H 4900 Session 111 (1995-1996)
H 4900 General Bill, By Howard
Similar(S 1033, H 4613)
A Bill to amend Subarticle 7, Article 9, Chapter 7, Title 20, as amended, 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 pretrial
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.
04/10/96 House Introduced and read first time HJ-14
04/10/96 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-14
A BILL
TO AMEND SUBARTICLE 7, ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 7, TITLE
20, AS AMENDED, 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 PRETRIAL
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 pretrial diversion option by a
solicitor or as an optional, alternative disposition by a family court
judge. This program would be available for first-time offenders
who are ineligible for the Pretrial Intervention Program and for
repeat offenders.
(C) When a child is charged with a nonviolent offense which
places him under the jurisdiction of the family court and the
solicitor is of the opinion 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 must 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 must 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, he must
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 must 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 be subject to the
provisions of Section 20-7-400, the court shall must
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 the child's own home or in the custody of a
suitable person elsewhere, upon conditions as the court may
determine. Any A child placed on probation by the
court remains under the authority of the court only until the
expiration of the specified term of his the child's
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 the child's 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.
As a condition of probation, the court may order the child to
participate in a community mentor program as provided for in
Section 20-7-1331. 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 child 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 must transmit with the order of commitment
a summary of its information concerning the child, and the
institution or agency shall must 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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