MORGANTOWN — After a year on hiatus, Monongalia County Teen Court is back up and running.
West Virginia’s teen courts serve as a diversionary or “second chance” justice program for youth ages 11 to 18.
According to the West Virginia Teen Court Association, youth offenders alleged to have committed a status offense or an act of delinquency can have charges dismissed upon successful completion of the program.
The board overseeing teen court in Monongalia County voted last September to suspend the program and furlough its lone employee due to lack of funds.
“How teen court gets its money is through a service charge on every ticket that’s issued. It just wasn’t enough to sustain the director’s salary and benefits, so we had to lay him off for a while,” Monongalia County Administrator Rennetta McClure said. “Then, the board decided to discontinue the program.”
That furlough ultimately led to a restructuring this past September as the county opted for a $25,000 contract with ChildLaw Services, out of Princeton, to run the program.
Monongalia County Commissioner Jeff Arnett said the contract is a substantial savings compared to the salary and benefits of an executive director.
“It’s basically just ramping back up again and getting the referrals ramped back up. We’ve linked in with the schools now to get referrals on truancy matters, which was something that previously hadn’t been done,” he said.
According to the first quarter summary submitted by ChildLaw Services, teen court received more than 19 referrals between July and October and is working to recruit student volunteers within the county’s schools.
The West Virginia Teen Court Association lists teen courts in 14 counties, including Berkeley, Brooke, Fayette, Hampshire, Hancock, Harrison, Jefferson, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia, Morgan, Nicholas, Summers and Wyoming.
Tiffany Kent, with ChildLaw Services, coordinates the program in Monongalia County and can be contacted at 681-209-5891 or Tiffany.childlawservices@gmail.com.
Tweet @DominionPostWV
