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ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN JUVENILE COURT PROCEEDINGS
LEGAL GUIDE - ACCESS TO DETENTION CENTER RECORDS

Detention centers are run by the Court Support Services Division (CSSD) of the Judicial Branch. Juveniles who have been arrested and are found by the court to pose a threat to others or to the community if allowed to remain at home, or to be likely to run away, commit other crimes, or fail to appear in court, may be detained while awaiting adjudication. A convicted juvenile may also be held in detention pending disposition or placement.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS

The detention center administrative files contain commitment documents and other relevant information pertaining to the juvenile’s stay, such as visitors, classification, and behavior. These files kept by the detention center are considered part of the case file are confidential and may only be released to those entities involved in the case as described in Juvenile Court Records.

HEALTH CARE RECORDS

The administrator of the detention center is responsible for providing health care to all minors being detained. The records of this care is subject to the confidentiality given to all health care information. It is not part of the case records and may be disclosed only with the consent of the parents or guardians, unless there is an applicable exception. See Health Care Records.

EDUCATION RECORDS

Detention centers provide educational programming to all juveniles. The records of the juvenile’s education while in detention are not part of the case file. They may only be disclosed with the consent of the parents or guardians. However, several state statutes provide for the sharing of education records between the juvenile’s school and the detention center.

When a juvenile is in detention, the school board of the town where the juvenile attends school or a charter school attended by the juvenile, shall disclose the student’s education records, upon request of the detention center without the prior consent of the parent or guardian.7 These records are to be used only for educational purposes and may not be further disclosed without a court order or the written consent of the student’s parent or guardian.

When a juvenile returns to his or her school after having been in detention, the detention center will provide all educational records within its custody to the school to which the child is returning or entering.8