California · Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC

WIC §502: (a) An individual shall be the subject of the efforts of programs established pursuant to this article who has been previously adjudged a ward pursuant to Section 602 and is described in any of the fo

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute establishes eligibility criteria for juvenile diversion programs. It defines which youth previously found to be wards of the court may be selected for intervention programs based on arrest history thresholds.

Read the full statutory text
(a) An individual shall be the subject of the efforts of programs established pursuant to this article who has been previously adjudged a ward pursuant to Section 602 and is described in any of the following paragraphs: (1) Has accumulated five total arrests, three arrests for crimes chargeable as felonies and three arrests within the preceding 12 months. (2) Has accumulated 10 total arrests, two arrests for crimes chargeable as felonies and three arrests within the preceding 12 months. (3) Has been arrested once for three or more burglaries, robberies, or sexual assaults within the preceding 12 months. (4) Has accumulated 10 total arrests, eight or more arrests for misdemeanor crimes of theft, assault, battery, narcotics or controlled substance possession, substance abuse, or use or possession of weapons, and has three arrests within the preceding 12 months. (b) Arrests for infractions or conduct described in Section 601 shall not be utilized in determining whether an individual is described in subdivision (a). All arrests used in determining eligibility for selection for program participation that did not result in a sustained petition shall be certified by the prosecutor as having been provable. (c) In applying the selection criteria set forth above, a program may elect to limit its efforts to persons described in one or more of the categories listed in subdivision (a), or specified felonies, if crime statistics demonstrate that the persons so identified present a particularly serious problem in the county, or that the incidence of the felonies so specified present a particularly serious problem in the county.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.