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Juvenile Court

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Welcome to Clackamas County

Juvenile Court

The Purpose of the Clackamas County Juvenile Court is to ensure that a minor within the court's jurisdiction is provided with the care and services that best meets their needs. Juvenile matters are confidential. If you are inquiring about a case, you must be a party to the case and show picture identification before any information will be shared.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The information provided on this website is informational only and does not serve as legal advice. No Oregon Judicial Department employee may provide legal advice or recommend which documents to file. 

While court staff can provide general information about court procedures, ORS 9.160 prohibits court staff from giving legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney. 


Dependency petitions involve a child who is under 18 years of age. Situations in which a dependency petition may be filed include a child
  • ​who is beyond the control of his/her parents;
  • whose conditions and circumstances are such as to endanger the welfare of the person (child) or others;​
  • who is dependent for the care and support on a public or private child-caring agency;
  • whose parents have abandoned, neglected, or abused the child; or
  • who has run away from home.
Under Oregon law, any person may file a petition in the Juvenile court alleging that a child is within the jurisdiction of the Court, although petitions are usually filed by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS).

Parties to a Dependency Case: 
  • ​legal parent (mother, legal father, and/or putative father)
  • child
  • Oregon Department of Human Services 
  • State of Oregon
  • Juvenile Department 
  • Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
  • Indian Child’s Tribe (if applicable)

Court Appointed Attorney: 
  • ​The child on a dependency case receives their own attorney.
  • A parent may be appointed an attorney by the court if they financially qualify as indigent. A parent seeking a court appointed attorney is required to file an application with the court. 
  • Parents may hire their own attorney.

Juvenile Guardianship is granted by the court for a child who cannot safely return home in a reasonable amount of time and where adoption is not appropriate. The two most co​mmon types of guardianship are permanent (ORS 419B.365​) and durable (ORS 419B.336​)​. In a durable guardianship, the parents may request the court to vacate the guardianship at any time.

Any party to a dependency case or a person granted rights of limited participation for the purpose of filing a guardianship motion, may file a motion for either type of guardianship. 

Once a guardianship is established, the court will issue letters of guardianship (ORS 419B.367​), and the appointed guardian is required to file an annual report to the court.

The Guardians Annual Report can be found here​.


Termination of Parental Rights is a case in which the legal ties between a parent and a child are terminated. Parental rights may be terminated by consent of the parents (relinquishment) or involuntarily by order of the court. The rights of one parent may be terminated without affecting the rights of the other parent. Petitions are usually filed by the Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the Department of Human Services - Child Welfare.​

Court Appointed Attorney:

  • The child on a dependency case receives their own attorney.
  • A parent may be appointed an attorney by the court​ if they financially qualify as indigent. A parent seeking a court appointed attorney is required to file an application with the court.
  • Parents may hire their own attorney.

Legal Parties to a TPR:

  • legal parent (mother, legal father, and/or putative father)
  • child
  • Oregon Department of Human Services
  • State of Oregon
  • Juvenile Department
  • Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
  • Indian Child's Tribe (if applicable)

Delinquency occurs when a juvenile (minor) violates a criminal law. The Juvenile Court has jurisdiction involving a youth who is under 18 years of age and who has committed an act which is a violation of a law or ordinance. 

Legal Parties to a Delinquency Case: 
  • District Attorney’s Office: the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office files petitions with the court alleging a youth has committed an act which is a violation of a criminal law or ordinance. (Clackamas County District Attorney)

    Named victims are not legal parties to a delinquency case, but do have a constitutional right to address the court. 
  • Court Appointed Attorney: all youth are eligible for a court appointed attorney at no cost to the youth, their parent, or guardian. Youth may hire their own attorneys.

  • Clackamas County Juvenile Department: each youth that becomes court involved will have an assigned counselor from the Clackamas County Juvenile Department. (Clackamas County Juvenile Department​)

Determination Hearing

​For youth adjudicated for a felony sex crime, the juvenile court shall hold a hearing on the issue of whether the youth shall be required to register as a sex offender. This hearing takes place during the six month period before the juvenile court terminates jurisdiction over the youth. 

The youth must be able to show they have changed their behavior, are rehabilitated, and do not pose a risk to the safety of the public.

This process is initiated by the Clackamas County Juvenile Department or the Oregon Youth Authority by a notice to the court. An attorney is provided to the youth at no expense and a hearing is scheduled.  If granted, the youth will not be required to register with the sex offender registry. 
​​

Relief Hearing

Persons residing in Oregon who are currently required to register as sex offenders, from cases originating from a juvenile offense, can be relieved of that requirement under certain circumstances by filing a petition in court. There is a filing fee.

Additional resources: 

Expunction is the process by which a person requests that the court expunge (remove/seal) arrests and/or juvenile charges from their record. Only certain charges are eligible for expunction. The Clackamas County Juvenile Department will assist a person with filing an expunction. 

Expunction Request Form​

Emancipation is a legal process that allows a minor to become legally independent from their parents or legal guardians. There are filing fees. 

For additional information, please contact the Clackamas County Juvenile Court staff at CLA.Juvenile@ojd.state.or.us​.



Contact Us

 Contact
Main Number 971-396-0555
Fax Number 971-396-0570

 Hours

Counter
Mon - Thur, 8:00am - 4:00pm

Phones
Mon - Fri, 8:00am - 4:00pm

 Address 
1000 Courthouse Rd.,
Oregon City, OR  97045

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