[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of York County 4-19-1982. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The Juvenile Community Service Program was initiated in 1982
by Juvenile Court Judge Emanuel Cassimatis as a part of the Earn-It
Program. The Earn-It Program grew when funding was secured from the
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to hire a full-time
Coordinator. It is now supported by the County of York and a part
of the York County Probation Department.
A.
A community service order serves as a vehicle for the offender to
repay society in two ways:
(1)
The offender has transgressed the standards of the community and,
in performing unpaid labor for the community, exonerates him/herself.
(2)
The offender who is unable to fulfill a monetary obligation incurred
by the transgression may be permitted to perform community service
in lieu of that debt.
B.
Community service is ordered for juveniles on two levels:
(1)
Juvenile offenders under the age of 18, as a condition of a court-ordered
sentence, included by the probation officer as a condition of a consent
decree or directed in lieu of court costs and/or fines.
(2)
District Justice order for juvenile offenders in place of payment
of fines in certain summary cases.
A.
Participants are between the ages of 14 and 18 years old or up to
21 if still under Juvenile Court jurisdiction and must be a first-time
or initial offender or selected, adjudicated youth.
B.
Juvenile referrals who have committed the following offenses will
be excluded from the program (unless expressly ordered by the court):
C.
Burglary offenses may be considered for participation in the program.
D.
Participants may participate as many times as necessary as long as
the prior placement was a successful completion.
Approximately 300 nonprofit public service or government agencies
across York County utilize community service referrals. In cases where
a person from another state or county commits a crime in York County
and is ordered to perform community service, arrangements are made
for that defendant to fulfill the obligation in the county of residence.
The average community service order for juveniles involves the
performance of 35 hours of work. An order can vary from 15 hours to
200 hours. The greater amount of hours is typically ordered by the
court. District Justice referrals are usually 35 hours.
Court-ordered youth provide a much needed service to York County
communities. An example of the impact of the program is provided by
examining the hours performed in 1994. In 1994, 220 youth were assigned
community service hours. They performed 5,238 hours of community service
work at various worksites throughout the county.
