The RJC Juvenile Court Diversion Program is a community-based alternative to traditional court processing for pre-adjudicated youth (ages eight to seventeen) who have committed a criminal offense. By going through Diversion, the youth has the chance to avoid a juvenile record.

Youthful offenders attend an intake interview with their parents and program staff. A committee of community volunteers, the youth, his/her parent(s) and program staff meet together to discuss the offense. They create a contract for what the youth will do to learn from his/her mistake and make restitution as appropriate.

The contract is carried out by the youth with both program staff and parental oversight. It may include the youth writing an apology letter to a victim, completing a project aimed at getting the youth to reflect on the nature of the crime, and attending programs addressing issues such as anger management, conflict resolution, drugs and alcohol, tobacco, or other topics as appropriate. The contract usually includes a requirement for a specified amount of community service, which each youth must complete.

When the youth has successfully completed the tasks in their contract, the court and police are notified and the charges are dropped after an additional 90 day period of good behavior.

To learn more or to volunteer in the Carroll County Restorative Justice Center's Court Diversion Program
call the RJC at: (603) 323-2399, or send an email to:  rjc<at>tccap.org

A brochure that explains Juvenile Court Diversion is available in .pdf format by clicking here. You must have Adobe Reader to view and print the brochure. If your computer doesn't have Adobe Reader, you can  download a copy for free here.