How juvenile custody actually works
- A minor is taken into temporary custody under Welfare and Institutions Code 625 rather than arrested in the adult sense.
- The officer can release the minor to a parent with a notice to appear, or deliver the minor to a juvenile facility.
- Probation intake reviews the case and can release the minor home pending the hearing.
- If the minor is detained, the court holds a detention hearing within the statutory timeframe and decides release.
There is no bail schedule in this process. A bail agent has nothing to post against, and any agency that tells you otherwise is selling you something.
What to do in the first hours
- Get a lawyer with juvenile experience — this is a specialty, and the timelines are short.
- Tell your child to be respectful and to say nothing about the incident until counsel is present.
- Assume the facility phone is recorded. Discuss logistics only.
- Gather school records, counseling documentation, and anything showing supervision at home; it matters at the detention hearing.
- Ask probation intake directly whether release to a parent is available.
When a teenager is charged as an adult
In defined serious cases, the district attorney can ask the juvenile court to transfer a minor to adult court under Welfare and Institutions Code 707. If a transfer happens and the case moves to adult court, an adult bail amount can apply — and at that point we can help. Until then, the answer to "can I bail my kid out" is that this is a detention hearing question, not a bail question.