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Alleghany County office
Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention
The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
provides counseling services through district court counselor offices with staff
serving juveniles in each county. The Chief Court Counselor supervises court
counselor staff and is responsible to a Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Area Administrator. At intake, court counselors receive and evaluate
all delinquent and undisciplined complaints which law enforcement or citizens
refer for possible court action.
The purpose of intake is to determine from available evidence whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that are alleged in the complaint are true, to determine whether the facts alleged are sufficiently serious to warrant court action, and to obtain assistance from community resources when court referral is not necessary. In the evaluation process, intake counselors interview the complainant and/or the victim, interview the juvenile and the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian, and interview persons who are known to have relevant information about the juvenile or the juvenile's family. Within 15 days, with a possible extension of 15 days, the counselor must make a decision whether to approve the complaint for court action or to handle the complaint without court action. Serious felonies such as murder, rape, first and second degree sex offense, arson, felony drug offenses, burglary, crime against nature, and any felony which involves the willful infliction of serious injury must be approved for court. If the intake counselor determines there is no need for court action and there is no need for referral to a resource, the court counselor may close the case. If there is no need for court action but the juvenile may benefit from a referral to a community resource, the counselor may retain the case and divert the case from court by making a diversion plan or entering into a diversion contract or with the juvenile and the juvenile's parent. If a juvenile who is involved in a diversion plan or contract does not follow through as expected, the court counselor may approve the complaint for hearing in court. Court Counselors prepare reports for the court regarding juveniles who are adjudicated delinquent to assist the court in making the most appropriate disposition for a juvenile. Court counselors monitor court orders that a judge may make regarding undisciplined or delinquent youth. Especially, court counselors work with undisciplined juveniles who are placed under protective supervision and with delinquent juveniles who are placed on probation. In each probation or protective supervision case, a juvenile's need for treatment and service is identified and local resources are mobilized. There is a strong emphasis on working to meet the juvenile's needs while assuring that the community is safely protected. Juveniles who are determined by the court to have committed serious delinquent offenses and who have a high delinquency history are committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for placement in a youth development center. These commitments last a minimum of six months and court counselors stay involved with each juvenile and the juvenile's family during the commitment. Court counselors also provide transitional post release services when the juvenile returns to the community. More specialized services such as Alternative to Detention Counselors and the Transportation programs augment the primary work of court counselors. Alternative to Detention Counselors provide daily contact, supervision and monitoring of an extremely small caseload of individuals who would otherwise need to be in secure detention. Transportation officers provide for the secure transfer of individuals between court, detention and youth development centers. Court counselors are required to have college degrees, and most have majored in social work, psychology, criminal justice, or a related field. They are required to live in the judicial district in which they work. All court counselors and other field staff are state employees who work for the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The chief court counselors in each individual district hire court counselors and local staff. The office hours are 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM and a court counselor is available 24 hours per day for emergencies. Contact Information |