Who can volunteer?
Because we work directly with youth before the court and have standards of confidentiality, all of our volunteers must be over the age of 18.

What do I need to do to get started?
Prospective volunteers should call the Executive Director to set an appointment for an interview. The Executive Director will meet the volunteer and help to determine the most appropriate program placement. All volunteers must complete an application and paperwork to be screened by the Department of Social Services, DMV, and the FBI. All paperwork is completed in our office and sent to the respective departments for screening. This process is required by the Department of Juvenile Justice and generally takes about 6 weeks.

Is special training required?
Each volunteer must complete an orientation with the appropriate program coordinator. After the orientation, the coordinator will schedule the volunteer for the specific program training. Trainings very according to programs but will be 8-40 hours in length. Trainings are generally held in the evenings and/or on Saturdays.

What is the time commitment for a volunteer?
A volunteer can spend an hour or more a week with our agency. The time commitment is dependent on the program and the level of service needed for each client. However, we generally try to fit the time the volunteer has available to the program.

What types of things do volunteers do for VACY?
Volunteer opportunities include office work, mentoring, monitoring youth and cases, working in the child's environment to include home and school, assessing appropriate homes for youth who have been abused, assisting youth with community service, supervising youth in community service activities, facilitating groups, assisting with court activities, and providing case supervision for truant youth.

What types of youth will I work with?
Most of our youth are the youth who live next door, go to your child's school, or need a caring adult.