How It All Begins - The Intake Process.

Judge Staci O'Neal and Judge Staci Bevill take you behind the scenes in a conversation about the Intake process for all cases in Mississippi Youth Courts. In Youth Court there is no Grand Jury or Indictment process before a felony type case gets to Youth Court. Abuse and neglect allegations are funneled from the State's Hotline to the County CPS offices and ultimately make their way to the Youth Court for review. This process is handled through a Judge appointed "Intake Unit" that processes hundreds of reports of abuse, neglect, delinquency, truancy, Child in Need of Supervision or Special Care. Ultimately, the Youth Court Judge makes a decision and issues an Intake Order determining the future of the allegations - whether each case goes forward informally, formally, or goes away without any action. During this episode there are several acronyms that are used repeatedly which may be unfamiliar to those outside of the Youth Court environment. The Mississippi Department of Human Services Division of Youth Services is referred to as "DYS" and the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services is referred to as "CPS" throughout this episode. If you know of a neglect or abuse situation in Mississippi, the number to call is 1-800-222-8000. If you need to report a criminal action involving a juvenile please call 911 in an emergency or call your local law enforcement agency to make a report if the situation is not an emergency. "MYCIDS" - The Case Management Software mandated for all Mississippi Youth Courts. Mississippi Uniform Rules of Youth Court Practice 8 & 9 https://courts.ms.gov/research/rules/msrulesofcourt/uniform_rules_yc_practice.pdf Relevant Mississippi Statutes § 43-21-351, § 43-21-353, § 43-21-354, § 43-21-355, § 43-21-357