Measures and adequate funding which will enable our judicial system to meet the needs of all Fresno County residents
Position In Brief:
- More effective and efficient functioning of the courts
- Increased training, both initial and in-service, for judges, probation workers and police officers.
- The training should be designed to promote more effective and equitable interpersonal relations
- Improvement of communication and understanding between all parts of our judicial system (courts, probation, law enforcement, health and social services) and all segments of the community, particularly in relation to the disadvantaged and juveniles
- The use of non-secure facilities for juvenile offenders, while recognizing that runaways may require a more restricted facility in order to detain them long enough to help
- A facility to help and/or protect juveniles who have not committed an offense. This facility should be staffed to meet the needs of juveniles and their families
- The greater use of foster homes and small group homes rather than facilities which tend to become institutionalized. To encourage the availability of more foster homes, we suggest that:
Information about the program be disseminated in the community
Increased remuneration to foster parents be considered
Community support services be available to foster parents
- Adoption of alternative sentencing, such as work service and conservation camps, because of their greater potential for rehabilitation and the development of responsibility. Sentencing should also require parents to assume greater responsibility for juveniles and their actions
- Automatic hearings to determine expunging juvenile records at the age of majority
Position History:
Adopted 1971; Amended 1975, 1977, 1983, 1988
Issues:
League to which this content belongs:
Fresno