H 4613 Session 111 (1995-1996)
H 4613 General Bill, By J. Brown, Bailey, Howard, Lloyd, Moody-Lawrence,
J.H. Neal, J.S. Shissias and Stille
Similar(S 1033, H 4900)
A Bill to amend Subarticle 7, Article 9, Chapter 7, Title 20, relating to the
dispositional powers of the Family Court, by adding Section 20-7-1331, so as
to enact the "Youth Mentor Act", to require the Attorney General to establish
a youth mentor program, consisting of a church mentor program and a community
mentor program, and to provide that participation in the program may be
required as a pre-trial diversion option by a solicitor or as an optional,
alternative disposition of a case by a family court judge; and to amend
Section 20-7-1330, relating to disposition of cases involving children within
the jurisdiction of the Family Court, so as to add a dispositional power of
the court the power to order a child to participate in a community mentor
program as provided in Section 20-7-1331.
02/14/96 House Introduced and read first time HJ-11
02/14/96 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-11
A BILL
TO AMEND SUBARTICLE 7, ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 7, TITLE
20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING
TO THE DISPOSITIONAL POWERS OF THE FAMILY COURT,
BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1331, SO AS TO ENACT THE
"YOUTH MENTOR ACT", TO REQUIRE THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ESTABLISH A YOUTH MENTOR
PROGRAM, CONSISTING OF A CHURCH MENTOR
PROGRAM AND A COMMUNITY MENTOR PROGRAM, AND
TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM
MAY BE REQUIRED AS A PRE-TRIAL DIVERSION OPTION
BY A SOLICITOR OR AS AN OPTIONAL, ALTERNATIVE
DISPOSITION OF A CASE BY A FAMILY COURT JUDGE;
AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1330, AS AMENDED,
RELATING TO DISPOSITION OF CASES INVOLVING
CHILDREN WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE FAMILY
COURT, SO AS TO ADD AS A DISPOSITIONAL POWER OF
THE COURT THE POWER TO ORDER A CHILD TO
PARTICIPATE IN A COMMUNITY MENTOR PROGRAM AS
PROVIDED IN SECTION 20-7-1331.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Subarticle 7, Article 9, Chapter 7, Title 20 of the
1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 20-7-1331. (A) This section may be cited as
the `Youth Mentor Act'.
(B) The Attorney General's Office shall establish a Youth
Mentor Program to serve juvenile offenders under the jurisdiction
of the family court. The program shall consist of a church mentor
program and a community mentor program. Participation in the
program may be required as a pre-trial diversion option by a
solicitor or as an optional, alternative disposition by a family court
judge.
(C) When a child is charged with an offense which places him
under the jurisdiction of the family court and the solicitor feels that
justice would be better served if the child completed a church
mentor program, the solicitor may divert the child to such a
program. Upon completion of the program the proceedings in
family court shall be dismissed.
Participation in the church mentor program is voluntary and the
child or his parents or guardians may refuse to participate based
upon their religious beliefs or for any other reason.
The Attorney General shall establish guidelines for the program,
the mentors, and the churches, mosques, masjids, synagogues, and
other religious organizations that participate in the church mentor
program.
(D) When a child is adjudicated delinquent for a nonviolent
offense in family court, the family court judge may order the child
to participate in the community mentor program. When a child is
ordered to participate in the community mentor program they shall
be assigned to a community organization which shall assign a
mentor to the child. The mentor shall monitor the academic and
personal development of the child for a minimum period of six
months and a maximum period not exceeding one year as ordered
by the court. Failure to complete the program shall result in the
child being brought before the family court for appropriate
sanctions or revocation of suspended commitment.
The Attorney General shall establish guidelines for the program,
the mentors, and the community organizations that participate in the
community mentor program."
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-1330 of the 1976 Code, as last
amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-1330. When a child is found by decree of
the court to come within the provisions of Section 20-7-400, the
court shall in its decree make a finding of the facts upon which the
court exercises its jurisdiction over the child. Following the decree,
the court may, by order:
(a) place the child on probation or under supervision in his
own home or in the custody of a suitable person elsewhere, upon
conditions as the court may determine. Any child placed on
probation by the court remains under the authority of the court only
until the expiration of the specified term of his probation. This
specified term of probation may expire before but not after the
eighteenth birthday of the child. Probation means casework
services during a continuance of the case. Probation must not be
ordered or administered as punishment, but as a measure for the
protection, guidance, and well-being of the child and his family.
Probation methods must be directed to the discovery and correction
of the basic causes of maladjustment and to the development of the
child's personality and character, with the aid of the social
resources of the community. The court may impose restitution or
participation in supervised work or community service as a
condition of probation. The Department of Juvenile Justice, in
coordination with local community agencies, shall develop and
encourage employment of a constructive nature designed to make
reparation and to promote the rehabilitation of the child. If the
court imposes as a condition of probation a requirement that
restitution in a specified amount be paid, the amount to be paid as
restitution may not exceed five hundred dollars. The Department of
Juvenile Justice shall develop a system for the transferring of any
court-ordered restitution from the juvenile to the victim or
owner of any property injured, destroyed, or stolen.
(b) as a condition of probation impose upon the juvenile a fine
not exceeding two hundred dollars when the offense is one in which
a magistrate, municipal, or circuit court judge has the authority to
impose a fine. A fine may be imposed when commitment is
suspended but not in addition to commitment;
(c) commit the child to the custody or to the guardianship of a
public or private institution or agency authorized to care for
children or to place them in family homes or under the guardianship
of a suitable person. Commitment must be for an indeterminate
period but in no event beyond the child's twenty-first birthday;
(d) cause a child concerning whom a petition has been filed to
be examined or treated by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist
and for that purpose place the child in a hospital or other suitable
facility;
(e) order the child to participate in a community mentor
program as provided in Section 20-7-1331;
(f) order other care and treatment as it considers best,
except as otherwise provided in this section. In support of an order,
the court may require the parents or other persons having custody
of the child, or any other person who has been found by the court
to be encouraging, causing, or contributing to the acts or conditions
which bring the child within the purview of this chapter, to do or
omit to do acts required or forbidden by law, when the judge
considers the requirement necessary for the welfare of the child. In
case of failure to comply with the requirement, the court may
proceed against those persons for contempt of court;
(f) (g) dismiss the petition or otherwise
terminate its jurisdiction at any time, on the motion of either party
or on its own motion.
No adjudication by the court of the status of a child is a
conviction, nor does the adjudication operate to impose civil
disabilities ordinarily resulting from conviction, nor may a child be
charged with crime or convicted in a court, except as provided in
Section 20-7-430(6). The disposition made of a child, or any
evidence given in court, does not disqualify the child in a future
civil service application or appointment.
Whenever the court commits a child to an institution or agency,
it shall transmit with the order of commitment a summary of its
information concerning the child, and the institution or agency shall
give to the court information concerning the child which the court
may require. Counsel of record, if any, must be notified by the
court of an adjudication under this section, and in the event there is
no counsel of record, the child, its parents, or guardian must be
notified of the adjudication by regular mail from the court to the
last address of the child, its parents, or guardian."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor.
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