Important System Upgrade Notice:

To improve system performance, reliability, and overall user experience, the Court is migrating its Traffic Case Management System from C-Track to Tyler’s Enterprise Justice.
As part of this transition, the Court will temporarily suspend online traffic payment services beginning June 30, 2026, at 3:00 PM.  Services will resume on July 13, 2026, at 7:00 AM once the migration has been successfully completed.  Members of the public may pay in person during this period or may request a two-week extension by calling (925) 608-1000 and following the prompts for Traffic.
C-Track will cease operations on Friday July 10, 2026, at 12:00 P.M.   Enterprise Justice will also be down from Friday, July 10, 2026, at 5:00 P.M. through Monday, July 13, 2026, at 7:00 A.M.   During this period, both C-Track and Enterprise Justice will be unavailable.   Beginning Monday, July 13, 2026, Enterprise Justice will become the Court's official Traffic Case Management System.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we transition to the Enterprise Justice platform and continue enhancing services for our users.

Notice:

The Court's Online Ability to Pay Portal will be unavailable beginning June 30 at 3:00 PM, to transition to a new case management system. During this period, we will be unable to accept online Ability to Pay petitions, but we will continue to accept paper petitions link to paper petition. Thank you for your patience during this transition

Notice:

The Court’s Beta AI Chatbot, Coco, is now available to help answer common questions and guide you to court resources. Try it here: Coco (Beta)

Juvenile Dependency

About Juvenile Dependency

Cases where there may be abandonment, abuse or neglect of the child. The juvenile court’s job is to protect the children in the family.

The juvenile court can make orders in dependency cases. For example, these orders can:

  • Take children from their parents
  • Send children to live with relatives or in foster care or group homes
  • Terminate a parent’s rights
  • Place the child for adoption or guardianship
  • Work with other agencies to get the services the child needs
  • Refer the parents to various agencies to get the services they need

If the court takes a child from his or her home, a government agency is responsible for the child and the child's health, education, and care. The court can also order the agency to assist the parents in making their home safe for the child.

If your child is taken out of your home because of abuse or neglect, you have the right to have a lawyer represent you in court. If you do not have enough money to hire a lawyer, you can ask the court to assign a lawyer to your case. (You may have to pay part or all of the costs for your lawyer if you earn enough money.)

What happens in juvenile dependency court

If you and your child are involved in a juvenile dependency case, you must follow certain steps until your case is resolved. The court will explain what you must do and the deadlines you must meet. The court will try to resolve your case as quickly as possible. If your child becomes a “dependent of the court,” the court will make orders for you, your child, and the social worker. The court makes these orders to protect your child.

The court can order that:

  • Your child live in your home under court supervision; or
  • Your child live in a different home also under court supervision

If your child becomes a “dependent of the court” and the court does not order reunification services to help you get back together with your child, or reunification efforts fail, you can have your parental rights terminated and your child adopted by someone else.

REMEMBER: Throughout the court process, the social worker can explain how the process works. But the social worker cannot give you legal advice. If you have questions, ask your lawyer or the judge. Also, you must tell the court and the social worker where to mail you documents about your child. If you change your mailing address, you must tell your social worker immediately.
Also, if your child has any Native American Ancestors, you must notify the Court and the Social Worker right away. Please provide any details you can obtain.

Contact Information

  • Juvenile Hall: 925-957-2740
  • County Counsel: 925-335-1830
  • Contra Costa Juvenile Advocates (CCJA): 855-999-2252

Court Contacts

Juvenile Dependency Mediation Office: (925) 608-2075
jdmed@contracosta.courts.ca.gov

Juvenile Dependency Mediators

  • Johanna Kwasniewski

Click here for more information