside California is dealing with that state's rules, and the California sections cited here do not apply there. For how a particular charge plays out, see juvenile crimes or California juvenile assault charges.

Typical Timeline and When the Process Gets More Complicated

The sequence generally runs in this order:

  1. referral;
  2. intake decision;
  3. a detention hearing if the child is held, on the statutory clock described in Step 3;
  4. the jurisdiction hearing;
  5. disposition.

Several things can lengthen the timeline:

  • a contested jurisdiction hearing;
  • continuances;
  • psychological evaluations, which OJJDP notes a court may order before disposition;
  • co-respondents;
  • a transfer hearing. In California, § 707 requires the court to postpone taking a plea until the transfer hearing ends.

Some features of a case change what the law allows. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 654.3, a minor is generally not eligible for the program of supervision in § 654 or § 654.2 in listed cases, including a prior adjudication as a ward or a petition alleging an offense listed in § 707(b), with exceptions in which the court states its reasons on the record. Under § 707, a transfer motion depends on the minor's age and the offense alleged.

School consequences, such as suspension, expulsion or a change of placement, can run on a separate track. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover. Other collateral consequences, including employment, financial aid and housing, can follow a juvenile case and depend on the facts and on rules this page does not cover.

Talking Through Where Your Child's Case Stands

Several decisions are made at intake: whether the child is released, whether diversion is offered and whether a petition is filed. This page does not cover the rules of states other than California in detail. To discuss these questions with an attorney, you can contact Juvenile Justice Defense Group to request a consultation about a child's juvenile case.