AG 2000 06 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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;tatement of the Problem: [n concise ter{ninj~logy, describetthe juvenilejustice problem the program ntends to address. 4. few years ago, the State legislature enacted major revisions to the Juvenile Code to address increases in serious and/or violent juvenile offenses, many being committed by much younger youth than ever before. Changes were made with regard to status offenses, emphasizing parental responsibility & more serious sanctions than before for such behaviors. With these changes came a focus on the use of community-based resources to deal with status offenses & the less serious delinquent offenses. Teen Court, hereafter "TC", is a such a resource being offered by the Cabarrus County Mediation Center, Inc. Program Goal: State the effect that the program is designed to have on solving the problem described above. Goals of TC: to offer alternative resources to the use of the traditional juvenile court system in order to prevent referred youth from becoming in- volved in the system; for those already involved at the intake or pre-adjud. level due to certain types of misdemeanors or truancy, to intervene in order to prevent further involvement; to use positive peer pressure & personal re- sponsibility to hold youth accountable for their actions; to affect changes in attitudes/behaviors to enhance & promote family & community harmony while en- couraging referred and/or volunteer youth to become involved in the community. Target Population: Describe the target population and the steps that the program has taken to insure that : the target population is served. Youth who are between the ages of I1 & 16 who have committed certain types of misdemeanors or have exhibited truant behaviors, thereby putting themselves at risk of either first-time involvement with the juvenile court system or becom- ming further involved ifofficially petitioned for such behaviors. As TC does not work with chronic offenders or those who have committed the more serious types of offenses, the focus is on the types of behaviors which are often pre- cursors to these types of behaviors: truancy; simple assualt; simple affray; misdemeanor larceny; shoplifting; & communicating threats. Measurable Objective(s): State in measurable terms the intended effect of the program on specific undisciplined and/or delinquent behaviors. At a minimum, state anticipated reductions in court referrals, runaway behavior, disruptive behavior at school, anticipated improved school attendance and academic achievement. Teen Court has the following numeric & measurable objectives for FY 00/00h O1:48 youth referred; 40 accepted; 34 successful completion. "Succesful" not only be in TC sentence completion but for those involved, a reduction or elimination of at least 75% in: court referrals; disruptive home, school, & community behaviors. 02: Offer referred youth & youth volunteers oppor- tunities to be involved in the community & to have a positive influence upon each other. TC will: maintain 50 or > youth volunteers; 15% of referred youth to remain on as volunteers for 2 or > TC sessions. 03: Offer TC as a re- source to: OJJ/Juv. C~. (60 Yo); law enforcement (20 'A); schools (20 Yo). Information Maintained for Effectiveness Measurement: List the data elements and records the program will maintain to document its effectiveness. Daily tasks of TC are performed by the TC Coordinator (TCC) who maintains in- dividual case files & other information including; referral forms & logs; re- lease forms; interview assessment forms; rules of TC & participation agree- men[s; explanation of community service requirements; liability waivers; reports of community service placements/performance; TC sentencing condi- tions/ienth of sentences; written sentence explantions to youth & parent(s)/ /custodian(s); youth & family contact sheets; sentence compliance/termination log; notices of program progress & termination to referral sources & youth & mrents/custodian(s); exit interviews; required funding/statistical reports.