The Cumberland County Juvenile Probation Department is seeking volunteers to serve on the Youth Aid Panel. Selected volunteers will undergo (16) hours of training over five weeks. The volunteers will learn about the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice System, the Youth Aid Panel process, confidentiality issues, conflict resolution and victim awareness. Youth Aid Panel volunteers should be at least 21 years of age, pass a Criminal Background and Child Abuse Clearance and be willing to commit to the program for at least one year. Volunteers are needed in Camp Hill, Carlisle, Enola, Hampden Township, Mechanicsburg, New Cumberland and Shippensburg areas. Training sessionswill be held every Thursday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 9 p.m. beginning April 7, 2016 and ending May 5, 2016. Once the Youth Aid Panel volunteers are fully trained and sworn in, they will meet once or twice per month in different geographical locations throughout Cumberland County.
For 13 years Youth Aid Panels have successfully existed in Cumberland County. The Youth Aid Panel Program has grown to (18) panels and is serving communities throughout Cumberland County. The Youth Aid Panel Program is designed to address victim restoration, accountability, and the juvenile's competency development. The Panel assists in developing and overseeing dispositions in juvenile cases. They will develop contracts for juvenile offenders based on case needs for rehabilitation. The Panel will also hear cases that feature low and moderate risk-level clients. The cases that are heard will be based on referrals for services from local Police Departments and Magisterial District Judges.
Applications are available by contracting Lisa Harrison at lharrison@ccpa.net or (717) 240-5400.