Tarrant County Juvenile Services has developed programs and operations with the goal of diverting youth from the juvenile justice system at the earliest appropriate point. The Juvenile Court endorses this belief by striving to identify the least restrictive environment for the care and rehabilitation of children while assuring community safety. To this end, Tarrant County Juvenile Services has developed a range of community and home-based programs as additional options in solving the problem of juvenile crime. Juvenile Services has the ability to offer a diverse continuum of services to youth and families of Tarrant County.
The mission of Tarrant County Juvenile Services is to prevent delinquent conduct and to provide for the care and rehabilitation of children under the jurisdiction of the Tarrant County Juvenile Court. Services are provided to juveniles under the authority of the Tarrant County Juvenile Board, which has designated the 323rd State District Court to serve as the Juvenile Court. The current presiding judge of the Juvenile Court is Judge Jean Boyd. Three associate judges assist Judge Boyd: Judge Tim Menikos, Judge Ellen Smith and Judge Kim Brown.
Services performed include screening and diversion of cases to community resources, presenting objective reports to the court for use at disposition, executing court-ordered treatment and supervision, administering community corrections programs, securing alternative placement and administering collection of court-ordered probation fees and restitution. Services to victims of juvenile crime are also provided.
Tarrant County Juvenile Services operates the Juvenile Detention Center, which is a twenty-four hour secure facility for the temporary detention of juveniles for serious law violations. The goal of the center is to provide supervision, activities and counseling that will benefit each child during his stay. Services provided include educational, medical, recreational and life skills training as well as daily written observations of each child for use by the court.
