Services Provided by our Volunteers

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Volunteers provide services to five groups within the court system. For a general overview of a program please, read down this page. If you are interested in a particular area select, from the following:

• Civil Practice Division
• Family Court Services
• Municipal Court Services
• Probation Services
• Other Court and Community Partnership Opportunities.

CIVIL PRACTICE DIVISION

Guardianship Monitoring and Guardianship Auditing

The Guardianship Monitoring Program uses trained volunteers to oversee guardianship cases involving incapacitated adults (including the elderly and developmentally disabled). The volunteers then report to the court concerning the well-being of the wards and the status of their assets. Mandated training must be completed prior to assignment.

The Guardianship Auditing Program engages trained citizen volunteers (often with a background in accounting, finance, bookkeeping and the like) to examine court-required financial reports from guardians to ensure that timely and accurate accountings of wards' assets are submitted.

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FAMILY COURT SERVICES

Child Placement Review Boards

Child Placement Review (CPR) is a legislatively mandated judicial volunteer program in the Family Division. Boards are comprised of court-appointed citizen volunteers who monitor the cases of all children who are placed outside their homes by the Division of Youth and Family Services. Review Board members monitor the timeliness of case movement, examine case plans, and conduct in-person interviews of involved parties in order to provide judges with recommendations to assist in the critical decision-making process. (Boards are mandated to assess each case from the point of view of the best interest of the child.) The Board's recommendations embrace issues such as how the case is managed and how quickly the child achieves permanency. Review Board members are required to complete mandatory program-specific training.

Court Appointed Special Advocates

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program is designed to help monitor abused and neglected children in out-of-home placements. CASA fulfills this mission by the careful recruitment, training and supervision of community volunteers who are then assigned to a child in the foster care system. The primary objective of CASA is to represent to the court the best interests of the abused and neglected child to whom s(he) has been assigned. The court gives CASA investigative authority to examine all aspects of a child’s case and to explore all viable avenues to achieve a stable home environment for that child. CASA becomes the child's voice in court. Program volunteers are required to complete mandatory program-specific training prior to appointment and in-service training thereafter.

Juvenile Conference Committee

The Juvenile Conference Committees (JCCs) serve under the authority of the Family Division of Superior Court. A JCC is a six to nine member citizen volunteer panel appointed by the Family Division Judge. In a confidential setting, JCC panels hear and decide matters involving alleged juvenile offenders. The juvenile, parent(s) and or guardian(s) and complainant are invited to discuss the offense and related matters with the Committee. The JCC considers the facts, and makes recommendations to the judge for a resolution that would aid in the juvenile's rehabilitation.

The program is designed to divert juveniles charged with first or second degree minor offenses to their local JCC, which acts as a community-based arm of the Family Court. Charges that may be heard by the JCC include, but are not limited to: shoplifting, simple assault, attempted theft or theft, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, receiving stolen property and disorderly persons offenses. Program volunteers are required to complete mandatory program-specific training.

Supervised Visitation Program

The Supervised Visitation Program was established by legislation to provide a forum for children and non-custodial parents to develop or re-establish ongoing familial relationships in a safe environment. The program affords the non-custodial parent the opportunity to spend time with his/her child(ren) in a neutral setting without interference from the custodial parent or other interested parties. The program provides children the opportunity to establish a normal, healthy relationship with the non-custodial parent. Specially trained volunteers and student interns oversee the visits to observe interaction between the child(ren) and parent/guardian and to maintain a safe environment.

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MUNICIPAL COURT SERVICES

Municipal Court Mediation Program

Mediation is a structured, non-adversial process that allows a neutral third party to meet with disputing parties to aid them in reaching a mutually acceptable solution to their dispute. The goal of the Municipal Court Mediation Program is to provide an avenue to resolve disputes outside of the traditional means of litigation. Basic mediation and conciliation training (an 18-hour course) is required of all volunteers prior to appointment.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has mandated that this program be made available to all citizens across the state as an alternative to having cases heard and decided by a judge. Typical cases handled through this process include: simple assaults that do not include personal injury, trespass, harassment, creating a disturbance, noise complaints, animal or pet complaints, larceny under $200, malicious destruction of property, annoying phone calls, property disputes, non-payment of bills, bad checks, shoplifting and criminal mischief.

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PROBATION SERVICES

Intensive Supervision Program

The Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) invites volunteer participation in two ways. First, each ISP participant has a community sponsor and network team. The sponsor, sometimes a family member or friend, assists the ISP officer in developing a plan and takes responsibility for helping the participant achieve the goals of the plan. The network team works with the sponsor and participant, suggesting ways to augment the plan, developing additional strategies, and mobilizing resources. The actions of the community sponsor and network team are geared toward increasing the participant’s success in the program.

Some of those who have successfully completed ISP later return to assist current ISP participants through the Graduate Assistance Program (GAP). While graduates assist the ISP officers in evaluating the participant’s needs, they also define the type of assistance they will provide. Graduates may counsel participants one-to-one or in a group, or provide information about jobs, fellowship meetings, treatment agencies, educational or other services that will help them return to the mainstream of society.

Juvenile Intensive Supervision Program

The Juvenile Intensive Supervision Program (JSP) provides to juveniles adjudicated delinquent a program of community supervision and serves as a dispositional option in the Family Court's continuum of responses. Juveniles who qualify present an individualized case plan that gives full assurance that their supervision in the community will result in positive social adjustments and not jeopardize the public’s safety.

Juveniles admitted into the program are required to have a Community Mentor and a Core Community Team. The Core Community Team consists of seven to ten volunteers, preferably neighborhood citizens, who meet at least two times per month for review of the juvenile’s program compliance. The Community Mentor works closely with JISP staff, the juvenile, the family and the Core Community Team in the rehabilitative effort. The mentor should be of such character to serve as a role model for the program participant. Volunteers that participate in this program are required to receive program-specific training.

Volunteers in Probation

Several models of Volunteers in Probation (VIP) currently operate within the court system, including the traditional VlP Program, in which a juvenile probationer is matched one-on-one with a specially trained volunteer who agrees to spend at least an hour and a half weekly with the youth providing support and guidance. VIP usually accept the case for the duration of the juvenile’s probation term, or an average of one year. The goals of this program include: to help prevent future delinquent behavior; to provide juveniles in the justice system with the positive influence of a caring, stable adult (supplementing the work of paid professional staff); and to actively engage the community in the work of the courts. Careful screening, receiving certification training, in-service training and monitoring volunteers are required.

Newer forms of VIP have emerged in recent years, including mentoring programs in Bergen, Morris, Passaic, Salem and Union Counties, tutoring projects, and in, Morris County, an affiliation between Juvenile Probation Services and community- based companionship programs.

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OTHER COURT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

There are many other areas within the court system in which volunteers and community representatives may be used to meet community needs, while not necessarily fitting into a specific program model. Among such initiatives would be conducting or assisting with substance abuse intervention programs, helping with literacy projects, conducting research and needs assessments, and writing grant applications. Efforts to develop new and creative partnerships will continue to emerge or evolve as the Judiciary expands and develops programs and services to meet constituent needs.

Advisory Committees on Minority Concerns

 Vicinages across the state have brought diverse groups of citizen volunteers together with judges, court staff, and other members of the public to examine issues of importance to minorities and other citizens in gaining fair and equitable access to the court's services and programs, assist with implementing the recommendations of the Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns, monitor the progress in each vicinage and to make recommendations for improvements to the Assignment Judge.