S 1299 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S 1299 General Bill, By Thomas
A Bill to amend Title 20, Chapter 7, Article 9, Code of Laws of South
Carolina, 1976, relating to procedures for family courts, by adding Subarticle
8 to enact the Youth Mentor Program Act so as to establish the Youth Mentor
Program in the Office of the Attorney General to provide a pretrial diversion
mentor program and a community mentor program as an alternative to commitment
for juveniles adjudicated delinquent; and to amend Section 20-7-1330, as
amended, relating to the dispositional powers of the family court, so as to
authorize the court to order participation in a youth mentor program as a
condition of parole.
03/27/96 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-7
03/27/96 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-7
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 20, CHAPTER 7, ARTICLE 9, CODE OF
LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO
PROCEDURES FOR FAMILY COURTS, BY ADDING
SUBARTICLE 8 TO ENACT THE YOUTH MENTOR PROGRAM
ACT SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE YOUTH MENTOR PROGRAM
IN THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PROVIDE
A PRETRIAL DIVERSION CHURCH MENTOR PROGRAM AND
A COMMUNITY MENTOR PROGRAM AS AN ALTERNATIVE
TO COMMITMENT FOR JUVENILES ADJUDICATED
DELINQUENT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1330, AS
AMENDED, RELATING TO THE DISPOSITIONAL POWERS OF
THE FAMILY COURT, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE COURT TO
ORDER PARTICIPATION IN A YOUTH MENTOR PROGRAM
AS A CONDITION OF PAROLE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 20, Chapter 7, Article 9 is amended by adding:
"Subarticle 8
Youth Mentor Program
Section 20-7-1352. This subarticle may be cited as the Youth
Mentor Program Act.
Section 20-7-1354. (A) There is established in the Office of the
Attorney General the Youth Mentor Program to serve juvenile
offenders in family court. The program shall include a church mentor
program and a community mentor program. A solicitor may refer a
juvenile to the church mentor program as a pretrial diversion or the
family court may order the juvenile to participate in the community
mentor program as an alternative disposition.
(B) The Attorney General shall develop guidelines for this
program and for the mentors, churches, mosques, masjids,
synagogues, and community organizations that participate in the
Youth Mentor Program.
Section 20-7-1356. (A) When a child is under the jurisdiction of
the family court for committing a criminal offense and the solicitor
feels that justice would be better served if the child completed a
church mentor program, the solicitor may refer the child to the
program. Upon completion of the program the criminal charges must
be dismissed.
(B) The church mentor program is a voluntary program
established under the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to
Section 20-7-1354, and the child or the child's parents or guardians
may refuse to participate based upon their religious beliefs or any
other reason.
Section 20-7-1358. When a child is adjudicated delinquent for a
nonviolent offense, the family court judge as a condition of probation
may order the child to participate in the community mentor program
established under the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to
Section 20-7-1354, and the office shall refer the child 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 of six months and a maximum of one year as ordered by
the court. Failure to complete the program results in the child being
brought before the family court for appropriate sanctions including,
but not limited to, revocation of probation and commitment to the
Department of Juvenile Justice."
SECTION 3. Section 20-7-1330(a) of the 1976 Code, as last
amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"(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 the Youth
Mentor Program, as provided for in Article 9, Subarticle 8. 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."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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