Mount View Youth Services Center

First, a screening team scores a detention screening tool to see whether the child can wait for court at home or in a community program. To keep a child locked up, the judge must find probable cause, a detention-eligible screening result (or grounds to override it), and a substantial risk of serious harm to others or of flight that community options can't manage (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(a)(IV)).

Children ages 10 through 12 can be kept in detention only for a felony or listed weapons charges (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(a)(V)).

The judge can release your child to a parent, guardian, legal custodian, relative or other suitable person without bond, or set an unsecured personal recognizance bond. When the judge finds a substantial risk of serious harm to others, the order can be that no bail be set, with the child held or placed in a preadjudication service program (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(a)(VII)). A juvenile has the right to bond within these limits (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(5)).

The court releases a child to a parent, guardian, custodian, kin or another suitable adult. Call 303-987-4525 to ask. Staff share these details only with a parent or guardian, because they are kept private to protect the minor.

Adult bail rules apply once a case is in adult court. Someone who turns 18 while the case is pending is held in the county jail (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(4)(g)). A district attorney can file charges directly in adult (district) court only if the youth was 16 or 17 at the time and is accused of a class 1 or class 2 felony, certain sexual assaults, or certain crimes of violence after a prior felony adjudication (C.R.S. 19-2.5-801(1)). A juvenile judge can transfer a case to adult court after an investigation and a hearing: for a 12- or 13-year-old accused of a class 1 or 2 felony or a crime of violence, or for a youth 14 or older accused of any felony (C.R.S. 19-2.5-802(1)). Under Colorado law, a youth charged as an adult stays in a juvenile facility while the case is pending unless a district judge holds a hearing and decides an adult jail is the right place (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(c)(II)). Talk with your child's lawyer right away.

Delinquency cases are heard by a juvenile judge or magistrate of the district court in the county where the charge was filed. This center holds youth from the 1st and 5th Judicial Districts, so the case stays in your home county's court even though your child is held here.

• Jefferson County: Jefferson Combined Court, 100 Jefferson County Pkwy., Golden
• Gilpin County: Gilpin County Combined Court, 2960 Dory Hill Rd., Suite 200, Black Hawk, 720-772-2501
• Clear Creek County: Clear Creek Combined Court, 405 Argentine St., Georgetown
• Eagle County: Eagle County Justice Center, 885 Chambers Ave., Eagle
• Lake County: Lake County Combined Court, 505 Harrison Ave., Leadville
• Summit County: Summit County Justice Center, 501 N. Park Ave., Breckenridge

Yes. A detained child must have a lawyer at the detention hearing. If you have not hired one, the court appoints the Office of the State Public Defender (or the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel if there is a conflict). The court also appoints a guardian ad litem for a detained child at that hearing (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(2), (2.5)).

Options include probation, detention, placement with a relative, restitution, treatment programs, or commitment to the Department of Human Services (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1103). A commitment is for a set period of up to two years for most offenses and is followed by six months of parole (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1117). A child under 13 can be sentenced to detention only for a felony or certain weapons charges (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1123(2)).

Committed youth go through a DYS assessment, and a team meeting with the family within 30 days recommends treatment and placement. A client manager is assigned and later serves as the parole officer. The juvenile parole board decides on release (C.R.S. 19-2.5-1203).

Yes, if you can. The screening team must notify a parent or legal guardian and explain the right to a prompt hearing on whether the child stays detained (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(1)). The judge tries to keep the child with a parent, guardian or legal custodian when it is safe.

Colorado law gives a detained child a hearing within 48 hours, not counting weekends and legal holidays (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(1)). When detention continues, the district attorney has 72 hours after the hearing (not counting weekends and holidays) to file a delinquency petition (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(a)(IX)).

A juvenile judge can transfer a case to adult court after an investigation and a hearing: for a 12- or 13-year-old accused of a class 1 or 2 felony or a crime of violence, or for a youth 14 or older accused of any felony (C.R.S. 19-2.5-802(1)). After a direct filing, your child's lawyer can ask the district court to send the case back to juvenile court (a “reverse transfer”, C.R.S. 19-2.5-801(4)). Someone who turns 18 while the case is pending is held in the county jail (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(4)(g)). Under Colorado law, a youth charged as an adult stays in a juvenile facility while the case is pending unless a district judge holds a hearing and decides an adult jail is the right place (C.R.S. 19-2.5-305(3)(c)(II)). If convicted in adult court, a youth may be sentenced as an adult or to the Youthful Offender System in the Department of Corrections (C.R.S. 19-2.5-802(1)(d)). A district attorney can file charges directly in adult (district) court only if the youth was 16 or 17 at the time and is accused of a class 1 or class 2 felony, certain sexual assaults, or certain crimes of violence after a prior felony adjudication (C.R.S. 19-2.5-801(1)). Talk with your child's lawyer right away.