Juvenile Intake and Victim Services

Intake

In Deschutes County, when a youth has contact with law enforcement for illegal behavior, a referral is forwarded to Juvenile Community Justice for action. A department intake coordinator and/or Deputy District Attorney reviews the referral to make a referral routing decision. Several factors are considered when determining the direction a referral will take. Those factors include the following:

Nature of crime
Impact to the victim
Youth's criminal history
Youth's risk to reoffend
Youth's age

Law enforcement referrals are typically handled in one of three ways:

Petition is filed with the Court
Youth is given an opportunity to address matter outside of Court by entering into a Formal Accountability Agreement (FAA)
Youth is directed to participate in community accountability program (available for most first-time offenders through local law enforcement, Juvenile Community Justice, Teen Court or other community-based programs)

Victim Services

A victim of a crime committed by a juvenile is asserted certain rights:

Be informed and involved
Be treated fairly and with respect
Expect reasonable protection
Expect confidentiality

While a case is proceeding through the juvenile justice system, a victim can gain information about their case from a victim advocate or the community justice officer assigned to the case, including:

Information about any restitution that is ordered by the Court
What happens if a youth on probation does not pay restitution
Process for handling a violation of youth probation
Questions about parental responsibility to pay a youth's Court-ordered restitution

Generally, a victim is not required to attend court hearings, unless the victim is subpoenaed by the Court to appear for a trial where victim testimony is required. The victim advocate or community justice officer can answer case-specific questions about whether or not a victim is required to appear in Court.