Current Status Bill Number:1299 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19960327 Primary Sponsor:Thomas All Sponsors:Thomas Drafted Document Number:pfm\7849ac.96 Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 11 SJ Subject:Youth Mentor Program Act
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
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Senate 19960327 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ
referred to Committee
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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:
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.