Community Court is a diversionary program offered through the Mercer County Juvenile Probation Department that redirects low-level, low-moderate risk offenders away from formal court processing. This diversion, however, is more intensive as it generally requires the youth to remain involved in the program for a longer period of time (4-6 months), requires a larger number of tasks or services to be completed, and also requires the youth and parent/guardian to appear monthly before a panel of volunteers and a juvenile probation officer who oversees the panel.

The Community Court utilizes committees consisting of community volunteers and a juvenile probation officer in a collaborative approach to achieve the goals of decreasing juvenile crime by holding youth accountable for their offenses while also instilling competency development skills. The juvenile probation officer providing oversight of the program holds the title of Community Specialist. Prior to accepting the youth into Community Court, the Community Specialist completes a bio-psycho-social investigation and subsequent Youth Level of Service (YLS) risk assessment. Entry into the program requires the youth to admit to the offense committed and demonstrate a willingness to be accountable to program requirements. Additionally, the youth must score 15 or lower on the YLS risk assessment and the victim named in the allegation must also agree to allowing the diversion opportunity. If approved, each youth is assigned to a regional community court based on where they live. The committees hold youth accountable with terms and conditions of an informal adjustment which includes:

• Payment of a one-time supervision fee ($40)

• supervision and/or check-in times

• appearance before the Community Court on a monthly basis until all conditions are completed

• successful completion of Victim Community Awareness Program

• successful completion of Jumpstart Program

• completion of a nominal number of community service hours and/or restitution payment

• maintaining acceptable school attendance and academic standing

• completion of any other service deemed necessary to address risks and needs of the youth

Participating youth are directly supervised by the Community Specialist and their requirements are monitored monthly by the Community Court committees. The Community Court volunteers hear and review cases with the purpose of making recommendations for early and appropriate intervention within the juvenile’s own locale. Once a youth has successfully completed the process in whole, the alleged charges are dismissed and the record is automatically expunged. Should the youth fail to successfully complete the program, the case is returned to the District Attorney’s Office for more formal processing.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for a Community Court committee in your jurisdiction, please complete the Volunteer Application 

Diversion at this level requires court involvement but still provides an opportunity to be diverted from the collateral consequences of a finding of delinquency in Juvenile Court. Juveniles can be considered for this level of diversion if they fail to meet the requirements of Tier 1 and/or Tier 2 diversion programs, or as a first diversion option if the victim(s) identified in the matter prefer to be heard or seek justice in a more formal court setting.

Consent Decree:

A consent decree in Pennsylvania is an agreement between a juvenile and the District Attorney that allows the juvenile to satisfy certain conditions over a specified period (often six months) before the case is dismissed. It is an order of the court that suspends delinquency proceedings against the juvenile and places them under voluntary supervision in their home and community, with terms established by the probation department. The Consent Decree requires a court appearance and may be extended for up to 12 months if necessary. If there are objections by any party holding interest in the case, the case will proceed to formal processing (i.e., adjudication hearing). If the Consent Decree is granted, but the youth fails to satisfy the conditions set forth, the diversion will be revoked and the case will proceed to formal processing. If the youth successfully completes all conditions within the timeframe set forth in the Consent Decree, the charges will be dismissed and the case will automatically be expunged.

Diagnostic Evaluation:

In some cases where issues of competency, mental health or other co-occurring disorders may be present, the Court may direct that an extensive set of diagnostic evaluations be completed prior to the Court hearing the case. Depending on results of the evaluations, the Court may determine in a formal proceeding that the case be diverted to another, more appropriate agency for supervision (i.e., Children and Youth Services, Mental Health Counseling, County Mental Health/Intellectual Disability, etc…). In these instances, the allegation of delinquency may be dismissed or withdrawn and subsequently expunged from the record.

Temporary Probation:

In instances where Temporary Probation is an outcome, the youth has already participated in an adjudication hearing where some or all of the alleged charges were admitted to or found to be substantiated. For a variety of reasons through a review of the case,