An Act To Create the Position of Juvenile Community Service Director in the Department of Corrections
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1074
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: SHAW, HANLEY, HASKELL, PLUMMER, SANBORN, PATRICK
Amends: 34-A MRSA §7009

Legislative Document 
No. 1074 
H.P. 809 
House of Representatives, March 15, 2011 
An Act To Create the Position of Juvenile Community Service 
Director in the Department of Corrections 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative SHAW of Standish. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: HANLEY of Gardiner, HASKELL of Portland, PLUMMER 
of Windham, SANBORN of Gorham, Senator: PATRICK of Oxford. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  34-A MRSA §7009 is enacted to read: 
§7009.  Juvenile Community Service Director 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Database" means the comprehensive community service program database as 
described in subsection 3, paragraph C. 
B.  "Director" means the Juvenile Community Service Director. 
C.  "Program" means a community service program for juveniles. 
2.  Appointment.  The Juvenile Community Service Director is appointed by the 
commissioner and serves at the pleasure of the commissioner. 
3.  Duties and responsibilities.  The director shall consult with juvenile community 
corrections officers, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group, the judicial branch, prosecutors 
and other juvenile justice agencies to identify effective services for juvenile clients. The 
director shall coordinate volunteers, community businesses and nonprofit organizations to 
create opportunities for programs for juveniles and manage the database under paragraph 
C.  Specifically, the director shall: 
A.  Provide oversight and direction for the achievement of juvenile community 
service through planning and executing innovative programs; 
B.  Evaluate and improve upon the structure, systems, resources and tools of the 
juvenile justice system and juvenile community services and treatment programs to 
maximize effectiveness and ensure efficient and effective operations and measurable 
growth in the provision of programs for juveniles; 
C.  Create and organize a comprehensive community service database that includes 
contact information for all programs that are available through nonprofit 
organizations, faith-based groups, business partners and other persons and that may 
be used to obtain high school credit or satisfy court-ordered community service.  The 
database must include at least one telephone number or publicly accessible website to 
enable volunteers to find the information needed to join a program in their own 
community; 
D.  Communicate with all organizations that offer programs for juveniles and publish 
on a publicly accessible website a current schedule of programs by zip code; 
E.  Recruit businesses to provide meaningful programs to benefit juveniles and the 
community and assist those businesses in creating programs and matching them with 
the organizations that work with volunteers; 
F.  Inform schools of the database and assist them in finding or creating programs 
within each school unit; and 
G.  Evaluate the quality and performance of programs to ensure that there is proper 
oversight and that the programs are effective.  The director shall provide this 
information to schools, the department, the courts and the Legislature. 
4.  Costs; rules.  The costs of maintaining the director position may not be supported 
by the General Fund but must be supported by probation fees paid by juveniles and adults 
in the correctional system.  The department shall determine through rulemaking the cost 
necessary to support the director position and the implementation of the director's duties.  
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.  The department also shall introduce legislation proposing 
statutory changes to probation fees that it determines necessary to support the director 
position and the director's duties. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates the position of Juvenile Community Service Director in the 
Department of Corrections.  The director's duties include coordinating volunteers and 
community businesses and nonprofit organizations to create opportunities for community 
service programs for juveniles and a comprehensive information network of those 
opportunities and assisting juvenile community corrections officers, the court, 
prosecutors and schools to find appropriate community service programs.  The cost of 
maintaining the director position may not be paid with General Fund money but must be 
supported by probation fees, the amount of which must be determined by the Department 
of Corrections.