Neighborhood Conference Committee (NCC)

The Neighborhood Conference Committee (NCC) consists of local citizen groups acting under the authority of the Juvenile Court as an extension of the department to provide services to first-time misdemeanor offenders in zip code 76106, a state-targeted area of high crime referrals. NCC members are trained volunteers who live or work within the neighborhood. The goal is to help families resolve difficulties with an adolescent family member and to hold juveniles accountable for their behavior without a formal court hearing. NCC citizen members evaluate a youth’s situation in a non-judgmental way and recommend appropriate community-based actions, such as mentoring, employment, community service, referral to a neighborhood church or community center for assistance, maintaining ongoing contact, advocacy, expression of apology to a victim, networking to available resources within the community, etc. NCC provides an avenue for expressing the community’s concern to a youth and engendering a juvenile’s sense of responsibility. NCCs promote citizen participation and identification of needed resources for residents.