Adolescent Reporting Program Community Service Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Using existing resources, Chesterfield County’s Adolescent Reporting Program (CARP) solved a potentially costly issue for the juvenile court service unit diversion program. In 2013, the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice changed the guidelines for juveniles to complete community service – a frequently used sanction for first-time, non-violent offenses. These guidelines required anyone supervising a youth’s court-ordered community service to have proof of an acceptable background check. The new restrictions would cause delays in youth completing community service. Additionally, the staff time involved in monitoring such documentation would be daunting and costly. To streamline the community service & background check requirement, CARP offered to supervise all community service with existing employees. CARP employees have the required background checks and can easily utilize community service sites already established. Some of the tasks include picking up trash, spreading mulch, cleaning debris from park trails, all of which the county would otherwise pay for. As a result of this collaboration, the CARP Community Service Program supervised 540 hours of service, a savings to the county of approximately $8,000 in 2014.