THE COURTS

LYCOMING COUNTY

Establishment of Juvenile Restitution Fund; Administrative Order

[40 Pa.B. 2743]
[Saturday, May 29, 2010]

Order

 And Now, this 17th day of May, pursuant to Act 217 of 2004, the Court Orders the Juvenile Probation Department to establish a restitution fund and assess fines, court costs, supervision or other appropriate fees to be paid by the child, all of which shall be deemed contributions to said fund, excluding any costs, fines or fees which are mandated by statute or rule to be assessed and paid to any specific fund or purpose. Any cases referred for informal adjustment, consent decree, or adjudicated delinquent may be assessed the above fees. Further, the Court authorizes any collection of fines and costs from delinquent juvenile cases that have previously appeared before a county district justice to be enforced and collected by the Juvenile Probation Office of this Court and deposited with the county collections department in the juvenile restitution fund.

 The initial Court costs shall be $40.00 per each petition filed. The President Judge shall approve any increase in fees.

 Any fines, costs, fees or restitution payments collected from the above sources, excluding mandatory costs, fines or fees, are to be deposited in a separate and fiscally distinct restitution fund as noted above and maintained by the county. They should not be included in the AOPC/CPCMS system.

 Any money paid into the restitution fund should be used as payment to victims for approved restitution claims filed with this Juvenile Court. The payment shall be made upon approval of the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer. When authorized by the Court, juvenile offenders may be directed to do community service to earn monies for payment of their restitution as approved by the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer at the rate of the state's minimum wage. Any such money shall be paid to the victim who is owed restitution and not to the juvenile. The Chief Probation Officer shall develop and maintain a written policy to implement the Order which shall be subject to Court approval. The written policy, 3.1, is attached to this Order and is hereby approved.

By the Court

NANCY L. BUTTS, 
President Judge

LYCOMING COUNTY JUVENILE PROBATION	POLICY NUMBER: 3.1
POLICY and PROCEDURES	(updated 7/22/09)

RESTITUTION and COURT COSTS

 Section 6352(a)(5) of the PA Juvenile Act provides the Court the ability to order payment by a delinquent child and their parents of reasonable amounts of money as fines, costs and/or restitution that shall be used to reimburse crime victims for financial losses resulting from delinquent acts. Additionally, the county's President Judge, via an Administrative Order, will establish a Restitution Fund for the deposit of all contributions to the fund which are received or collected. Informal adjustment and consent decree dispositions can also require juveniles and their parents to pay reasonable amounts of money as fines, costs and/or restitution. Act 217 amended the PA Juvenile Act in sections 6323 and 6340 allowing this change to occur. The Act also created 6304.1 ''Summary Offenses'' which provides for the option of contributions to the restitution fund in cases where a child has failed to comply with the lawful sentence imposed for a summary offense. These written guidelines establish procedures for the administration for this fund. The Juvenile Act section is copied at the end of this policy.

 The Juvenile Probation Office maintains a Restitution program and a Restitution Fund to provide monetary compensation to victims. Our Restitution Fund will not be used to reimburse 3rd party payers, e.g. insurance companies, PA Crime Victim Compensation Fund, etc. Both are accessed via Court Order. The process is initiated by the Victim/Witness Coordinator who mails a ''Description of Loss'' form to victims. Upon the return of the verifiable loss/damage paperwork, the District Attorney presents this paperwork at the youth's hearing. The Court can order juveniles and their parents responsible for payment to victims. Parents are liable for up to $1000 for a single act or $2500 for a series of acts (See Title 23 Domestic Relations, Section 5505) whereas juveniles are liable for the entire loss, based on their ability to pay. A copy of the signed Restitution Order is kept on the left side of file. The procedure to ensure restitution and court cost orders are correctly filed in the Prothonotary and Cost Clerk's Office is attached.

 When a juvenile or their family does not have sufficient funds to repay victims, our office can access a Restitution Fund to provide restitution. Clients provided this privilege are required to work Community Service at the minimum wage rate as their means of repayment to our Office. The Community Service work must be completed first before any funds can be sent to the victim. Example is $515 of restitution at $7.25/hour = 100 hours of community service as repayment.

 Upon approval of the Chief JPO, disbursements to victims can be made in advance and a client can repay the Restitution Fund by community service work at a later date. Officers must complete 2 forms, ''Transfer of Funds'' memo to the Fiscal Office and ''Juvenile Fund Withdraw'' Court Order and give to Chief J.P.O. for signature. To authorize disbursements from the Restitution Fund, the Chief JPO will forward the forms to the Fiscal Office. Officers must complete a ''Payments to Restitution Fund'' Court Order form and give to Chief J.P.O. This procedure is utilized when Restitution Funds were used to repay a victim and the youth has employment or ability to pay. A copy of this Order is kept on the left side of the file.

 Disbursements from the Restitution Fund require at least 2 signatures. The 2 persons designated by this policy and the subsequent Administrative Order are the Lycoming County Treasurer and a Lycoming County Commissioner.

 An annual report, detailing the aggregate and individual data regarding payments to and disbursements from the fund, is required. This report shall be provided to the Chief JPO. The ''1069 report'' in the CPCMS satisfies this requirement.

 An annual audit, under county policy, of all payments to and disbursements from the Restitution Fund shall occur. Currently, the annual County audit is completed by Thomas Keller, CPA.

 Youth must complete all restitution requirements before they can be released from supervision.

 All youth charged and subsequently adjudicated delinquent or ordered placed under a consent decree shall be assessed a $40 Court Cost. Youth handled informally can be assessed a court cost also. The informal adjustment agreement shall list an amount that is mutually agreed upon by all parties. The Court Cost will be paid to the Restitution Fund. The youth may be liable for other fines, costs and service fees imposed by statute.

 Victims of aggravated assault where serious bodily injury results are eligible for compensation through the Crime Victim's Compensation Board. The Victim/Witness Coordinator identifies and completes the paperwork to access this restitution program.

APPENDIX A

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
LYCOMING COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

IN THE INTEREST OF A JUVENILE:	NO.
NAME:	DOB:
ADDRESS:	S.S. #
PARENT(S):
NAME:
ADDRESS:	S.S. #
NAME:
ADDRESS:	S.S. #

APPENDIX A TO ORDER OF      (date)
ORDER FOR PAYMENT OF
COSTS, FINES AND RESTITUTION

 In accordance with the foregoing order of this date, it is hereby ORDERED and DIRECTED that the juvenile and parent(s) shall pay the amounts directed herein. The juvenile's parent(s) shall pay restitution as set forth below.

COURT COSTS Court costs waived ( )
$   40.00

PA CRIME VICTIMS COMPENSATION FUND
$   25.00

DNA DETECTION FUND ($250.00)
 Costs waived ( )
$ ______.__

ACT 198 (18 Pa.C.S. § 7508.1) DUI/Drug Offenses
 ($100.00/$300.00 BA > 0.16%)
$ ______.__

COSTS OF PROSECUTION, including but not limited to  witness fees, blood tests, laboratory tests, plus any bill  of costs submitted by the District Attorney within 30  days of this date; otherwise only as directed by a  subsequent court order.
$ ______.__

FINE UNDER CHARGE NUMBER(S) ______

  $ ______.__
  Other fines and costs:

  _________________
$ ______.__

  _________________
$ ______.__

Restitution total to be paid by juvenile (detailed on page  2). The juvenile shall make payment as directed by the  Juvenile Probation Office.
$ ______.__

Juvenile Total $ ______.__

Restitution to be paid by parent(s) (detailed on page 2). The parent(s) shall pay as follows:

  _________________

RESTITUTION PAYMENT PLAN FEE ($10.00)

$ ______.__

Parent Total $ ______.__

As Recommended by the Master Under Pa.R.J.C.P. 191	BY THE COURT
_________________	______
Family Court Hearing Officer	Judge
Assigned Probation Officer ______

NOTE: [ ] Adult Co-Defendants [ ] Other Juvenile Participants

[ ] NO  [ ] YES (State names and case             numbers, if known)

PAGE 2
RESTITUTION PAYMENTS

Victim: _________________
Address: _________________
Total restitution owed victim is $ ____.__
Juvenile's share of responsibility is ____%
The Juvenile shall pay the victim	$ ____.___
The Juvenile's parent(s) are also ordered to pay the victim	$ ____.___
[ ] Juvenile and parent(s) payments to victim are joint and several
[ ] Restitution paid by restitution fund approved

Victim: _________________
Address: _________________
Total restitution owed victim is $ ____.__
Juvenile's share of responsibility is ____%
The Juvenile shall pay the victim	$ ____.___
The Juvenile's parent(s) are also ordered to pay the victim	$ ____.___
[ ] Juvenile and parent(s) payments to victim are joint and several
[ ] Restitution paid by restitution fund approved

Victim: _________________
Address: _________________
Total restitution owed victim is $ ____.__
Juvenile's share of responsibility is ____%
The Juvenile shall pay the victim	$ ____.___
The Juvenile's parent(s) are also ordered to pay the victim	$ ____.___
[ ] Juvenile and parent(s) payments to victim are joint and several
[ ] Restitution paid by restitution fund approved

Victim: _________________
Address: _________________
Total restitution owed victim is $ ____.__
Juvenile's share of responsibility is ____%
The Juvenile shall pay the victim	$ ____.___
The Juvenile's parent(s) are also ordered to pay the victim	$ ____.___
[ ] Juvenile and parent(s) payments to victim are joint and several
[ ] Restitution paid by restitution fund approved

Victim: _________________
Address: _________________
Total restitution owed victim is $ ____.__
Juvenile's share of responsibility is ____%
The Juvenile shall pay the victim	$ ____.__
The Juvenile's parent(s) are also ordered to pay the victim	$ ____.__
[ ] Juvenile and parent(s) payments to victim are joint and several
[ ] Restitution paid by restitution fund approved

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 10-981. Filed for public inspection May 28, 2010, 9:00 a.m.]

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