The City of Santa Clarita and local non-profit HandsOn Santa Clarita have partnered to locally administer the Court Referral Community Services Program.
In keeping with the City Council’s philosophy that perpetrators of crimes committed in Santa Clarita should do their community service hours in Santa Clarita, the change of operations, which became effective April 1, will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the program.
“The transfer of the Court Referral Program to local agency HandsOn Santa Clarita has been a work in progress since the idea was first proposed in 2009,” said Mayor Marsha McLean. “This cost-effective program will allow the Court to have local oversight and management of community service options resulting in more efficient control, improved relations with the community, and more involvement of local organizations.”
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In the past, multiple area organizations have been involved with the Court Referral Program. This program has benefited the community by allowing volunteers to avoid heavy fines or incarceration by agreeing to conditions set forth by the court to work for a set number of hours at one of these host organizations.
With the support of presiding Judge Grace Freixes, the City, and local non-profits, HandsOn Santa Clarita will now be administering this program. Since its inception in 1997, HandsOn Santa Clarita has grown to become the central resource agency offering support to the non-profit, community-based organizations in the Santa Clarita Valley.
With the Court Referral Program, seeing as all costs are paid by those enrolled, Santa Clarita will significantly benefit from this cost-free solution to have enhancing work performed within the City limits.
For more information on the Court Referral Community Services Program or about HandsOn Santa Clarita, contact Susana Coronel at (661) 250-3726 or visit santa-clarita.com.