A citation is a ticket requiring the child to appear in court on a certain date. You should read the citation carefully and make sure you and your child have a way to get to court on the date indicated. Sometimes juvenile citations won't have a court date on them. This means the juvenile probation department or the court will mail you a date if charges are filed. Keep a close eye on the mailbox and open any mail. This is not a good time to let mail pile up on the kitchen table.  The police will forward a police report to the juvenile probation department. If the citation is for a minor first-time offense, like shoplifting of a small amount, or small acts of vandalism that don't cause much damage, then the probation department may handle the matter internally and ask the child to complete community service or take classes in exchange for not forwarding the charges to the District Attorney (“DA,” for short).  The District Attorney is the lawyer who represents the government in juvenile cases.  Sometimes probation does nothing because they feel no true crime has been committed. If the case is more serious, such as a fight or another violent crime, a DUI, a reckless driving charge, a charge of major property damage, or a sex offense, the probation department will forward the case to the District Attorney. The District Attorney will then decide whether to formally file a juvenile case against your child and what the charges will be. These charges are filed on a document called a petition, which will be mailed to you with a notice to appear in court on a particular date. Once charges are filed, the child will have to appear in juvenile court.