What is the Community Diversion Program?
Community Diversion is a community-based program designed to sanction and assist certain juvenile misdemeanor and unruly offenders. Juvenile offenders and their parent(s)/guardian(s) attend a conference with a volunteer magistrate to discuss the incident and determine how the case may best be resolved. How does Community Diversion work? The Juvenile Court refers eligible misdemeanor and unruly offenders to a program in the community where the child committed the offense or where the child resides. The local community contacts parents and juveniles to schedule a conference with a volunteer magistrate. If the juvenile complies with sanctions agreed to at this conference, the juvenile avoids being formally charged with the offense and has no juvenile court record. How does the Court decide what cases to refer to Community Diversion? To be referred to a Community Diversion Program, the offense must be a misdemeanor or unruly violation. The Court also considers the following factors in maki
