After police respond to a situation where a youth may have committed a crime, they will do one of the following:

• Release the youth to their parent or guardian
• Take the youth into custody and transport them to the Walla Walla Juvenile Justice Center or NORCOR (Northern Oregon Regional Corrections)

After your child has contact with a law enforcement agency, the police officer or sheriff's deputy will write a report and it to the Umatilla County Juvenile Department. This is known as a “referral.” The Juvenile Department will assign your child's case to a Probation Counselor who will meet with you to explain the process further and to help you understand all of your options. It is important that you attend this meeting with your child. The Juvenile Department's response may vary by individual youth based on their history with the department and Oregon Statute.

Throughout our involvement in your child's case, a Probation Counselor works to assess your child's needs. The Probation Counselor may find that your child needs an alcohol and/or drug assessment, a mental health assessment, in-home supports, mental health treatment, etc. We work to address your child's needs and teach new skills to help your child take responsibility for their actions, repair any harm to their victim(s), and assist both youth and their families achieve positive change.

If a law enforcement agency writes a report that says your child may have committed a crime, but they did not take your child into custody, the Juvenile Department will typically contact you within two weeks of receiving the report. The Juvenile Department works hard to handle cases in a timely manner. However, it is important to know several things to affect our ability to begin working your child's case.

It typically takes a week or more for a law enforcement agency to submit a report to our office once an incident occurs. Once we receive a report, the Juvenile Department is responsible for making a determination as to whether or not they support the allegation(s) the officer or deputy charged the youth with in the report. If the Juvenile Department rejects one or more allegation(s), then we will advise you of this fact by mailing a hard copy “Warning” to you. If the Juvenile Department supports one or more allegation(s), our office will contact you for an intake appointment to come in with your child and meet with a Probation Counselor to discuss your child's options.

The parent or guardian plays a very important role in the juvenile justice process. Unlike adults, youth are usually dependent on family members who have a large influence on their choices. The partnership between the parent/guardian and the Probation Counselor can have a big impact on the youth.