For many people, Juvenile Court is a mystery. A lot of people think it is adult court, but for kids. It is not. Juvenile courts are responsible for keeping children safe and giving them an opportunity to for a bright future. Kids who need legal protection fall into four categories: Delinquency: children facing allegations that …Read More

(Pictured above: Liz Igoe, HCJC Administrator, Jodi Stanton, Judge Kari Bloom, HCJC Administrative Judge) The work done by Hamilton County Juvenile Court Safe Harbor/Anti-Trafficking Coordinator Jodi Stanton is painful and painstaking. She uses a screening tool when she meets with detained youth, mostly teenage girls, to help determine if they are victims of sex trafficking …Read More

UC’s School of Law was not officially back in session, but about 20 second and third-year law students were cramming a semester’s worth of a very heavy, important, and potentially heart-warming topic into one week. They were part of the “Child Protection Advocacy” class taught by Hamilton County Juvenile Court Chief Magistrate Scheherazade Washington and …Read More

Hamilton County Juvenile Court (HCJC) has partnered with Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden on a project called, “Grow Together,” transforming part of our outdoor recreation space at the Youth Detention Center into an urban learning garden. For more than a year, zoo personnel, community volunteers and Youth Center residents have laid soil, planted seeds and starter …Read More

It’s the stuff dreams and lifelong memories are made of. A team of young men, arms slung over one another, singing into a microphone, collaborating on a goal, identifying mistakes, celebrating achievement. It’s a scene that could play out in any high school music room. But in this room, a guard sits near the door …Read More

A grant from the Ohio Department of Youth Services (ODYS) and partnership with MindPeace has resulted in the first of its kind multi-sensory de-escalation room (MSDR) for residents at the Court’s Youth Detention Center. MSDRs are safe, trauma-informed spaces designed to help users improve behavior, self-regulation, process feelings, express emotions, and learn to manage anger. …Read More

Hamilton County Juvenile Court (HCJC) has received final certification of its Family Dependency Treatment Docket from the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Specialized Dockets. HCJC is committed to providing high-quality, supportive services through our specialized dockets. The Family Dependency Treatment Docket is designed to help keep families together. Children whose parents cannot care for …Read More

Thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Joe Burrow Foundation, teachers at the Youth Detention Center satellite school were able to create activities for all students to participate in World Teen Mental Health Days. The grant was written by one of the students with support from art teacher Penny Harris. For two days, instead of …Read More

On the surface, it may seem like an unlikely pairing. An Italian opera at a youth detention center. But on a recent, cold, winter day the combination was warming hearts and opening minds at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court Youth Detention Center. The visit resulted because of a friendship between Marcellene Winfrey, music teacher at …Read More

Hamilton County Juvenile Court seeks dynamic, public-minded applicants for its 2025 Summer Intern program. The 8-week program will include rotating assignments working directly with Administrative Judge Kari Bloom and Judge Stacey DeGraffenreid, as well as chief magistrates for delinquency, dependency, private custody, and child support. Interns also spend time at our Youth Detention Center and …Read More