Youth Aid Program Gives First-time Juveniles Second Chance

The Upper Southampton Youth Aid Panel offers local juveniles an alternative to the criminal justice system.

First-time juvenile offenders can be referred to the panel as a means to avoid immediately going through the system. Panel member Maria Jannotta-Smith said it gives juveniles a second chance.

“Instead of going to juvenile probation, they’ll go to this Youth Aid Panel,” Jannotta-Smith said. “This way it prevents them from going through the criminal justice system up at the courthouse. It deters them from going on juvenile probation.”

The Upper Southampton Police Department asked for community members to volunteer and they took applications. Potential panel members had to get background checks and finger printed. There was also mandatory schooling, equipped with a test at the end.

The township Youth Aid Panel had its first meeting May 9, after the members went through a five-week training program. The panel has five members, all of whom are either Southampton residents or local business owners.

Jannotta-Smith and the rest of the panel were trained in Doylestown at the Emergency Services Training Center by Aaron Richwine, the Youth Aid Panel Coordinator for Bucks County. The training course is about 10 hours long, broken up into five classes. Throughout the five-week program, Richwine went over how the justice system works in Bucks County and what purpose these panels serve.

“The goal is not to have a ‘scared straight’ program. This is totally the opposite,” Richwine said. “This is an open dialogue with respect to the juvenile’s position. It’s our goal to put the juvenile in a better position than when they came before us.”

Richwine discussed a wide variety of cases, such as drug and alcohol cases which can be very unique. Some nights he and Bill Rufe, the Bucks County Deputy Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, ran mock panel meetings to show the trainees what a typical meeting looks like. They went over contracts to address victim’s rights and if restitution or apology letters are needed.

“Whatever it may be,” Richwine said, “we make sure we address that.”

The exam at the end shows that they learned all the important points of being a panel member, such as maintaining confidentiality, ensuring community service is safe and supervised and understanding what referral or rehabilitative service is best suited for the juvenile. Panel members are sworn in upon completing and passing the course, taking an oath of office with one of the juvenile court judges. They commit to a year of serving on the panel.

Officer Scott Irvin, police liaison for the panel, screens reports to find eligible juveniles to bring into this program. Once eligibility is determined, Irvin sends notification letters to the juvenile’s parents.

“I oversee the panel and oversee the process as far as coordinating everything and making sure the juvenile completes it,” he said. “If they don’t complete it, then I make sure it gets back to the officer to be put into the system.”

The juvenile gets referred to the Youth Aid Panel after his or her arrest. He or she and the parents go through an interview process before the panel. They are asked questions involving school, grades, extra curricular activities and school attendance. The parents are asked about their child’s reaction to the arrest and his or her home life.

“We’ll make recommendations as far as if we think that they need community service or to go to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program,” Jannotta-Smith said. “They’re assigned to one of us. We act as case workers.”

The juveniles are expected to check back with their assigned panel member regularly to keep them updated on their progress. For example, if the juvenile was assigned community service, they have a log which he or she and the community service supervisor have to fill out.

“Once they’re done [with] our youth panel, then their record is expunged,” she said.

Officer Irvin said that this chance for community involvement is beneficial to the panel members as well as the kids.

“It will also benefit the township as far as the juveniles knowing that there is another way rather than just going through the system,” he said. “They find out that there are people out there to help them.”

The previous Southampton Youth Aid Panel was dismantled in the early 2000s, however Chief Ron MacPherson reinstated the it earlier this year. Irvin thinks it is a good thing for the community.

“I think it shows that the police care and they’re trying to give back to the community,” Irvin said. “They want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. It also brings the community closer.”

Richwine stressed the importance of community involvement in addressing juvenile delinquency during his training program. A main point he talked about was how juvenile justice varies between different communities throughout Bucks County. He said that no one understands the township laws and regulations better than the locals, which is why panels are made up of residents or business owners of the respective municipality.

“They know how to address those issues better than maybe the juvenile court does because they here cases all across the county,” he said. “There are things you can do in Doylestown that can get you cited where in Quakertown you won’t.”

The beginning stages of the Southampton panel have been very successful.

“It’s been very effective,” Irvin said. “We’ve had several juveniles through it so far. We’ve already had one completed and several close to completion.”

Irvin said that parents are receptive and appreciative of the alternative to the justice system. He said that it helps them better realize what is going on in their child’s life when they generally do not talk about those things. It helps show the parents what may be causing the problems.

“They’re forced to talk about it because they have to agree to sit down with the panel,” Irvin said. “It helps the juvenile see that. It helps the parents see that. And it helps them communicate a lot better.”

The panels’ localized juvenile probation programs offer a more tailored justice system.

“Having the community involved in juvenile justice is just a spectacular way of involving everyone in basically raising our kids,” Richwine said.

For more information regarding Youth Aid Programs, check out the Bucks County Youth Aid Panels website.