Juvenile Law Attorney in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County

Laws Regarding Pennsylvania Minors

PA Juvenile Delinquency Laws

Juvenile delinquency actions can commonly be thought of as court action involving a minor child who is believed to have committed a crime. In juvenile law, the term “delinquent act” is used rather than the term “crime.” Further, because a juvenile is involved, the case is handled in special proceedings designed for juvenile matters rather than through adult criminal court proceedings. Juveniles charged with serious crimes may face a detention hearing whereby a juvenile court hearing officer or juvenile court judge will decide whether the juvenile may be released to his or her parents or whether the juvenile should be detained in a facility such as Shuman Center located in Allegheny County pending the adjudication at the juvenile delinquency hearing. It is important to remember that neither the juvenile nor the parents of the accused juvenile should make any statements to police prior to speaking with an attorney.

Juveniles who have been found to have committed a delinquent act are not sent to an adult prison; however, a juvenile may be sent to a juvenile detention facility. Delinquent children with a prior history are often sent to more serious detention facilities such as New Castle Youth Development Center (YDC) which is considered to be a maximum security facility for juveniles. Most counties have specialized placement programs for delinquent children with drug and alcohol problems or who have committed sex crimes. Juveniles who have been found to have committed less serious delinquent acts may be allowed to remain in their home under the supervision of a juvenile court probation officer.

Juvenile Dependency Laws In Pennsylvania

Juvenile dependency actions are commonly actions brought by the county child welfare agency (often called CYF or the Office of Children, Youth & Families) claiming that a parent or guardian has committed child abuse or child neglect. A child can also be found to be a dependent child if the child’s parents or guardian cannot control the actions of a child. This situation often occurs when a child refuses to go to school or is a runaway. In addition to the local child welfare office, any interested individual is permitted to commence a juvenile dependency action. The interested individual may be a parent who is attempting to care for an unruly child, a teacher, police officer, neighbor or other person. A child who is declared to be a dependent child may be allowed to remain in the care of his or her parent or guardian under the supervision of the court and a CYF caseworker, be placed with a foster parent or foster family, or be placed in a facility designed for dependent children. Parents whose children have been removed from their care have a limited amount of time to rectify the problems that led to the child’s placement and to seek reunification of their family. If reunification does not happen within a certain time, CYF may seek to terminate the parent’s parental rights to the minor child and allow the child to be adopted by third parties.

What To Do If Served With A Pensylvania Juvenile Court Notice?

Our Pennsylvania law firm has extensive experience in juvenile court matters. 

Juvenile court matters often arise with little advance notice to the parent or guardian. Furthermore, in initial proceedings, the technical rules regarding courtroom procedure are sometimes not applicable. If served with any type of notice that a juvenile court proceeding is scheduled, the parent or guardian of the subject child should immediately email our office or call us at one of the following numbers:

Call us at (412) 231-9786

Can’t Afford And Attorney In Allegheny County?

Low income parents in Allegheny County who cannot afford to hire a private attorney should contact the Juvenile Court Project at (412) 391-4467 to obtain a Parent Advocate attorney if their matter involves a dependency or termination of parental rights matter in Allegheny County. All children in dependency matters are appointed a Child Advocate to represent their legal interests. In Allegheny County, KidsVoice can be contacted at (412) 391-3100. In addition, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer may also be assigned to the dependency case.

Parents of juveniles accused of committing a delinquent act may contact the Allegheny County Public Defenders’ office at (412) 350-2401 to obtain representation for their child if they cannot afford to hire a private juvenile delinquency attorney.