Drug Court
The Drug Court Program is an intensive one-year program combining probation and substance abuse counseling. The program is broken into four phases, the first being the most intensive and includes frequent visits with their probation officer and counselor, as well as weekly status hearings before the Court. Random and frequent drug screens are performed on these participants.

Youth that are currently on probation may be referred to the Drug Court by a probation officer or the Court. An in-depth evaluation is conducted by the Drug Court Team to determine whether the youth is an appropriate candidate for the program.

Family Court
Based upon the Drug Court model, Family Court is designed for parents that have a significant substance abuse problem and are involved in the judicial system by way of an abuse, neglect, dependency matter. Frequent status hearings before the Court are combined with coordinated services by Children Services and treatment through the Recovery Center. Parents are encouraged to participate in this intensive program to facilitate reunification with their children.

Crossroads Center for Youth
This facility is run by the Fairfield County Juvenile Court and consists of two schools: the Community School, for students in the Lancaster City School district, and the Alternative School for all other students. The school has both short-term and long-term classes. Juveniles on probation may be placed there if they are at risk to drop out of school or are having difficulties at their home school.

F.A.C.T.S. Class
Fairfield County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Community Treatment and Education Services is a program designed to educate parents and youth on the signs and dangers of alcohol and drug use. All juveniles adjudicated by the Court as delinquent or unruly are ordered to attend this substance abuse educational program. The class is held at the Crossroads Center for Youth on Saturday mornings. One parent is required to attend the class with their child.

Intervention
Intervention is a group session held on Tuesday afternoons by Drug Court Counselors and is designed to provide information and education to juveniles and their parents. This program is also used as opportunity to make a preliminary evaluation of a youth in order to make recommendations for a more in-depth evaluation or additional counseling.

D.E.F.T. Program
Driver’s Education Fundamental Training, or D.E.F.T., is a traffic school which is held at the Crossroads Center for Youth three nights a week from 3:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. The program is certified by the state and qualifies as the required juvenile driver improvement program necessary for license reinstatements.

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Traffic court is held every Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. All juveniles are required to appear with a parent, unless the juvenile is charged only with a non-moving offense such as no seatbelt. Non-moving violations may be paid at the clerk’s office prior to the court date in lieu of appearance.

During traffic court arraignments, you will appear before the Magistrate and enter either an admission or denial to the charge.

If you admit to the violation, the Magistrate will listen to what you have to say on the matter and then most likely render a sentence at that time. Sanctions may include all or any of the following: fine, costs, attend traffic school, write an essay and/or license suspension. In more serious cases, drug screens or probation may be ordered. Fine and costs are expected to be paid at that time.

If you deny the violation, the matter will be scheduled for a trial on another date and time. At the trial, you will be permitted to bring witnesses to testify on your behalf.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR LICENSE

Below is an explanation of penalties on second and third moving violations which are required by law :

SECOND OFFENSE: A mandatory 90 day license suspension.
THIRD OFFENSE: A mandatory 1 year license suspension.

• Your driver’s license will be taken immediately and sent in to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles where it will be destroyed.
  
• Driving privileges may be granted at the discretion of the Court. If a substantial hardship is shown, the Court may grant specific driving privileges during the time of the suspension for school and/or work.
  
• If driving privileges are granted and all fines and costs are paid, a right-to-drive will be issued by the Court. Your current license must be surrendered to the Court prior to receiving the right-to drive. The fee for the driving permit is $20. Any later revisions of that permit will cost $5.

In addition to these mandatory penalties imposed by law, the Court may impose other penalties such as a fine, court costs, essays, traffic school, work program or other sanctions. All fines and costs must be paid prior to leaving court.

TO REINSTATE YOUR LICENSE AFTER SUSPENSION:

Suspensions of 90 days or more :
Two weeks prior to the end date of your suspension, call the Bureau of Motor Vehicles at 614-752-7700 or 614-752-7600 for information to reinstate your license.

Suspensions of 89 days or less :
If your license is suspended for less than 89 days and it is your first moving violation, you will need to take the following to your local Deputy Registrar to get a new license when your suspension time is complete:

• Social Security Card
• Birth Certificate
• Parent or Guardian (if you are under 18)  

You will need to ask for a duplicate license. You do not have to re-test or pay a reinstatement fee. The only fee you will pay is the cost for the purchase of a duplicate license. The local deputy registrar is located at: Deputy Registrar, 980 Liberty Drive, Lancaster, OH 43130. Telephone: (740) 653-2478

ESSAYS:
Please make sure your name is legible and at the top of your essay. All essays may be sent to the Court by:

• Mail:
  Fairfield County Juvenile Court
  224 East Main Street
  Lancaster, OH 43130
  
• FAX:
  (740) 687-0942

If you have additional questions, contact:
Jesse Nicholson, Traffic Clerk
740-687-7084

Due to the volume of calls received, please allow 24 hours to respond to your message.

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Juvenile Court has concurrent jurisdiction with Domestic Court in this county. By agreement of the Courts, all changes of custody between parents or relatives will be handled through the Domestic Court.

Juvenile Court handles the following types of temporary custody changes:

• By agreement of parent(s) to a non-relative. (Detailed instructions)*
  *pdf format - Requires the free Adobe Reader from Adobe
• Cases involving abuse, neglect or dependency filed by Children Services.

Please note that custody changes are not granted for school purposes only.

Also see, Grandparent Affidavit/Power of Attorney*.
*pdf format - Requires the free Adobe Reader from Adobe

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(HB 137, Effective 10/19/2006)

Ohio law allows you to apply to have your juvenile record sealed or expunged. The following is an explanation of the process that you must follow to seal or expunge your record.

1. If your offense was aggravated murder, murder, rape, sexual battery, or gross sexual imposition, your record cannot be sealed.
   
2. For other delinquency, unruly and juvenile traffic offenses, you may apply for an order to seal your record if two years has passed after termination of probation or any order made by the Court has ended. This includes orders such as fines, court costs, restitution, counseling, etc. If you have been placed in a juvenile institution or other facility, you may not apply until two years after you have received an unconditional discharge from such institution or facility.
   
3. To “seal a record” means to remove a record from the main file of similar records and to secure it in a separate file that contains only sealed records accessible only to the Juvenile Court. In limited situations, sealed records are also available to (1) law enforcement or a prosecutor for proper prosecutorial or law enforcement purposes; (2) the person who is the subject of the sealed records or (3) a party to a civil action that is based upon the case which is sealed.
   
4. Applying to seal your record doesn't automatically mean that it will be sealed. The Juvenile Court must find that you have been rehabilitated to a satisfactory degree. The Court will consider your age, the nature of the case, the cessation or continuation of delinquent, unruly, or criminal behavior, your education and employment history and any other circumstances that may relate to your rehabilitation. The Court will notify the prosecutor of your application and the prosecutor then has 30 days to file an objection. The Court may schedule a hearing. If a hearing is scheduled, you should bring any witnesses or evidence to the hearing that may assist the Court in making its determination.
   
5. If your record has been sealed, your record will automatically be expunged after a period of 5 years or when you reach age 23, whichever occurs sooner. You may apply to the Juvenile Court to have your sealed record expunged sooner. If you are already 23 years old, and your record is approved to be sealed, it will also automatically be expunged.
   
6. How does expunging a record differ from sealing a record? A sealed record is kept separate from the main files and not accessible in most circumstances, but it physically exists. To “expunge a record” means to destroy, delete, and erase a record, as appropriate for the record’s physical or electronic form or characteristic. This means that the record is physically destroyed and permanently irretrievable.
   
7. If your record is sealed or expunged by the Juvenile Court and someone asks you if you have a record, you may properly reply that no record exists. If asked, the Court will also reply that no record exists.
   
8. You may wish to read portions of the Ohio Revised Code, § 2151.355; 2151.356; 2151.357 and 2151.358 for further details, which is available at most libraries or on the internet.

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