Missouri is a combination state. Delinquency services are organized at both the state and local levels in Missouri.

How is detention organized? 

There are 25 secure juvenile detention facilities in Missouri administered at the county or regional level by a juvenile and family court. Any two or more counties within the state may establish a regional juvenile detention district.

Deputy Juvenile Officers, working for the judicial circuits' Juvenile Office, have the authority by statute and Supreme Court Rule to place youth on administrative supervision (informal adjustment with supervision) for a maximum of six months.

State law extends victims of serious and violent crimes certain rights in the juvenile justice system. These rights can be found in Section 595.209 of Missouri Revised Statutes.

Deputy Juvenile Officers supervise youth on probation. Deputy Juvenile Officers are employees of the State Judicial Branch and are hired and supervised by the Presiding Circuit Judge, except in the state's 10 largest counties.

Deputy Juvenile Officers must be older than 21 and have satisfactorily completed four years of college education with a major in sociology or a related field. In lieu of a college degree, a candidate may qualify with four or more years experience in social work with youth on probation or in allied services.

The juvenile court judge makes the determination to commit a juvenile offender to the Missouri Department of Social Services, Division of Youth Services (DYS). However, DYS makes placement decisions for committed youth. 

In most cases, the Division of Youth Services makes release decisions; however, the judge may determine the release date at disposition.

Virtually all youth are placed on aftercare status when they transition out of a Division of Youth Services (DYS) residential facility. DYS case managers assigned to the youth while he or she was in DYS custody continue to supervise youth while on aftercare.

Missouri’s purpose clause is rooted in the Standard Juvenile Court Act. Enacted in 1925 and revised numerous times, The Act proposed the idea the each child coming into court jurisdiction shall receive the care, guidance, and control that will be conducive to his welfare and to the best interest of the state. If the child is removed from the home, the court will provide care as equivalent as possible to that of his parents.

Lower Age: None specified

Upper Age: 16

Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: 20

The Missouri Juvenile Offender Classification System  includes an empirically validated risk assessment for estimating a youthful offender’s relative likelihood of future delinquency, a classification matrix, which links the level of risk with offense severity to recommend graduated sanctions, and a needs assessment for identifying the underlying psychosocial needs of youth.