[Adopted 2-26-1990 by Ord. No. 425 (Ch. 6, Part 6, of the
1981 Code of Ordinances)]
[Amended 5-8-1995 by Ord. No. 513]
A.
The Peters Township Council shall appoint up to nine Commission members.
B.
All members shall be Peters Township residents and should be selected
from a cross section of the community.
C.
Council may seek recommendations from police, school officials, clergy
and heads of youth-serving agencies.
D.
The Commission members shall exclude local government and political
officials, including, but not limited to, all municipal employees
and their immediate families; and shall exclude individuals whose
job or interest involves making decisions which affect Peters Township's
youth, including, but not limited to, directors and staff of youth-serving
agencies, probation officers, guidance counselors and ministers;
[Amended 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
E.
All members will be required to obtain clearances under Pennsylvania
Act 34 of 1985, as amended, Pennsylvania Act 114 of 2006, as amended,
and the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law (23 Pa.C.S.A.,
Chapter 63), as amended.
[Amended 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
F.
Membership to the Youth Commission must be approved by the Washington
County Juvenile Court. Members must be sworn -in by a duly appointed
or elected member of the Washington County Court System before participating
in their first Commission meeting.
[Amended 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
G.
The term of office will be three years and will be staggered so that
1/3 of the membership is appointed annually. The initial terms shall
be three members for three years; three members for four years; and
three members for five years.
[Amended 5-8-1995 by Ord. No. 513]
The Youth Commission shall elect, amongst their membership,
a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Recording Secretary, and a Corresponding
Secretary.
A.
The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings and hearings.
B.
The Vice Chairperson, in the absence of the Chairperson, shall preside
at all meetings and hearings.
C.
The Recording Secretary shall maintain minutes and nonconfidential
correspondence.
D.
The Corresponding Secretary maintains all confidential records and
assures that all forms and case tracking procedures are kept current.
[Amended 5-8-1995 by Ord. No. 513; 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
Each Commission member will be required to complete training
sessions within four months of being appointed by Council. In addition,
on an annual basis, all Commission members must complete training
sessions in order to remain on the Commission. The sessions that constitute
initial training and annual training for Commission members shall
be set by recommendation of the Police Chief and approval of the Youth
Commission. A copy of these training sessions shall be provided to
all members prior to appointment to the Youth Commission. The Police
Chief shall retain all documents and other records showing Commission
members completed the relevant training for as long as these members
serve on the Commission.
[Amended 12-14-1992 by Ord. No. 474]
The Youth Commission shall meet every other month, or as necessary
to develop assignment and strategy for new cases. A quorum is required
at each meeting and shall be a majority of present board membership.
[Amended 5-8-1995 by Ord. No. 513; 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
Criteria for participating youth:
A.
Must be a resident of Peters Township.
B.
Must be under 18 years of age when the act was committed.
C.
Must be first appearance before the Youth Commission.
D.
The youth must have no prior criminal history at the time the act
was committed.
E.
The offense against the youth brought before the Youth Commission
cannot be a reduction of a more severe offense for which the youth
could have been charged.
F.
Must admit the existence of a problem, which warrants the Youth Commission
involvement.
G.
All parties involved: police, youth, parent(s), victim(s), etc.,
must agree to have the Youth Commission handle the case and to the
amount of restitution.
H.
Youth and parent(s) must agree to the conditions proposed by the
Youth Commission.
[Amended 5-8-1995 by Ord. No. 513; 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
A.
All cases shall be submitted to the Police Chief or their designee
for administrative review. Cases involving criminal activity shall
be submitted to the Youth Commission at the Police Chief's or their
designee's discretion, utilizing the criteria below. All cases referred
by other agencies/institutions (i.e., the school district, churches),
will be automatically forwarded to the Commission by the Police Chief
or their designee at a regular meeting.
B.
The Police Chief or their designee shall conduct an eligibility search
of all youths referred to the Commission.
C.
Qualifying offenses for referral to the Youth Commission include:
D.
The Youth Commission shall have the authority to decline a case for
cause. In such cases, the Youth Commission shall make the youth aware
of the cause for declining the case. Causes for declining a case may
include, but are not limited to:
[Added 5-8-1995 by Ord. No. 513]
A.
Once a youth is determined eligible for referral and on agreement,
the youth and parent(s) will come to the Police Department or Commission
meeting, and the formal waiver can be signed at this time. This waiver
explains that the legal right to pursue preexisting procedures established
by law, i.e., Juvenile Court, citation, warning, Magisterial District
Judge hearings, etc., can be waived with the option of appearing before
the Youth Commission. This formal waiver can be broken by any of the
parties, except the victim(s) involved, at any time, for any reason,
and preexisting procedures would be initiated automatically at the
direction of the-Police Chief or their designee, if applicable. This
formal waiver must be signed by the youth, parent(s), police officer
or referring agent, and victim(s). In addition, a liability waiver
must be signed at this time to cover any public/private work the youth
may be required to perform; also, a waiver releasing information to
the Youth Commission.
[Amended 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
B.
A verbal explanation will be given to the youth and parent(s), and
the youth and parent(s) must acknowledge their understanding of the
waivers and the workings of the panel.
[Amended 4-27-2020 by Ord. No. 851]
A.
Upon receiving notice that a formal waiver has been signed by all
involved parties; the Youth Commission's Secretary will notify the
youth, parent(s), and Police Officer of the next hearing date. The
hearing will be conducted by a quorum of Commission members. One member
of the quorum shall be the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson, and the
remaining members shall be selected by the Chairperson at the regular
meeting on a rotating basis.
B.
At the initial hearing, the Chairperson will:
(1)
Introduce himself/herself and other Commission members present.
(2)
State the mission of the Youth Commission.
(3)
Explain the meaning of the signed formal waiver (as did the Police
Department) and the party's right to discontinue with the Youth Commission's
procedure and return to the preexisting procedures established by
law.
(4)
Emphasize the strict confidentiality of Commission proceedings and
ask the Secretary to record the information on an intake form.
(5)
Introduce the referring Police Officer and hear the nature of the
complaint and restitution required.
(6)
Request the youth to explain "what brought them" to the Commission.
Only interruptions from Commission members by asking for more information/clarification
should be allowed.
A.
Decide on course of action/restitution to be required (with the agreement
of all parties) and time limitations.
B.
Possible course of action may include any or all of the following:
(1)
Place the youth on supervision to the Youth Commission or any member
thereof no longer than six months.
(2)
Require the youth to seek appropriate counseling (at their own expense).
(3)
Assign physically able youth to a Township public/private agency
for community service work, with a Commission member's oversight (not
supervision).
(4)
Assign specific requirements, i.e., curfew, self-reporting on academic
progress.
(5)
Refer the case back to the preexisting procedures.
C.
Spell out follow-up assignments with appropriate Commission members,
noting that failure to comply will result in immediate transference
to preexisting procedures.
D.
Advise the youth that any future involvement with the Police Department
could not be handled by the Youth Commission.
E.
Advise the youth that all Youth Commission records will be destroyed
on the successful completion of the required disposition.
