First-time juvenile offenders referred by police for a misdemeanor offense have the opportunity to have their cases handled through Diversion rather than Court. To be eligible for Diversion, the juvenile must not have a record of prior serious offenses. Typically, these cases involve youth ages 8 to 17 who are alleged to have committed offenses such as shoplifting and other thefts, possession of alcohol or marijuana, minor assault or harassment, malicious mischief, trespassing, and traffic offenses (for youth 15 years of age and under).

The juvenile and his/her parent or guardian meets with a Community Accountability Board and/or Diversion staff. They do not go before a judge or have a Court hearing. The records are confidential and legal representation is not required. However, the juvenile does have the right to speak with an attorney prior to accepting Diversion and may also choose to contest the alleged offense and have the matter referred to Court. A juvenile will not have to pay for an attorney if he/she cannot afford one.

The juvenile will receive notification by mail scheduling his/her Diversion appointment approximately two weeks prior to the appointment date.

A Community Accountability Board is made up of trained volunteers from the local community (meeting schedule). These citizen volunteers meet with the youth and his/her parents or guardian, discuss the offense, and gather other pertinent information. The Board members then determine the terms and conditions of the youth's Diversion Agreement.

A Diversion Agreement is a written contract. It may include restitution for injury/loss/damage to a victim; a fine of up to $100.00; participation in various programs such as community service, personal counseling, and informational sessions; required school attendance; observation of a curfew; restrictions from certain areas; or no contact with a victim. The Diversion office then follows up with the youth to ensure he/she completes the Diversion Agreement.

Diversion is a means to deal with local problems by utilizing local volunteers who represent the community's best interest. Diversion is considerably less expensive than formal court processing. The Diversion Program works with community service organizations, counseling services, the police, the schools, the juveniles themselves, and their families thus providing a community response to juvenile crime. In short, Diversion allows the community to assume responsibility for its juvenile crime problems and makes the youth accountable to the community for his/her behavior.

Diverting a substantial number of juvenile offenders also allows the Court to spend the necessary time and resources on the more serious and chronic offenders in the system.

Diversion programs and courts are required to notify the Department of Licensing (DOL) to revoke a juvenile's driving privilege for any youth age 13 years or older who enters into a Diversion Agreement or is adjudicated or convicted of a drug- or alcohol-related offense. The revocation is for one year or until age 17, whichever is longer. Two or more offenses require a two-year revocation or until age 18, whichever is longer.

However, early reinstatement of driving privileges is possible if a juvenile successfully completes his/her Diversion requirements. For a first offense, early reinstatement is possible 90 days after his/her 16th birthday or 90 days after the Diversion Agreement was signed. On a second offense, early reinstatement is possible one year after the Diversion Agreement was signed, or at age 17, whichever is longer. A juvenile also cannot apply for a learner's permit until his/her driving privilege has been reinstated.

When the revocation time is up, DOL will notify the juvenile. He/She will be required to take the written and driving test again and pay a reinstatement fee in addition to the licensing fees.

As required by RCW 13.04.155, whenever any juvenile enrolled in a common school enters into a Diversion Agreement, is convicted in adult criminal court, or is adjudicated in juvenile court for the following offenses, the principal of the student's school must be notified, after first notifying the parent or legal guardian that such notification will be made:

• a violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
• a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
• inhaling toxic fumes under in RCW 9.47A;
• a controlled substances violation under RCW 69.50;
• a liquor violation under RCW 66.44.270;
• and any crime under RCW chapters 9.41, 9A.36, 9A.40, 9A.46, and 9A.48.

(This notification, and a detailed listing of the actual offenses, is included along with the appointment letter when the juvenile is scheduled for his/her Diversion appointment.)

Any information received by a principal or school personnel under this section is confidential and may not be further disseminated except as provided by law.

Youth may be required to perform community service work by the Juvenile Court or the Diversion Program. The individual agency has to be a non-profit business; this means it cannot make money from your service to its business. The most common businesses are your local police and fire departments, libraries, schools, hospitals, food banks, and/or churches. There are also supervised community service work crews assigned through the Diversion Program.

At individual work sites, it is important to have your assigned supervisor keep a written log of the dates and times you attended your hours because you will need to provide the Diversion Program with written documentation of completion.

It is also important to select a site that meets your needs. You may want to inquire as to how many hours you may work in any given day and how soon you would be able to start and complete. You will want to let the work site know that you have a timeline to report back to the Diversion Program.

If you have questions, you may contact the Juvenile Court Community Service Program at 798-7986.

CAN DIVERSION RECORDS BE SEALED? Yes
The Court can grant the Motion to Seal a Diversion Record if the person has completed his/her Diversion Agreement and:

• has spent 2 consecutive years in the community without committing any offenses or crime that subsequently results in conviction or diversion; and
• has no criminal proceeding pending against him/her; and
• has no Diversion pending; and
• full restitution has been paid.

Youth/parents must contact the Diversion Program to get the paperwork process started. Records are not sealed automatically; it must be requested.

CAN DIVERSION RECORDS BE DESTROYED? Yes.
A diversion record for a person 18 years of age will be destroyed by the court within 90 days of becoming eligible for destruction if:

• the person's criminal history consists entirely of one diversion agreement or counsel and release,
• two years have passed since completion of the agreement or counsel and release,
• no proceeding is pending against the person seeking the conviction of a criminal offense, and
• no restitution is owing.

A person 23 years of age or older whose criminal history consists of only referrals for Diversion may request that the court order the records in those cases be destroyed. The court shall grant the request if the court finds that all Diversion Agreements have been successfully completed and no proceeding is pending against the person seeking the conviction of a criminal offense.

If you have questions, you may contact the Diversion office at 253-798-7640.

RELATED RCW'S

RCW 13.40.020, RCW 13.40.080, RCW 13.50.050, and RCW 13.04.155.