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Family Court - Court Social Services Division
(Juvenile Probation)

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Court Social Services Division Statistical Summary 2007 [12k]

Family Court - Court Social Services Division brochure [154k]

The Family Court - Court Social Services Division serves as the juvenile probation system for the District of Columbia providing court supervision and court-supervised alternatives to incarceration, as well as offering supportive social services to youth whose problems bring them within the purview of the Court. The Division is responsible for the provision of services to juveniles under the age of 18 charged with delinquency and status offenses and their families, from initial court contact until the child is terminated from probation or is committed to the D.C. Department of Human Services.

Family Court - Court Social Services Division Mission

"The mission of the Family Court - Court Social Services Division is to assist the District of Columbia Superior Court's Family Court and juvenile justice system in the rehabilitation of youths through the provision of comprehensive services and probation supervision with an eye toward public safety to prevent recidivism and protecting the community."

Family Court - Court Social Services Division operations

Juvenile Diagnostic and Probation Supervision Branch
Juvenile Diagnostic teams are responsible for providing information and investigational services that assist judges in understanding the character and the needs of the juvenile offenders who appear before them, including, where possible, recommendations as to appropriate dispositions. The Juvenile Diagnostic teams also provide counseling and other services for respondents who are under pre-disposition supervision. The purpose of these services is to help the juvenile offender achieve and maintain a satisfactory social adjustment in the community and to assist families in improving the quality of their family life through counseling.

Juvenile Probation/Supervision teams accept the family as an interrelated system and help them understand their impact upon the family member who is under the Court's jurisdiction. Programs providing wrap-around services for juvenile probationers and their family members include Juvenile Intensive Supervision (JIS) and Employment Information Resource Center (ERIC). This Branch also monitors juvenile interstate probation cases coming into and leaving the District.

Intake and Juvenile Drug Court
The Juvenile Intake Services is comprised of the Juvenile Intake Units and the Central Processing Facility. The Juvenile Intake Unit is responsible for processing delinquency cases from arrest to first court appearance. An intake unit worker appears in court daily for the arraignment of these cases. The intake process of juvenile cases can be lengthy, taking a significant portion of the family's day due to court hearings, meetings with attorneys, meetings with Probation Officers, meetings with counselors, and other involved parties as necessary.

The Central Processing Facility is open seven days a week to process all cases that are received after-hours (between 3:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. Monday-Saturday, and from 3:00 p.m. Saturday to 6:00 a.m. Monday morning). This Court facility is staffed by Juvenile Probation Officers who are responsible for screening arrested youth to determine if they should be released or detained pending their initial court appearance.

The Juvenile Drug Court is an eight- to twelve-month comprehensive substance abuse treatment program aimed at promoting abstinence and healthy living choices for non-violent substance abusing juveniles and their families. It is a new and innovative program that expands the traditional concept of treatment to include the judge, defense attorneys, probation officers, treatment case managers, families, and service providers as members of the treatment team.

Child Guidance/Family Counseling Clinic
The Child Guidance/Family Counseling Clinic is designed to provide psychological, psycho-educational, and neuro-psychological assessments. Training and consultation are provided as well. The clients are seen on an outpatient basis by appointment only. Detained clients are seen at the courthouse. The program is also responsible for providing the Court with in-depth domestic relations home studies to assist the judiciary in child custody matters.

Predoctoral Internship

Family Court - Court Social Services Division - Key Contacts

Terri Odom
Division Director
202-508-1800

Willard Stephens, Jr.
Deputy Director
202-508-1851

Michael E. Barnes, Ph.D.
Supervisory Clinical Psychologist
Child Guidance and Family Counseling Clinic
(202) 508-1816

Denise A. Robinson
Program Manager
Intake and Juvenile Drug Court Branch
(202) 508-1870

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