CMS-07-021/023 - Los Angeles County Department of Children and ...

EXHIBIT A-II
What is a juvenile court? A juvenile court is a court of law that is in charge of child
abuse and neglect cases, as well as delinquency cases.
What is a juvenile court petition? A petition is a request that the court become involved in a
child’s life. There are three kinds of petitions, named after
numbered sections of California law, the Welfare and
Institutions Code:
• 300 Petition
• 601 Petition
• 602 Petition
A 300 Petition is filed by CPS for abused or neglected
children and youth and will state -- "allege" -- the reasons -
that CPS workers think a child needs protection. 12 If the
court agrees with the petition - “sustains” -- at the
jurisdictional hearing, the child becomes a "dependent" of
the court.
A 300 petition is filed because of your parents’ behavior.
The following two petitions will be filed because of your
behavior.
A 601 Petition is filed by the Probation Department and
alleges that a child has either run away, been truant from
school four or more times within one school year, violated
curfew, or regularly disobeyed his or her parents. 13 These
are violations that are unlawful because of your age, your
"status" as a minor. If the court finds the petition is true,
the youth becomes a "ward" of the court and is known as a
"status offender." (Some counties treat runaways under
Section 300.)
A 602 Petition, filed by the District Attorney's Office,
alleges that a child has committed an act that would be
considered a crime if it had been committed by an adult. 14
Like the 601 Petition, if the court sustains this petition, the
result is that the youth becomes a ward of the court as a
delinquent.
This booklet does not discuss the court process for wards.
However, the court may place wards in foster homes and
group homes and in those placements wards have many of
the same rights as dependents.
Legal Rights of Teens In Out of Home Care Page 4