The detention hearing is the first hearing in a Juvenile Dependency case. If your child has been removed, the detention hearing will occur soon after the removal.

It is important at this time to make sure the Department is made aware of any relatives that the child can be placed with.

The jurisdiction hearing is where the Court will decide if the allegations made by the Department are true.

If the Court finds some or all of the allegations are true during the jurisdiction hearing, the Court will hold a disposition hearing to determine what should be done with the children.

The Court will order one of the following:

Dismissal of the case.

Family Maintenance: The children are placed with a parent or guardian at home, and the Department and the Court will supervise the family.

Family Reunification: The children will be placed in a foster care placement, relative’s home, or group home while the parents complete Family Reunification services.

Bypass: The children are removed, and the parents are not offered Family Reunification services. This commonly happens in situations where a parent has prior juvenile dependency history.

The Court will see how the children and parents are doing at the 6-month review hearing. The Court can continue family reunification or order the children returned home on family maintenance. If the children are already home, the Court may dismiss the case and Court supervision will end.

If a child in the case is younger than one year old at the time of removal and the parents have not made significant progress in their case plan, the Court may order termination of family reunification services at the 6-month review hearing.

The court will check again on how the children and parents are doing at the 12-month mark. If the Court finds that the children are likely to be able to be returned within six months, the Court can continue family reunification for an additional six months.

If the children are not going to be able to return home, family reunification services will be terminated at this time.

The Court will consider if the children are able to return home. If not, family reunification services will be terminated and a hearing to select a permanent plan for the children will be set.

If the children are placed with a parent or guardian on family maintenance, the Court will supervise the family and set a review hearing to see how the parents are doing on their case plan.

Once the Court finds there is no longer a need to supervise the family and/or the case plan has been completed, the case will be dismissed.

Often called a “.26” hearing, the Selection & Implementation hearing is when the Court selects a permanent plan if the children cannot return home and/or the parents do not successfully reunify.

Termination of Parental Rights and Adoption: Adoption is the Court’s preferred permanent plan as it offers the most permanency. If the children can be adopted, the Court may terminate the parents’ rights at the .26 hearing.

Legal Guardianship: The Court may also order a legal guardianship as a permanent plan if an adoptive parent is not available for the child.

Long term placement: This is the Court’s least preferred option as it offers the least permanence for the child. The placement can be in a foster home, with a relative or family friend, or a group home.

A post-permanency review hearing will be scheduled every six months as long as the child does not yet have a permanent home.