Your EBCLO lawyer will work with your defense attorney to advocate for you to stay in the child welfare system instead of the probation system.

In Alameda County, a person cannot be BOTH a foster youth AND a probation ward at the same time. The Judge has to decide whether a county welfare worker or a probation officer will be in charge of your case and where you live. The Judge will order your probation officer and child welfare worker to do a 241.1 assessment.

What is a 241.1 assessment?

Your probation officer and child welfare worker get together and discuss your case, including your history, your age, your school, your family and your placement. They will recommend to the Judge whether you should be a foster youth or a probation ward.

What will happen at court?

Delinquency Attorney
Your delinquency attorney defends you in the prosecution of your Delinquency (602) case.

At the 241.1 hearing, your delinquency attorney will:

Speak to you about what your probation officer expects you to do, and work with you to make a plan to get off probation.

Speak to the Judge on your behalf about your plan and any concerns that you have about the probation plan, and make sure than any punishment is fair.

Speak to the Judge on your behalf about any past trouble with the court and see if you should remain a foster youth or become a ward of the court.

Dependency Attorney

Your dependency attorney represents you in your foster care (300) case.

At the 241.1 hearing, your dependency attorney will:

Give the Judge more information about who you are, including formation about your history in foster care, and any special needs you might have and what you think you need to be successful.

Speak to the judge about what other people in your foster care case are doing to help you complete your goals, such as schooling, job training, and counseling.

Speak to the judge about your future and goals and what you want to accomplish

You will have 2 attorneys to represent you:

The judge will also get a 241.1 REPORT with recommendations from your Child Welfare Worker and Probation Officer about whether they think you should remain a foster youth or become a ward of the court.

What are the Judge’s choices?

Choice A: 725A probation wardship and keeping you a foster youth

725A probation without Wardship
This means:

Your dependency case will remain open and you will keep your child welfare worker.

The county social services agency will decide where you should live.

You will be assigned a probation officer who will meet with you once a month and keep the court updated on your efforts to satisfy the requirements of your probation.

If you do not complete all your terms of probation within 6 months, you will receive additional 6-month terms of informal probation until you satisfy those requirements. The court can keep you on juvenile probation until you turn 21.

Normally, if a foster youth gets into trouble for things such as running away from placement, breaking curfew, or not going to school, the foster youth can be returned to the Assessment Center. While you are on 725A Probation, if you get into any more trouble – at home, at school, or out in public – you can be brought back into juvenile hall and the whole process starts over again. This means the Judge gets to decide all over again if you should stay in foster care of become a ward of the state.

Choice B: 654.2 W&I informal probation and keeping you a foster youth.

654.2 Informal Probation

This means:

Your dependency case will remain open and you will keep your child welfare worker.

The county social services agency will decide where you should live.

You will be assigned a probation officer who will meet with you once a month and keep the court updated on your efforts to satisfy the requirements of your probation.

If you do not complete all your terms of probation within 6 months, you may, at the court’s discretion, receive additional 6-month terms of informal probation until you satisfy those requirements.

If a foster youth is not successful in completing his/her terms and conditions while on a 6-month grant, the Court may extend the informal probation grant an additional 6 months, not to exceed 12 months from the date the petition was filed.

If the minor successfully competes the program of supervision, the court shall order the petition be dismissed.

Choice C: The Judge can dismiss your foster care case and make you a 602 probation ward.

If the Judge decides to make you a ward of the court:

Your foster care case will be dismissed and you will no longer have your child welfare worker.

You will keep your delinquency attorney but will no longer have your dependency attorney.

You will be placed on formal probation under the supervision of a probation officer and will have to follow all terms of probation that you are given.

The judge and probation officer will get to decide where you live.

If you violate probation, such as running away from your placement, not going to school, not coming home on time, you can be locked up at juvenile hall.

If you become a ward of the court, you can be placed at home with a parent or caregiver at a Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program, or at a more restrictive placement like a wilderness camp or a facility outside of California.