At 17, youth committing offenses are treated as adults in the criminal justice system. In addition, youth ages 14 through 16 can be transferred to a district court or criminal district court for criminal proceedings.

At times, CPS youth and young adults become involved with the adult criminal justice system. The authorities generally do not acknowledge the department’s conservatorship role and do not attempt to contact the department. In these situations, CPS does not relinquish its conservatorship role, and all the regular casework activity continues, to the extent possible. A referral for a Local Permanency specialist may be needed.

When a 17 year old youth in CPS conservatorship has been charged with a misdemeanor or felony offense, or when a younger youth in CPS conservatorship has been transferred to the adult system, the caseworker must contact the Regional Attorney and the child’s attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem and CASA worker to:

  •  ensure that the parties know of the charge; and

  •  ensure there will be action, including potentially filing a petition for the court to determine indigency, so that the youth can be appointed a criminal defense attorney if necessary.

The caseworker encourages the youth or young adult to work with their appointed defense counsel. Caseworkers never counsel the youth to accept any type of plea. The criminal defense attorney counsels the youth as to whether to accept or decline any offer made by the prosecutor’s office.