Benton Franklin Juvenile Justice

Benton and Franklin Counties Juvenile Justice Center 5606 W. Canal Place, Suite 106 Kennewick, WA 99336 (509) 783-2151 FAX (509) 736-2728

Volunteers really help! How you can help... Benton/Franklin Juvenile Court Diversion Unit:
Each year, more than 35,00 juvenile offenders are referred to Diversion units throughout the state. Typically, thesse cases involve youth ages 8 to 17 who are alleged to have committed offenses such as shoplifing and other thefts, possession of alcohol, minor assauts, malicious mischief and trespassing.

WHAT IS DIVERSION?
Each case is handled on an individual basis by staff and/or volunteers.
A Diversion Agreement holds youths accountable by:

Assigning youth community service work to benefit their community.
Reimbursing citims for loss.
Providing informational/educational programs. Several workshops are offered.
Assisting families in finding needed services for their children through referrals to the Family Support Program.

Diverting a substantial number of juvenile offenders allows the Court to spend the necessary time and resources on the more serious and chronic offenders in the system. Most youth seen in the Diversion Unit do not return to Juvenile Court.

VOLUNTEERS
Diversion provides volunteers with the opportunity to participate ina ddressing the problem of local youth crime. This personal commitment results in substantial savings to the taxpayer. More than 1,500 Diversion volunteers throughout the state augment the Juvenile Justice System and serve their community to help prevent additional juvenile crime..

Benton/Franklin Juvenile Justice has volunteer boards in Pasco, Prosser and Connell as well as Teen Boards and individuals who volunteer to see Diversion referrals.

These Community Accountability Boards are composed of volunteers who are screened, trained and supervised by Diversion staff. These Boards include a variety of members from the local community of the youth and represent the cultural diversity of that community. Volunteers impress upon the youth the connection between the youth's illegal behavior and its effect on the youth, their families and others in the community.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIVERSION AND JUVENILE COURT
Diversion

All proceedings are confidential.
Case records are confidential.
Court appearance may not be required.
Legal representation is not required.
A $38.00 fee for service will be assessed.

Juvenile Court

All hearings are open to the public.
Court records are public information.
Numerous Court appearances may be required.
A public defender/private attorney may charge fees.
Youth may be sentenced to community supervision/probation.
A court cost will be assessed.

DIVERSION OBJECTIVES

Diversion strives:

to hold the youth accountable for his or her offense(s).
to focus on victims and require restitution.
to foster change in youths' attitudes/behaviors so that they conform to the law and community standards through awareness, education and workshops.
to impress upon the youth that the community is concerned with his or her conduct.
to increase the juveniles' awareness of the relationship between the offense committed and the people injured by the offense.
to stimulate the maximize the opportunity for citizen participation as volunteers.

DIVERSION STATISTICS Benton/Franklin Counties 1996

1663 youth referred to Diversion
More tha $6,037.00 in restitution collected.
More than 1958 hours of education/counseling completed.
More than 1307 hours donated by volunteers who saw 782 youth

7157 hours of Community Service Work completed.

Strictly Boys	Strictly Girls	Strictly Adults
Juvenile JusticeI Q		Juvenile Justice Tour

Volunteers Needed

Juvenile Justice Diversion Program	Juvenile Justice Truancy Process
Juvenile Justice Family Support Center	Guardian ad Litem (GAL) - Court Appointed Advocate (CASA)
What is SSODA?	Benton Franklin Juvenile Justice Center

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Adopt-a-Page^sm Program by Brad Blair