Unlike other courts, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court has a special duty to protect the confidentiality of all records regarding the juveniles who come before the court. Because of the laws requiring that the confidentiality of a juvenile's record be protected, the clerk's office of the juvenile court can only provide limited information about a case and then only to people who are involved in a case.
After a certain period, the law provides for the destruction of a juvenile's record. This is because the juvenile court is committed to rehabilitating or treating, rather than punishing, those who come before the court. The welfare of the child and the family is the paramount concern in the court's proceedings.
An exception to this general rule exists in cases involving alleged felony offenses. Felony offense records excluding social, medical, psychological, or psychiatric records are open to the public as are records of any subsequent adjudication of delinquency or convictions of crime.