Despite the departure of its former program director, the Juvenile Restitution and Teen Court Programs are expected to continue to serve the youth of Sampson County.

Kent Wooten, Sampson County Extension director, said Bob Turner left his position on June 17, but the programs have been continuing on a limited basis.

“We are still working with those young people who have gone through the juvenile courts system and have been assigned to do restitution. Currently we are not taking on any new cases nor are we holding Teen Court,” said Wooten.

The extension director, whose office applies for and administers the grants for the two programs, stated that the two grants had been sent in and funding was in place for the 2010-11 year. He further explained that since the program did not have anyone to process any new cases, none were currently being accepted.

The grants are funded totally out of money received from the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice with no county funds involved. Wooten’s office is charged with ensuring the grants are completed within the criteria set in the grants, and he works directly with the local JCPC, (Juvenile Crime Prevention Council).

Restitution and Teen Court are two separate programs funded by two separate grants. The extension office has served as administrator of both for about nine years, and Wooten feels the two programs are great assets for the county’s youth. Office space for the program director is housed in the extension office and that office provides resources to the program.

“As soon as we have someone in place, we are ready to get back into full swing,” shared Wooten.

He stressed that currently, with the assistance of regional consultant for the Department of Justice, Jesse Riggs, they were developing a job description for the new director, reviewing the programs and potential small improvements to the programs.

Wooten stated that they were hoping to start advertising for the position by the end of the first week in August.

Requirements they are considering for the director include: a formal education, ideally a four-year degree but at least a two-year associate degree, experience working with juveniles, case management skills, very good people skills, some knowledge of the justice process, ideally criminal justice, and an understanding of teenagers since they will be the primary people with whom a director would work.

The individual will be a full-time employee of the county but all salary and benefits are derived from the grants. The salary will be based on experience and should range from between $25,000 and $28,000.

Wooten stressed that Restitution and Teen Court were two separate programs designed to assists in the prevention and overseeing of punitive measures given through the juvenile courts and from Teen Court.

He explained that in Teen Court, the issue of guilt is not a part of that program. “A young person going through Teen Court must admit to guilt prior to attending court. The court does not decide guilt or innocence but rather what type of sentence the person must face for the acts committed.”

The extension director further said that sentencing may include anything from physical activities such as janitorial services or liter pickup to attending the court sessions and writing a paper on the experiences.

The judge, attorneys, other officers of the court, and jurors are filled by peer volunteers. Wooten said that Teen Court also had good volunteer adults who serve to supervise the court sessions and the actual activities the juveniles have to perform. “We have been fortunate that students and adults have been so willing to volunteer to assist us with the Teen Court program. Hopefully they will continue to volunteer and others will join them.” There is at least one former volunteer as result of working in the program, decided to go into the legal profession.

Restitution is the program that works directly through the Juvenile Court. According to Wooten, the juveniles in this program have committed some crime that resulted in a loss to the crime victim. Therefore, the court has sentenced the juvenile to make restitution to the victim.

The Restitution program is where these young people do tasks and are paid $5 an hour to make the payments. “We supervise these juveniles and keep up with the hours they have actually worked in meeting the specific number of hours they have been sentenced. Once they have completed the sentence, we submit it to the court and the victim is paid the amount owed by the individual,” explained Wooten.

The community service hours given can vary as do the degree of crimes committed. The supervision of the juveniles may be voluntary or it may be done my a contracted service provider who is paid from the grant funds.

The director stated that he hoped that other businesses would consider using the young people to work for them, with the grant picking up the tab. “This would save us money and would also give these young people more chances to make restitution within the communities where they live.”

Last year the Teen Court program served a total of 21 young people. Restitution had 59 individuals referred to the program. Wooten feels that the two programs are a great asset to the county and stated that he is looking forward to getting the program back up and running 100 percent as soon as the new program director can be hired and trained.

Anyone adult or student wishing to volunteer or any business wanting to participate in providing a site for juveniles to complete their community service hours should contact Kent Wooten, Sampson County Extension Office, 592-7161 or e-mail kent_wooten@ncsu.edu.

To contact Billy Todd, call 910-592-8137 ext. 117 or e-mail siobits@heartlandpublications.com.