AB 2698: Juveniles: diversion.

This bill aims to promote a youth court diversion pilot program to divert first-time misdemeanor juvenile offenders from the traditional juvenile justice system. The program would establish a grant program to award funding to 6 counties to create a youth diversion program. To participate, juveniles must have committed certain types of offenses and appear before a jury of high school student volunteers who have been trained and mentored by attorneys. The student jury would determine a disposition without finding the juvenile guilty or innocent. The program would require annual reports from participating counties on the juveniles who have completed the program. The pilot program would run until January 1, 2030.