Oregon Juvenile Law

Our Oregon juvenile lawyers represent parents and children in juvenile dependency, delinquency, and termination of parental rights cases. Juvenile dependency cases may arise when the Oregon Department of Human Services ("DHS") attempts to assert legal jurisdiction over minor children, based on concerns DHS has regarding the level of care the children are receiving from their parents or other care providers.  Our juvenile law attorneys have significant experience working with parents in Oregon to achieve successful outcomes in juvenile dependency cases.

In some juvenile dependency cases, DHS's concerns are unwarranted, and it is advisable to have a contested hearing regarding DHS's attempt to assert jurisdiction.  In other cases, it may be in the parents' best interests to cooperate with DHS by completing various services, thus addressing DHS's concerns.  Our juvenile law attorneys are comfortable following both strategies, depending on the facts of a specific juvenile dependency case.

A juvenile delinquency case occurs when DHS files a petition in juvenile court alleging that a minor child has engaged in conduct that, if the child was an adult, would constitute a crime under Oregon law.  As in criminal court, the state must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the child engaged in the alleged conduct to establish jurisdiction in a juvenile delinquency case.  If jurisdiction is established, then, in some cases, a court may grant the Oregon Youth Authority ("OYA") legal custody of the child.