The Juvenile First Offender Program
is a diversionary program that is authorized by the State of
Florida to divert youths who commit a criminal violation for the
first time, and to completely keep them out of the criminal
justice system.
The program accomplishes this by
withholding all original arrest paperwork and fingerprint cards.
There are several criteria that must be met for eligibility and
acceptance into the program.
The juvenile must be a resident of the
City of Boynton Beach and the offense committed cannot be that
of a serious or violent crime. Once the criterion has been met,
an interview is scheduled with the juvenile and his/her parents,
family and/or legal guardian. The juvenile must be willing to
admit guilt, sign a statement waiving his/her rights to due
process, have a good attitude, and be willing to participate in
the program.
The program involves doing community service, attending
parent/teen counseling sessions, a jail tour, attending Youth
Court (a courtroom experience run by juveniles), writing essays,
letters of apologies, attending the R.O.P.E.S (Reality Oriented
Personal Experience) Course, and possibly having random drug
testing.
Once all sanctions are completed, the
juvenile is then monitored for the remainder of the program,
which is a period of one year. The juvenile is withdrawn from
the program upon successfully completion of the requirements. If
the juvenile fails to complete the program and violates any
sanctions set forth in their contract, then all original arrest
paperwork is sent to the State Attorney's Office for filing.
For more information about the Juvenile First
Offender Program,
contact our J.F.O. Coordinator, Ofc. R. Kellman at
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