The Court Services Department is responsible for all of the legal and clerking functions and services necessary to ensure that the court hearing process is executed in a timely, comprehensive, and efficient manner.
The Department has many units. In addition to the six elected judges to whom all of the cases filed with
the Court are assigned, there are twenty-four full time magistrates. Together, the jurists resolve the delinquency, unruly, juvenile traffic, custody, support, visitation, dependency, abuse, parent-child relationship, and waiver of parental notification matters that are filed.
INTAKE
Intake receives referrals from law enforcement, parents, citizens, agencies, etc. and reviews them to determine probable cause and jurisdiction of alleged delinquent and/or unruly acts. Intake officers are responsible for making appropriate determinations to officially file or divert cases and prepare and process complaints. Intake officers hold mediation hearings and informal hearings to resolve bypassed matters. They also make appropriate referrals to the Court’s Unruly Diversion Program (see page 17) which allowed for the diversion of seventy-
percent of unruly actions in 2007.
COMMUNITY DIVERSION PROGRAM (CDP)
This Court supported community based sanction program diverts first time misdemeanor and status offenders from official court action. The program permits communities to tailor treatment and penalties to fit the needs of the individual juvenile and the concerns and safety of the community, as well as offering youth the opportunity to avoid an official juvenile court record. The main goal of the CDP is to make a juvenile’s first offense, his last offense.
The Court refers eligible candidates for diversion to the appropriate Community Diversion Program. There are forty-nine programs serving fifty-two communities in Cuyahoga County. Seven participating communities received one-time grant awards from the Court in 2007 to enhance their programming. Locations of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Community Diversion Programs are Bay Village, Bedford*, Bedford Heights, Bentleyville, Berea, Bratenahl, Brecksville, Broadview Heights, Brook Park, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Chagrin Falls**, Cleveland-East, Cleveland-West, Cuyahoga Heights, East Cleveland, Euclid, Garfield Heights, Gates Mills, Highland Heights, Hunting Valley, Independence, Lakewood, Lyndhurst, Maple Heights, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Middleburg Heights, Moreland Hills, North Olmsted, North Randall, North Royalton, Olmsted Falls, Olmsted Township, Orange, Parma, Parma Heights, Pepper Pike, Rocky River, Shaker Heights, Solon, South Euclid, Strongsville, University Heights, Valley View, Walton Hills, Warrensville Heights*** Westlake and Woodmere (*includes Oakwood Village ** includes Chagrin Falls Township ***includes Highland Hills).
New initiatives included anger management and conflict resolution services, drug and alcohol testing, counseling, and mentors for participants.
CLERK’S OFFICE
The Clerk’s Office is responsible for the preservation and maintenance of all documents filed in every action or proceeding initiated in Juvenile Court. The office of the Clerk accepts motions and pleadings for filing, records the facts of the filing, performs service, and forwards the filing to the assigned jurist for consideration. All filings for traffic matters began to be electronically scanned in the fall of this year. All case types will be imaged by mid-year of 2008 to further support the Court’s goal of being paperless.
DRUG COURTS & DOCKET INITIATIVES
The Delinquency Drug Court is a voluntary program for non-violent youth who are substance abusers. Drug Court requires participants to attend regularly scheduled court hearings, meet with a case manager multiple times a week, and submit to random drug screens. Participants are also required to attend treatment and graduated rewards and sanctions are utilized as juveniles move through the multiple phases of the program.
The Family Drug Court operates similarly to the Delinquency Drug Court but the participants are parents whose children are alleged to be abused, neglected or dependent and the parents are at risk of losing custody of their children because of drug dependency. The intensive program is designed to reduce the time that a child may have to spend in placement while the parent receives treatment for their substance abuse addiction.
Contracts were signed with the University of Cincinnati to perform evaluations of both drug courts during this calendar year. Construction was completed on a new courtroom designated for drug court clients that is spacious enough to accommodate the large number of juveniles, parents, and families that attend hearings together daily.
In acollaboration with the County Prosecutor and Public Defender Offices, the Court implemented a pilot initiative to relieve overcrowding in the Detention Center (DC). Referred to as the “Thirty Days to Disposition Docket,” low level felony and misdemeanor cases were heard and disposed of by two magistrates within 30 days of the juvenile’s admission into the DC. The successful initiative will be expanded in the coming year.
The Court also dramatically changed its process and hearings for the emergency removal of children from their homes by the Department of Children & Family Services (CFS). Following Ohio law and the Model Court Guidelines of the National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges, the Court requires prior approval for all emergency removals, and the Department of Children and Family Services seeks Court approval of its requests by an ex-parte telephonic hearing performed by an on-call Magistrate.
INFORMATION SERVICES
Over 600 case management information system users are provided training, direct desktop, and network support by Information Services staff. They also produce standard and ad hoc data and statistical reports.
In the fall of 2007, a new state-of-the-art information system known as iCASE “went live” with the traffic docket. It is accessible via the internet and will eventually support a totally paperless Court environment. All other case types are scheduled to be added to the new system in early 2008.
Another technological advancement was the inclusion of all felony warrants issued by the Court in the Cuyahoga Regional Information System (CRIS). CRIS is a computer based Criminal Justice Information System. It provides access to statewide (LEADS) and National (NCIC) criminal justice information on driver’s licenses, motor vehicles, stolen/recovered property, wanted and missing persons, and criminal records. By linking criminal justice data throughout Northeast Ohio, the CRIS provides a readily accessible source of standardized information on agency activity, custodial status, and the judicial process that provides timely information to field personnel to aid them in making decisions, and streamlines record keeping.
DIAGNOSTIC CLINIC
The Clinic’s psychologists perform high quality forensic mental health evaluations on youth and/or families who have vari- ous matters pending before the Court. Fourteen clinicians and numerous interns and fellows completed nearly six hundred evaluations this year. As a result of in- creased efficiencies, evaluations regarding youth in secure detention are now avail- able for the Court within fifteen calendar days.
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