California Program Showcase

Sacramento County Wins the "Acts of Caring Award" from the National Association of Counties (May 4, 2006)

The "Acts of Caring Award" recognizes innovative and effective partnerships between county governments and the communities they serve that enhance the quality of life in those communities.

Sacramento County's Neighborhood Accountability Board Program enables volunteers to help first-time, low-level juvenile offenders to take responsibility for their crimes; improve their own skills and development through classes, counseling, or community service; and restore the losses of any victim who may have been harmed.

NAB volunteers meet with referred youth and their families to develop a contract that addresses the offending behavior and spells out the necessary things the youth must do to fulfill his or her obligations. Successfully fulfilling the terms of the agreement means that the youth avoids the formal juvenile justice system.

The Sacramento program was formed in 1996 with the support of the presiding juvenile court judge, the probation department, the District Attorney's Office, various municipal law enforcement agencies, and community members.

In the last nine years over 12 percent of the probation department's juvenile citations (approximately 4,800 youth) have been referred to NAB, and 89 percent of those youth did not reoffend within three years.

For more information about this program, please contact Karen Dodrill, Chief Deputy, Sacramento County Probation, Community Partnerships & Programs Division at 916-875-0206.