Volunteers are needed to serve on Youth Aid Panels in Lancaster Township, Manor Township and the Ephrata area.

Youth Aid Panels are diversionary programs for select juvenile offenders charged with non-violent offenses.

Volunteers must complete training to serve on the panels. The free training sessions will be held, starting June 5.

Only residents living in Lancaster Township, Manor Township and the Ephrata area will be accepted at this time for the respective panels in their communities.

Applications to serve are attached.

The applications should be sent to Community Outreach Coordinator Sarah Fritz, via email at sfritz@co.lancaster.pa.us or mail to Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, 50 N. Duke St, 5th Floor, Lancaster, Pa. 17602.

Applications must be submitted before the June 5 training session.

Typically, Youth Aid Panel is available in first-time summary and misdemeanor offenses – violent offenses are excluded.

(More info here: http://bit.ly/2JFIdN7)

The District Attorney’s Office oversees the panels. Police officers also serve alongside volunteers who assess the juvenile offenders and their cases, and determine program requirements and conditions for those accepted. The panel will then monitor the juvenile’s progression.

Youth Aid Panel is not a court of law that determines guilt or innocence. There are 23 panels in Lancaster County.

Juveniles are referred to the program, by police, after a criminal charge is filed.                                

Generally, panels meet once a month for approximately three to four hours to hear cases of the referred juveniles.

The volunteer training addresses criminal-justice topics such as police interaction with youth, interview and counseling techniques, and the impact of addiction.

The training sessions are: June 5, June 12, June 19, July 3 and July 10.

They are held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Listrak, 100 West Millport Road, Lititz.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright