Juvenile community service programs

Examples of community service programmes run by both non-profit organizations and by the government exist. The Probation Department for the District Court in Washington has run a community service programme since , with at least charitable and government agencies participating. The programme in Washington, and other programmes like it, consists of the following. The sentencing judge will order community service as a condition of probation, specifying the number of hours to be worked and the time within which to complete the order.

Then, the case is referred to a programme coordinator who makes the appropriate placement. Where no such programme exists, a pre-sentencing report is given to the judge suggesting community service. In Washington, the typical order requires the offender to perform between and fifty and two hundred hours of work. Since the offender will be working with a public business, careful screening takes place to assure the public's safety. For the most part, non-violent offenders are chosen for the programme.

If for some reason the order is not completed, the offender, the programme coordinator and the probation officer meet to discuss the reasons therefore, and any alternative means of facilitating the order's completion. Sometimes alterations in the order need to be made; a transfer to a different business must be made; or the offender must reappear for alternative sentencing.

Examples of legislation from the United Kingdom include the Criminal Justice Act of which introduced community service orders there. The Act failed, however, to specify that the orders ought to be reparative rather than punitive, resulting in confusion.

The Act of somewhat alleviated this problem by authorizing courts to impose community service order as a sole sanction. A community service programme in Brussels accepts referrals from the juvenile justice system there when community service orders are imposed at sentencing. Community service orders there attempt to achieve proportionality between the seriousness of the offence and the number of hours worked, with other factors taken into account. The average length of stay is two weeks.

Other activities, afforded to the program include: academic studies provided by teachers, volunteer groups offering learning, recreational and religious activities, mentors and staff implemented activities in physical fitness and life skills. The H. Academy is within the building where Smith County Juvenile Services is located.

Academy is a residential secure facility that is designed for the safety and security of the residents, staff and community. Our goal is to provide residents with a safe, secure, nurturing atmosphere in which they will reflect on past activities, make positive changes in their thinking and behavior, and return to the community as a contributing member.

Our staff is committed to helping and facilitating opportunities for change. We are only part of the solution, the attitude and cooperation reflected by residents and their families is vital to any changes that take place. Academy consists of three phases in which residents have the opportunity to earn points every day to move up to the next phase. Daily points can be earned through participation in treatment, school, exercise, behavior and other daily activities.

Jobs Find job opportunities. Libraries Access helpful resources. The program requires that a juvenile, in response to a specific court order, or at the direction of an assigned probation officer, participate in supervised community service work in-lieu of incarceration, imposed fines, or as a condition of probation.

Program participants, both male and female youthful offenders between 13 and 18 years of age, participate as part of member work crews performing community service work on Saturdays and Sundays, or other days as directed by program staff. Program participants are specifically instructed by program staff as to the proper use of tools, tasks to be accomplished, and expected behavior.

Publications National Gang Threat Assessment. Aftercare Services. Amber Alert: Best Practices. Criminal Career Patterns. Curriculum for Training Educators of Youth in Confinement. Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth. Explanations for Offending. Fact Sheet: Disproportionate Minority Contact.

Federal Justice Statistics, Functional Impairment in Delinquent Youth. Graphic Novels for Youth in Custody. Highlights of the National Youth Gang Survey. Improving Literacy Skills of Juvenile Detainees. Juvenile Arrests Juvenile Court Statistics Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Gang Prevention.

Juvenile Mentoring Program: Report to Congress. Juveniles in Residential Placement, Make a Friend-Be a Peer Mentor. Native American Traditional Justice Practices. Predictors of Youth Violence. Reintegration, Supervised Release, and Intensive Aftercare. Risk Assessment for Adolescents. Serving Youth in Confinement.

Socioeconomic Mapping and Resource Topography. Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System. Spring Issue of Journal of Juvenile Justice. The Impact of Gangs on Communities.