A division of District Court, the Juvenile Court addresses matters concerning delinquency, child in need of supervision (CHINS) and dependency involving children under eighteen years of age. Cases are initiated by the filing of a complaint and/or petition. Please contact the Intake Officer, Kelly Wilhite, to begin the process.

Vickie Mizzell Phone Directory

Beginning Date: March, 1995 Email

In order to process delinquent cases, a copy of the police report is mandatory. Any additional information available concerning the incident is appreciated.

Involving a child who is alleged truant, runaway, or ungovernable.

A child who has runaway from home causing his/her whereabouts to be unknown, should be reported to law enforcement for immediate assistance. If unable to locate the child, a copy of the police report should be brought to the Intake Officer to allow a petition to be filed and a juvenile pickup order issued.

A child alleged ungovernable must be illustrating ongoing behavior problems in the home whereby current or past counseling efforts have failed. The Court requires that significant ongoing attempts in counseling be made to address these behaviors before approaching the Court for assistance.

A child alleged truant is typically referred by school authorities from the jurisdiction of attendance. Any attendance issue should be directed to the Student Services Division of the Shelby County Board of Education at (205) 682-7046 or the Hoover Board of Education at (205) 439-1051.

When pursuing legal custody of a child, the petitioner should initially consult the Shelby County Department of Human Resources (DHR) and request a "Home Study Packet" for completion and submission to that agency. Once the home study process is completed by DHR, a representative from that agency will direct you to file your custody petition with this office. DHR can be contacted at (205) 669-3000, Monday through Friday from 8 A.M. to 4:30 P.M..

Private attorney petitions are required to complete the same home study process before any disposition will be rendered. Furthermore, at the time of filing, the actual petitioner must appear to be sworn and affirm to the allegations made in the attorney prepared petition. It is preferred that attorneys refer their clients to DHR first to initiate/complete the home study process prior to filing the custody petition.

Both mailing and physical addresses for all parties to the case must be available for filing a case with the Court. Doing so will expedite service and ensure notification to all parties concerned.

There are no filing fees to pay at the time of filing.