As a division of District Court, Juvenile Court addresses matters concerning delinquency, child in need of supervision (CHINS) and dependency involving children under eighteen (18) years of age. Cases are initiated by the filing of a complaint and/or petition. For a complete listing of personnel and services please go to the website - www.shelbyal.com
Shelby County Courthouse
First Floor, Room 1G
112 North Main Street
P.O. Box 1253
Columbiana, AL 35051
Office Hours
Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(205) 669-3831
Fax: (205) 669-3704
Delinquent Filings
Cases where it is alleged that a juvenile has committed a criminal act. In order to process delinquent cases, a copy of the police report is mandatory. Any additional information concerning the incident is helpful in the filing process.
Child In Need Of Supervision (CHINS)
Cases involving a child who is alleged truant, runaway, or ungovernable.
Truancy - A child who is alleged to be truant is typically referred to the Court by school authorities from the jurisdiction of attendance. Any attendance questions/issues should be directed to the Student Services Division of the school system where the child is enrolled.
Alabaster City Schools |
Dorann Tanner |
(205) 663-8400 |
Hoover City Schools |
Bob Lawry |
(205) 439-1027 |
Pelham City Schools |
Floyd Collins |
(205) 624-3700 |
Shelby County Schools |
Lisa Boles |
(205) 682-7046 |
Runaway - 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.
Ungovernable - A child alleged to be 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.
Dependency Filings
Cases involving the legal custody of a child with either Department of Human Resources involvement or private petitioners.
If a child is being abused or neglected, the first step is to call the Shelby County Department of Human Resources (DHR) at 205-669-3000 and file a CA/N report for abuse and neglect.
When pursuing the legal custody of a child, the petitioner will need to complete a Dependent Complaint/Custody Affidavit. For the affidavit, the petitioner must have the following information which will expedite service and ensure proper notification to all parties involved -
- Child's full name
- Child's date of birth
- Child's address (both mailing address and physical address)
- Addresses for all parties to the case (mother and father)
- Information concerning the party with whom the child is currently residing
The petitioner must also know the allegations as to why the child is dependent (i.e. abuse, neglect, etc.). An affidavit cannot be submitted to the Juvenile Court Office without all of this information. Once the completed custody affidavit is submitted, a petition will be drawn up for the petitioner to sign. The petitioner will then be given a Home Study packet that they will have to fill out and submit to DHR within 7 days.
DHR can be contacted at (205) 669-3000, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Once DHR processes your Home Study Packet, they will contact you to set up a time to conduct the home study.
Private attorney petitions are required to complete the custody affidavit and 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; an attorney cannot come on behalf of their client with notarized signatures.
There are no filing fees to pay at the time of filing. However, court costs may be assessed once the case proceeds through the court process.
If you need additional resources or information concerning a juvenile matter or if you are unsure if your dependency case will be filed in Juvenile Court or Domestic Relations Court, contact the Juvenile Court Intake Officer at 205-669-3831.
Juvenile Court staff cannot provide legal advice.