Juvenile Department

Telephone Number: 301-777-5922

Juvenile files and records of the court are confidential and shall not be open to inspection, except by order of court or as otherwise expressly provided by law.

Mission of the Juvenile Court

The following Mission Statement was adopted in 2006 in conjunction with the Juvenile Courts’ recognition and participation as an active member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges – Child Victims Act Model Court Project.

The safety of children is paramount. Utilizing effective inter-agency and community collaboration, the court serves to:

  • Protect children;
  • Provide children stable families;
  • Empower families; and
  • Ensure appropriate linkages to services and community resources while respecting diversity and due process rights of all.

This mission is accomplished by providing timely, courteous, sensitive and effective services to enhance the likelihood of rehabilitation and behavior reform of delinquent children within a sound framework of public safety; by promoting the healing and recovery of abused and neglected children; and by promoting permanency for children who have languished in foster care through making them available for adoption.

The Juvenile Court continually strives to provide children involved in the system the opportunity to become productive, fulfilled adult citizens; and avoid involvement in the adult Criminal Court and the pain of any continuing abuse and neglect. The Court endeavors to build stronger families for the benefit of all our children.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Office Telephone
Allegany County District Court 301-723-3100
Allegany County Department of Juvenile Services 301-722-1660
Allegany County Public Defender's Office 301-777-2142
Allegany County Sheriff's Dept. 301-777-1585
Allegany County State's Attorney 301-777-5962
Department of Human Services/Child Protective Services 301-784-7000

Please be advised that the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court is prohibited by law from rendering legal advice.

Useful Information

Most juvenile proceedings are held in the Allegany County Circuit Court Annex located at 59 Prospect Square.

See our publication, "What is Juvenile Court?" (http://mdcourts.gov/publications/pdfs/juvenile.pdf)

Juvenile Record Expungement

For forms/information to expunge juvenile records, see Juvenile Record Expungement.

Maryland law permits a person with a juvenile record to seek to have that record expunged under certain circumstances.

What is Expungement?

Expungement is the removal of a court or police record from public inspection. The record is either destroyed, moved to a separate secure area from which those without a legitimate reason for seeing the record are denied access, or, if the record can only be obtained through a different court or police record, expungement of that record or the part that gives access.

Who is Eligible?

You may be eligible to have your juvenile record expunged – removed from public inspection – if:

  1. A child in need of supervision (CINS) petition or a juvenile delinquency petition was filed concerning you, or
  2. You received a juvenile citation.

Not every person with a juvenile record will be eligible for expungement. There are specific grounds for expungement.

Filing Fees

There is NO FEE for filing a petition for expungement of a juvenile record (effective 5.17.18).

For More Information

You can learn about Juvenile Record Expungement at the People's Law Library: