COMMUNITY SERVICE/RESTITUTION PROGRAM
The Community Service Program is a way to hold a youth accountable for their actions by showing them that not only does their action affect the victim, but the entire community. When a referral is received for a child who needs to complete a certain number of hours of community service, the first thing to look at is the type of offense that was committed. The age is also important, because some sites require the youth to be a certain age. After speaking to the youth and their parents about their schedule and when they would be able to work their hours, then the next step is to inquire with different sites to see who needs help and who has the hours available for the youth.
After the child is matched up with a site that is most suitable for them, weekly checks are made to keep track of their hours. Speaking to the supervisor of the site is also important to make sure everything is going smoothly and to make sure there are no problems arising. Very rarely is a child removed from a site for their behavior. The children treat their community service site as they would an employer. If they are running late or are going to have to reschedule they must call the site supervisor ahead of time to let them know. When the child has completed their community service, their probation officer is notified of their completion. It is also important for the probation officer to know the thoughts and comments of the site supervisor, so they can evaluate the youth accordingly.
Often times when a young person commits an offense against a person or organization within our community a certain dollar amount will be attached to that action, this is often referred to as restitution, which must be paid back to the victim(s).
Through our Community Service/Restitution Program the youth of our community can perform community betterment projects that will not only allow the public as a whole to benefit from the work of the young person but the young person is then able to give back to the community. Once this project is completed and the specified number of hours of service are completed the victim can then be paid back from monies budgeted in the Juvenile Office budget each year to compensate the victim(s) for thier loss.