Family Court

Juvenile Clerk’s Office
The Juvenile Clerk’s Office processes and maintains all matters related to juvenile justice and child welfare. These matters include the following.

  • Wayward and negligent petitions filed by police departments;
  • Dependent, neglect, and abuse petitions filed by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF);
  • DCYF voluntary and involuntary petitions for the terminations of parental rights;
  • DCYF petitions for guardianships of minors;
  • DCYF petitions for adoptions of minors;
  • DCYF petitions for voluntary placement of a minor in state care;
  • DCYF voluntary extension of care petitions for youth who are transitioning to adulthood;
  • Civil certifications for hospitalized minors filed by the hospitals;
  • Administrative appeals from DCYF decisions;
  • Immigration filings for minors who have come to this country with one (1) or no parents;
  • “Mary Moe” petitions for minors who are seeking an abortion without parental consent;
  • Private adoptions of minors;
  • Confirmatory adoptions of minors;
  • Parentage Act petitions for parties seeking to establish parentage; and
  • Voluntary Adoption Reunion Registry applications for adoptees and biological parents seeking to reunify.

The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the days that the court is open to the public. Time restraints prohibit the processing of emergency petitions presented after 3:00 p.m.​​

Contact
Juvenile Clerk’s Office
Garrahy Judicial Complex
One Dorrance Plaza
Providence, Rhode Island 02903
(401) 458-3290

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