The Children’s Services Division of the Department of Social Services provides numerous services to children and families in Dutchess County, including Child Protective Services, Preventive Services, Foster Care Services, Adoption and Homefinding Services, and Institutional Care and Detention.

The County Attorney, and his supporting staff, is the sole legal advisor for the County and all its units except the Legislature.  The County Attorney’s Office prosecutes and defends all civil actions and proceedings for or against the County.

This function allows online searches of the indexes of land and legal filings with the Dutchess County Clerk’s Office.  Information about the following can be obtained by using the County Clerk Document Search:

• Mortgages
• Deeds
• Clerks Min/LP
• Judgments
• Tax Sales
• Delinquent Taxes
• Federal Tax Liens

The website of the New York State Unified Court System contains a wealth of information about the various types of courts in New York State.  Click on the link above to view information about:

• the cases they handle
• their locations and directions
• court decisions
• forms to download and instructions
• information for litigants and jurors
• court calendars
• directory of judges

Check the County Information portion of the New York State Unified Court System website for your daily obligation as a juror if you have been summoned for jury service.  

Use the NYS Unified Court System's E.Court function to get information on hundreds of thousands of court cases in New York Courts- all online.  Several NYS counties allow cases to be filed online.  Access the E.Court function by clicking on the EGOV button at the right. 

Dutchess County resides within New York State’s 9th Judicial District and is home to a Supreme, County, and Surrogate’s Court, a Family Court, two City Courts, and various Town and Village Courts.  Click Here to find the type of court you need for the issue you wish to address, then find local court contact information for the specific type of court by accessing our City, Town, and Village Court webpage or the website of the New York State Unified Court System.

The Mission of the Crime Victims Board (CVB) is to provide compensation to innocent victims of crime in a timely, efficient and compassionate manner; to fund direct services to crime victims via a network of community-based programs; and to advocate for the rights and benefits of all innocent victims of crime.  Click on the On-line icon to the right to download a comprehensive claim form  victims can use to apply for all CVB compensation benefits for which they may be eligible, including essential personal property, personal injury, and/or death benefits.

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) was established by the 1984 Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to oversee diverse programs that benefit victims of crime. OVC provides substantial funding to state victim assistance and compensation programs—the lifeline services that help victims to heal. The Directory of Crime Victim Services, is a resource designed to help service providers and individuals locate non-emergency crime victim services in the United States and abroad.  Click on the On-line icon to the right to access this service.

The District Attorney is an independently-elected public official who prosecutes or otherwise disposes of all crimes committed in the County of Dutchess, including state institutions and correctional facilities, on behalf of the People of the State of New York.  Information for victims of crime can be found within the webpages of the District Attorney's Office as well as on the following webpage: http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/Community/VictimServices.htm.

The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office is providing information to the community, about certain convicted sex offenders, in accordance with New York State Corrections Law, Article 6-C, entitled Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). SORA became effective in January 1996. SORA is New York’s version of New Jersey’s “Megan’s Law”. Megan Kanka was a young girl, living in New Jersey, who was raped and murdered by a twice convicted sex offender, who was living in Megan’s neighborhood. SORA mandates that certain convicted sex offenders must register with the Division of Criminal Justice Services in Albany and/or the local law enforcement agency. 

The New York State Court of Claims is the exclusive forum for civil litigation seeking damages against the State of New York or certain other State-related entities such as the New York State Thruway Authority, the City University of New York and the New York State Power Authority (claims for the appropriation of real property only).  This is NOT Small Claims court. Click the EGOV icon to view a list of the types of claims that can be filed electronically.

This webpage provides a list of Dutchess County city, town, and village court telephone numbers.

The Dutchess County Sheriff has joined with fellow Sheriffs across the State of New York to implement the Sheriffs' VICTIM HOTLINE. With just one toll-free phone call, a citizen can immediately learn the custody status of any offender housed in any of New York's county jails or other county correctional facilities. The Sheriffs' VICTIM HOTLINE also has an automatic notification feature. Any victim can register with the Sheriffs' VICTIM HOTLINE to be automatically notified if an offender's custody status should change. This feature eliminates the need for a victim to constantly call the Sheriffs' VICTIM HOTLINE to verify the offender's status.  Click Here for information on how to sign up.

The Crime Victims Advocate advises the Attorney General on matters of interest and concern to crime victims and their families and develops policy and programs to address those needs.  The OAG SCAM STOPPER program, aimed at reducing exploitation of older New Yorkers, will inform seniors, service providers, social workers, clergy, and others on how to recognize and report suspected frauds committed against older people.  Click the On-line icon to the right to dowload the OAG SCAM STOPPER program registration form.

STOP-DWI stands for "Special Traffic Options Program for Driving While Intoxicated.  The STOP-DWI legislation, enacted in 1981, permits each of the state's counties to establish a County STOP-DWI Program which qualifies the county for the return of all fines collected for alcohol and other drug-related traffic offenses occurring in its jurisdiction.  The STOP-DWI Program is funded by this fine revenue, not by tax dollars.  In order to receive the fine money, a county must have a state-approved comprehensive STOP-DWI plan in place.

The goal of the Dutchess County STOP-DWI program is to reduce the rate of alcohol and other drug-related injuries and fatalities through the creation and funding of programs relating to enforcement, prosecution, probation, rehabilitation, public information, and education and administration.