In ordering a preteen vandal from Western Massachusetts to get a job, a juvenile court judge opened himself up to some obvious criticism — as did three state Appeals Court judges when they upheld the ruling. A boy known as Avram in court filings was found responsible at age 11 for $1,000 in damage to his neighbors’ homes in Easthampton, and was given a year to make restitution. He didn’t, so Juvenile Court Judge James G. Collins ordered him to find employment so he could pay. A three-judge appeals panel agreed, urging in an opinion by Judge William J. Meade that Avram try such things as obtaining a paper route or babysitting.
The weakness in these recommendations is that newspapers today generally are delivered by adults on motorized routes, rather than kids on bikes, and that few parents would trust their young children to a sitter who’s facing delinquency charges. The boy’s lawyer pushed the point further, noting that most forms of labor are illegal for 12-year-olds under state law. Yet despite all that, the judges are right, and a legalistic insistence that Avram couldn’t possibly work off his offense would do him — and the juvenile justice system — more harm than good.
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There's also plenty of barns, stalls and stables out there that need cleaning.
They should also suggest community service, in lieu of monetary work, for a juvenile. Many towns have trash pick up days on Saturdays, where residents pick up trash from the side of the road; he could also help at a food shelter, riding with an adult to pick up donated groceries, or drop off groceries to shut ins; also, animal shelters need volunteers to clean out cages, etc., similar to bumpyt's suggestion (a very good suggestion, BTW). There is no benefit in finding excuses for a juvenile offender; he will learn nothing, and there are plenty of ways to "teach" him that vandalism has consequences; the outcome just might have an impact on his values. My own experience of learning "the hard way" taught me more than I ever would have imagined, and left the biggest impact.
Simple things that are difficult - scraping gum from the bottom of desks and tables in a school or cafeteria. Yoga and Bumpy are correct!
Oh, the horror! A 12 year-old boy has to rake leaves and/or shovel show (in lieu of being determined a delinquent, and having a criminal record) for doing $1000 damage by spray-painting graffiti on several of his neighbor's homes, and the advocates whine and bleet? I'm not sure to whom the lesson --that kids are mature enough at 12 to take responsibility for their actions -- will be more beneficial, the young man in this case, or the advocates. I hate to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but when I was a kid, and I imagine when Judge Collins was, too, if you broke something on purpose, you paid for it. That was an expectation, a responsibility that came with good citizenship.