National Youth Court Center

   

Subscribe to
our free monthly electronic newsletter
Youth Court E-update
 
Date: November 2001 - (Download PDF Version)

Topic: Community Service Options

Question:

1). What are the five (5) most common offenses committed by your youth court respondents (what do offenses do you get the most referrals for)? Please rank from 1-5 with 1 being the most offense most often referred.

2). You want to plan and implement community service projects that will fit the needs of your respondents and the resources available in your youth court. Would you rather:

  1. plan community service projects for your respondents to implement?
  2. guide respondents through the planning and implementation of their own community service project?
  3. both of the above
  4. none of the above

3.) Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects?

Responses from Coordinators:

Duncanville Teen Court
Olivia Harrington
Teen Court Coordinator
P.O. Box 380280
Duncanville, TX 75138-0280
Phone: (972) 780-5063
Fax: (972) 780-6463
oharrington@ci.duncanville.tx.us

1).

  1. DISRUPTION OF CLASS
  2. TRAFFIC
  3. THEFT UNDER $50
  4. CURFEW
  5. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS

2). D, none of the above.

3.) Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects?
WE SEND TEENS TO NON-PROFIT AND GOVERNMENT RELATED ORGANIZATIONS AND LET THEM WORK WITH/SUPERVISE THE TEENS. THIS IS BEST FOR THEM AND US AND GIVES THE TEENS REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES WORKING IN REAL JOBS.

Back to top

Allen County Teen Court
Donna Montgomery
Coordinator
c/o Allen Municipal Court
1 Butler Circle
Allen, TX 75013
Phone: (972) 727-0210
Fax: (972) 727-0104
dmontgomery@ci.allen.tx.us

1.) We do not do traffic violations in our court, but here are the state offenses that we have in order of the most common first.

  1. possession of tobacco
  2. minor in possession of alcohol
  3. possession of drug paraphernalia
  4. disorderly conduct: fighting, abusive language

2. none of the above-At this time we are using churches and community outreach for our community service with them implementing the project that the teens do.

3. At this point we will not try implementing the community service projects. We are still very small and do not have enough volunteers to do this. I am just a part-time court coordinator. I work full time as a Court Clerk and do the teen court as time allows. At this time there is not enough hours in the day for me to be involved in implementing a community service project program. We only have 4 to 6 cases a month at this point and our volunteer organizations offering the community service are doing a fine job.

Back to top

Pima County Teen Court
Adelita S. Grijalva
Program Manager
Pima Prevention Partnership
Teen Court in the Schools
345 East Toole Avenue, Ste. 104
Tucson, AZ 85701
Phone: (520) 884-8799
Fax: (520) 884-8820
adelita_g@yahoo.com

1). What are the five (5) most common offenses committed by your youth court respondents (what do offenses do you get the most referrals for)? Please rank from 1-5 with 1 being the most offense most often referred.

  1. Shoplifting
  2. Minor in Possession of Marijuana
  3. Minor in Possession of Alcohol
  4. Assault
  5. Disorderly Conduct
  6. Drug Paraphernalia

2). You want to plan and implement community service projects that will fit the needs of your respondents and the resources available in your youth court. Would you rather:

a) plan community service projects for your respondents to implement?- We've tried the idea below and found it to be incredibly inefficient with our population.

3). Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects? Yes

Back to top

John Murphy
Pender, NC
cmcteencourt@aol.com

My name is John Murphy, I am the new Teen Court Coordinator for Pender County, North Carolina. In taking over this position last month, I have reviewed old files and offer the following in response to your questions.

1). What are the five (5) most common offenses:

  1. Communicating Threats
  2. Affray
  3. Simple Assault
  4. Disorderly Conduct
  5. Harassing Telephone Calls

2). You want to plan and implement community service projects that will fit the needs of your respondents and the resources available in your youth court. Would you rather:

b) guide respondents through the planning and implementation of their own community service project?

3). Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects? Yes, I think this is a great idea. The students and respondents should work together on projects that benefit the community.

Back to top

Jennifer Strutz
Youth Court Coordinator
362 N. Third Avenue
Stayton, OR 97383
Phone: (503) 769-5749
Fax: (503) 769-7573
jastrutz@aol.com

1.) Five most common offenses:

  1. Theft
  2. Criminal Mischief
  3. Criminal Trespass
  4. Harassment
  5. MIP Tobacco

2) b

3) Yes, and we do

Back to top

Lori Silcox
Midvale Youth Peer Court
8068 S Roosevelt St.
Midvale, Utah 84047

1.) 5 most common offenses

  1. tobacco
  2. curfew
  3. disorderly conduct
  4. school rule violations
  5. truancy

2.) c-We would like to plan community service projects and also guide respondents through planning and implementing their own community service projects.

3.) Yes we already have our volunteers and respondents work together on community service projects.

Back to top

Dan Miller
Columbus County Teen Court
Teen Court Program Director
Whiteville Police Department
117 East Columbus Street
Whiteville, NC 28472
Phone: (910) 642-5111, ext. 132
Fax: (910) 642-5113
ccjuvrst@hotmail.com

1.Five most common offenses:

  1. B&E Larceny
  2. Assault
  3. Possession of weapon on campus
  4. affray
  5. assault, communicating threats to Gov. employee

(2. d.

3.) No, Columbus County is so spread out that I have to travel quite a bit to establish work sites all over. I use Police Depts., Community Centers, Fire and Rescue , Parks & Rec. Churches, non-profit Thrift shops for the girls. I also work some of the youth myself at the Police Dept. where I work on Saturdays due to them going to an alternative school and not getting home until after dark during the week.

Back to top

City of Lewisville Teen Court
Anne Dubinsky
Teen Court Coordinator
P.O. Box 299002
Lewisville, TX 75029
Phone: (972) 219-3671
Fax: (972) 219-3414
adubinsk@cityoflewisville.com

1).What are the five (5) most common offenses committed by your youth court respondents (what do offenses do you get the most referrals for)? Please
rank from 1-5 with 1 being the most offense most often referred.

  1. Theft under $50
  2. Traffic Violations
  3. Possession of Tobacco
  4. Curfew Violation
  5. Disorderly Conduct

2).You want to plan and implement community service projects that will fit the needs of your respondents and the resources available in your youth court. Would you rather:

  1. plan community service projects for your respondents to implement?
  2. guide respondents through the planning and implementation of their own community service project?
  3. both of the above
  4. d) none of the above

We already plan some special opportunities for respondents (see below).

3).Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects? Yes, I would be willing to have them work together. In theory, it is a good idea. In practice, however, I see some difficulties. When, where, and finding the time to meet and plan such projects is the obstacle. In our community, we already have in place excellent non-profits that work with the youth and allow them to come work. Periodically, I plan special events, often in conjunction with another court in our area, to offer another option for respondents. Examples of this include: victim impact forum and the Texas Youth Commission speaker team (incarcerated youth).

Back to top

Aurora Teen Court
Desiree Cordova
Program Director
15001 East Alameda Drive
Aurora, CO 80012
Phone: (303) 739-6543
Fax: (303) 739-6542
dcordova@ci.aurora.co.us

1. The 5 most common offenses:

  1. Fighting
  2. Possession of Cannabis
  3. Insults/Threats/Challenges
  4. Harassment
  5. Harmful/Painful Contact

2. I would rather plan or find already existing community service projects for the respondents to complete.

3. We would be able to do that, however, the number of volunteers would be limited as the time they already volunteer in Teen Court is limited due to other activities and commitments. We would have to determine how many students would be available to take on a new role/project in the program.

Back to top

Lawrence County Teen Court
Marlene Todd
Teen Court Coordinator
P.O. Box 227
Deadwood, SD 57732
Phone: (605) 578-2065
Fax: (605) 578-2112
teencrt@mato.com

1. The five most referred offenses for our court are:

  1. Minor Consumption/Possession of Alcohol
  2. Petty Theft
  3. Possession of Tobacco
  4. Possession of Marijuana
  5. Possession of Paraphernalia

2. (b)

3. yes

Back to top

Adams/Pike Youth Court
Lillian B. Bowen
Coordinator
Adams/Pike Regional Office of Education
507 Vermont
Quincy, IL 62301
Phone: (217) 277-2080
Fax: (217) 277-2092

1: Five most common referrals:

  1. alcohol
  2. possession/consumption
  3. Retail theft
  4. Criminal Damage to property
  5. Curfew/Fighting

2. c. some sanctions are mandated are certain offenses, i.e. alcohol related, have to attend Victim Impact Panel

3. On occassion Court Officers and respondents work on and plan certain projects, depending on funds available and community issues. Time is taken to ensure each student remains in school and has tutoring and/or counseling available on a needs base.

Back to top

Humboldt County Teen Court
Steve Nye
Teen Court Coordinator
5375 Kluncy Canyon Road
Winnemucca, NV 89445
Phone: (702) 623-8130
Fax: (702) 623-8150

1. Five most common referrals:

  1. Petty Theft
  2. Possesion of Marijuana
  3. Exhibition of Speed
  4. Drunk in Public
  5. Fighting

2. Option B - guided responses for projects

3. Yes

Back to top

Winnebago County Teen Court
Shirley Zahn
Program Coordinator
504 Algoma Boulevard
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Phone: (920) 236-1119
Fax: (920) 303-3030
szahn@co.winnwbago.wi.us

1. The five most common offenses in our Teen Court are:

  1. shoplifting/retail theft
  2. disorderly conduct
  3. "other" (sorry, I haven't been here long enough to know what all those were!
  4. theft
  5. resisting/obstructing an officer.

2. b, guide respondents through the planning and implementation of their own community service project.

3. yes

Back to top

Mayes County Teen Court
Tami Stipes
Executive Director
P. O. Box 1087
Pryor, OK 74362
Phone: (918) 825-0960
Fax: (918) 825-6491
stipest@oscn.net

1). What are the five (5) most common offenses committed by your youth court respondents (what do offenses do you get the most referrals for)? Please rank from 1-5 with 1 being the most offense most often referred.

  1. Petit Larceny
  2. Assault & Battery
  3. Public Drunk
  4. Curfew Violation
  5. Vandalism

2). You want to plan and implement community service projects that will fit the needs of your respondents and the resources available in your youth court. Would you rather:

  1. plan community service projects for your respondents to implement?
  2. guide respondents through the planning and implementation of their own community service project?
  3. both of the above
  4. none of the above

Answer: A

3). Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects? Yes

Back to top

Sheboygan County Teen Court
Jeanne M. Jentsch
Coordinator
c/o Lutheran Social Services
1337 N. Taylor Drive
Sheboygan, WI 53081
Phone: (920) 803-6322
Fax: (920) 458-5670
jjentsch@lsswis.org

1. Most common referred offenses:

  1. Retail Theft
  2. Disorderly Conduct
  3. Trespassing
  4. Possession of Tobacco/smoking
  5. Curfew

2. Community Service : b- guide respondents through the planning and implementation of their own community service projects.

3. N/A

Back to top

Cass County Youth Court
Jason Bergstrand
Youth Court Coordinator
c/o Lutheran Social Services
1325 11th Street So.
Fargo, ND 58103
Phone: (701) 271-3253
Fax: (701) 235-7359
Jbergstrand@issnd.org

Please rank from 1-5 with 1 being the most offense most often referred.

  1. MIP/MIC-Alcohol Offenses
  2. Thefts
  3. Truancy
  4. Disorderly Conduct
  5. Crimimal Mischief

2). None of the above.

3). Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects? We currently use an agency called R.E.S.T.O.R.E. to handle all of our community service projects. They charge the respondent $35 to monitor, supervise, and provide liability insurance during their community service. RESTORE has over 60 individual sites and group projects in our area for youths to choose from. The group projects are extremely meaningful.  I have tracked kids while they do their community service projects but it is extremely time consuming, as there tends to be a lot of follow up needed. I like the fact that we just refer our kids to an outside agency that specializes in this area and then they report back to us when they successfully complete their C.S.

Back to top

Mat-Su Youth Court
Lisa Abert-Konecky
Program Coordinator
290 East Herning Avenue
Wasilla, AK 99654
Phone: (907) 373-9045
Fax: (907) 373-9075
msyc@ci.wasilla.ak.us

1) Five most common offenses:

  1. Theft (4 &3), which are almost all shoplifting offenses, and typically make up over 60% of our caseload.
  2. Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance, which is student being caught with marijuana(often at school).
  3. Criminal Trespass
  4. Criminal Mischief
  5. Assault

2) b.

3) willing, but not sure if it is possible.

Back to top

Tom Hanover

With regards to your three questions,the five most common offenses that we send to our Youth Court are:

  1. harassment
  2. minor vandalism
  3. disorderly conduct situations
  4. minor larcenies
  5. school truancys

Our Youth Court Program utilizes our school district and building and grounds departments to handle the community service that guilty juveniles receive. We find that having a program in place is better that trying to develop a community service program for each offender. In regards to the final question we find it best to have a program established that is consistent from year to year and not changed with an influx of new members and volunteers.

Back to top

LaPine Teen Court
Mary Fleischmann
Program Coordinator
P.O. Box 2035
La Pine, OR 97739
Phone: (541) 536-5002
Fax: (541) 536-5766

1. The five most common offenses my court deals with are:

  1. Assault
  2. MIP - alcohol/drugs
  3. Theft III
  4. Harassment
  5. Criminal trespass - vandalism

2. Community service projects...I do c) both of the above

3. I have a limited number of volunteers, but there is a lot of planning and working together in regards to what community service projects are available and the implementation of those projects.

Back to top

Autauga County Teen Court
Martha B. Ellis
Director
696 Silver Hills Drive
Prattville, AL 36066
Phone: (334) 358-4900
Fax: (334)358-4909
teencrt@bellsouth.net

1. The most common offenses are:

  1. Theft of Property, 3rd degree
  2. Alcohol Possession/consumption
  3. Disorderly Conduct
  4. Harassment
  5. Curfew Violation

2. C. Both of the above

3. Yes

Back to top

Johnson County Youth Court
Erin Schellhardt
Youth Court Coordinator
c/o Johnson County Court Services
1255 East 119th Street
Olathe, KS 66101
Phone: (913) 324-6965
Fax: (913) 782-3297
erin.schellhardt@joocoks.com

1. Most common offenses in order:

  1. Theft
  2. Criminal Damage to Property
  3. Criminal Trespass
  4. Battery
  5. Disorderly Conduct

2. B

3. YES

Back to top

Laura Zweig
Teen Court Coordinator
Buncombe County Teen Court
60 Court Plaza
Asheville, NC 28801-3546
Fax: (828) 232-2535

This is a response from the buncombe county teen court. We have just restarted our program and I have only been here for two weeks. I will answer these questions to the best of my knowledge.

  1. Larceny/shoplifting
  2. Simple Assault
  3. Truancy
  4. Communicating threats
  5. Poss. of Alcohol

2) I would rather plan and implement community service projects that will fit the needs of my respondents.

3) Yes

Back to top

Amy Goerlinger
Waupaca Teen Court
Kansas
wcteencourt@hotmail.com

1.Five most common offenses:

  1. Underage Alcohol Consumption/Possession
  2. Possession of Tobacco
  3. Disoderly Conduct
  4. Theft
  5. Possession of Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia

2. b

3. Yes

Back to top

Alachua County Teen Court
Jason Holthus
Teen Court Coordinator
Alachua Co. Sheriff's Office
P.O. Box 1210
Gainesville, FL 32608
Phone: (352) 367-4125
Fax: (352) 374-1809
jholthus@alachuasherrif.org

1). What are the five (5) most common offenses committed by your youth court respondents (what do offenses do you get the most referrals for)? Please rank from 1-5 with 1 being the most offense most often referred.

  1. Retail and Petit Theft
  2. Battery
  3. Possession of Marijuana
  4. Trespassing
  5. Possession of Alcohol by a Minor

2). Answer: B However, if I had additional help I would be happy to plan community service projects for the defendants.

3). Would you be willing/able to have youth court volunteers and respondents work together to plan and implement community service projects? Most certainly! Just another opportunity for the volunteers to help shape the behavior of defendants.

Back to top

Knox County Teen Court
Lolita Junk
Coordinator
c/o American Legion Auxiliary
55 West Tompkins
Galesburg, IL 61401
Phone: (309) 345-3800
Fax: (309) 345-3897
knoxteenct@misslink.net

  1. Theft
  2. Illegal Consumption
  3. Disorderly Conduct
  4. Curfew
  5. Truancy

#2-a

#3- Possibly. It could be a very time-consuming project. Teen Court programs that have a lot of staff could better implement such a program than a TC working with mostly volunteers. Our staff know the defendants from the interviews, and they are in the best position to match defendants with the Community Service sites and supervisors.

Back to top

Teen Court of Brown County
Jill Diedrick
Coordinator
P.O. Box 22308
Green Bay, WI 54305-2308
Phone: (920) 436-4360 ext 1392
Fax: (920) 432-5966
fsteencourt@familyservicesnew.org

1. 5 most common offenses:

  1. retail theft
  2. disorderly conduct
  3. theft
  4. damage to property
  5. curfew

2. D- due to the volume of cases, we give the offenders a list of places and they are responsible for choosing and setting up

3.Possibly, with adult volunteer supervision

Back to top

Cattaraugus County Youth Court
Laurie Peterson
Youth Court Program Coordinator
100 Main Street, Suite 1
Salamanca, NY 14779
Phone: (716) 945-5392 ext. 6205
Fax: (716) 945-1296
laurpe@sal.cattco.org

1. Most common offenses:

  1. Shoplifting
  2. Petit Larceny(not shoplifting)/Poss. of Stolen Property
  3. Criminal Trespass
  4. Criminal Mischief
  5. Harassment

2. C (Both)

3. If appropriate, I would be willing to have volunteers/respondents work together, but I've not encountered a scenario that would be a good fit for it.

Back to top

Reach for Youth, Inc.
Julie Deckard
Teen Court Program Manager
3505 North Washington
Indianapolis, IN 46205
Phone: (317) 920-5900, ext. 28
Fax: (317) 920-5912
jdeckard@reachforyouth.org

  1. Theft
  2. Battery
  3. DOC
  4. Minor possession of Alcohol
  5. Minor poss. of marijuana

#2 B

#3 yes

Back to top

Elkhart County Youth Service Bureau
Tracy Bullock
Teen Court Coordinator
222 Middlebury Street
Elkhart, IN 46516
Phone: (219) 294-3549
Fax: (219) 293-1630

TOP FIVE OFFENSES IN ELKHART COUNTY, INDIANA TEEN COURT ARE:

  1. THEFT CLASS D FELONY
  2. CRIMINAL CONVERSION
  3. INCORRIGIBLE
  4. DISORDERLY CONDUCT
  5. TRESPASS/FALSE INFORMING TIED FOR 5TH PLACE

I WOULD IMPLEMENT COMMUNITY SERVICE WITH "B", WITH THE RESPONDANT'S ASSISTANCE.

Back to top




 


With free Acrobat Reader® software, you can view and print Adobe PDF files.