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Organiztion Structure Diagram

JUVENILE OFFICE

The 20th Circuit Juvenile Office (covering Franklin, Gasconade and Osage Counties) is located at 120 S. Church St., Union, MO 63084.

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Phone: 636-583-7333

Fax: 636-583-7337

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The Juvenile Office is charged with the responsibility under Missouri law to intervene in the lives of children and families, when necessary, to help our community protect children and promote community safety and well-being. These children include victims of child abuse or neglect, as well as juveniles who have committed a crime. The Juvenile Office acts as both the prosecution and the subsequent supervision of delinquent juveniles, and the legal arm charged to do what is in the best interest of the children in the foster care system within the Circuit’s jurisdiction.

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It is comprised of eleven full-time staff and two part-time contracted attorneys.

Responsibilites

The Juvenile Office is also responsible for contracting with the following:

  • Five Guardian ad Litems for children in the foster care system.

  • Five Parent Attorneys (Franklin), Three Parent Attorneys (Gasconade) and Two Parent Attorneys (Osage) to represent parents of Child Abuse and Neglect cases to ensure fair and equitable treatment.

  • One Community Service Liaison responsible for connecting youth who are ordered community service, or youth working the Restitution Work Program, with opportunities to complete this work.

  • One Life Skills Leader responsible for holding life skills classes for youth in need.

  • One Family Therapist responsible for meeting with families and providing therapeutic intervention.

  • One Family Facilitator responsible for mediating family conflict and advising parents on effective communication with youth.

  • One Mentor Coordinator and four Mentors responsible for meeting and guiding youth in need of one-on-one older peer support and providing opportunities youth may otherwise not experience (all positions are held by East Central College students in the Human Services major).

2025 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Worked with several agencies to expand services provided to children in the community through previously obtained grants.

  • Worked with several agencies and community members to assist in community service programs to allow juvenile offenders the ability to pay their victim's restitution and implement restorative justice programming, using grant funds.

  • Continued to divert juveniles from formal court involvement through the use of diversion programming, informal cases, as well as System of Care teams.

  • Continued working with Children’s Division to conduct frequent, systematic reviews of open Child Abuse and Neglect cases so that determinations can be made regarding     progress allowing for quicker resolution of cases and earlier permanency for children.

  • Continued to implement the policies and procedures for requirements of the Missouri Standards for the Administration of Juvenile Justice.

  • Continued the ability for GPS and alcohol monitoring as an alternative to secure detention, using grant funds.

  • Continued to utilize grant funding for educational trainings for office personnel and partners.

  • Built a solid Racial and Ethnic Disparities team to ensure fair implementation of Standards.

  • Continued to ensure fair representation of juveniles and indigent parents within the juvenile welfare system.

  • Continued to fund the Community Service Liaison position, to connect youth with community service opportunities quicker, and the Life Skills Program for youth 13-18.

  • Continued growing and expanding the Community Garden, as well as materials to Project Linus for Workshop days for youth, utilizing grant funding.  

2026 OBJECTIVES

  • Continue to work to implement alternatives to secure detention.

  • Continue to work with Children’s Division to expedite permanency in Child Abuse and Neglect cases whether through the termination of jurisdiction due to reunification, termination of parental rights and adoption, or guardianship.

  • Work to ensure all youths with formal delinquency or status offense cases are represented by counsel and at all stages of the proceedings.

  • Expand the First Time Offender Program.

  • Create and sustain a mentorship program for youth at-risk, partnering with local resources.

  • Continue training regarding trauma and the impact it has on the youth we serve.

  • Continue utilizing and developing Diversion programming, as well as expanding our work with the Prosecuting Attorney's office on parental and delinquent accountability to both truancy and educational neglect.

  • Continue to build a solid Racial and Ethnic Disparities team to examine the injustices, and implement a plan to eliminate such, within our system.

  • Continue to meet State Standards for timely hearings for abuse and neglect cases and to utilize grant funding to expedite permanency for abused and neglected children.

  • Continue to grow the Community Service Liaison position and the Life Skills Program for youth 13-18.

  • Continue to grow the Community Garden at the Family Resource Center utilizing grant funds, to allow youth to learn about growing and supplying food to their community.

  • Continue to hold Workshop days for youth to make blankets for Project Linus, benefiting children 0-18 in times of crisis.

QUICK REFERENCES

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