Section 6340 - Consent decree(a) General ruleAt any time after the filing of a petition and before the entry of an adjudication order, the court may, on motion of the district attorney or of counsel for the child, suspend the proceedings, and continue the child under supervision in his own home, under terms and conditions negotiated with the probation services and agreed to by all parties affected. The order of the court continuing the child under supervision shall be known as a consent decree.(b) ObjectionWhere the child or the district attorney objects to a consent decree, the court shall proceed to findings, adjudication and disposition.(c) Duration of decreeA consent decree shall remain in force for six months unless the child is discharged sooner by probation services with the approval of the court. Upon application of the probation services or other agency supervising the child, made before expiration of the six-month period, a consent decree may be extended by the court for an additional six months.(c.1) Terms and conditionsConsistent with the protection of the public interest, the terms and conditions of a consent decree may include payment by the child of reasonable amounts of money as costs, fees or restitution, including a supervision fee and contribution to a restitution fund established by the president judge of the court of common pleas pursuant to section 6352(a)(5) (relating to disposition of delinquent child), and shall, as appropriate to the circumstances of each case, include provisions which provide balanced attention to the protection of the community, accountability for offenses committed and the development of competencies to enable the child to become a responsible and productive member of the community.(d) Reinstatement of petitionIf prior to discharge by the probation services or expiration of the consent decree, a new petition is filed against the child, or the child otherwise fails to fulfill express terms and conditions of the decree, the petition under which the child was continued under supervision may, in the discretion of the district attorney following consultation with the probation services, be reinstated and the child held accountable as if the consent decree had never been entered.(e) Effect of decreeA child who is discharged by the probation services, or who completes a period of supervision without reinstatement of the original petition, shall not again be proceeded against in any court for the same offense alleged in the petition or an offense based upon the same conduct.1976, July 9, P.L. 586, No. 142, § 2, effective 6/27/1978. Amended 1978, April 28, P.L. 202, No. 53, § 29, effective 6/27/1978; 1986, Dec. 11, P.L. 1521, No. 165, § 9, effective in 60 days; 1995, Nov. 17, P.L. 1127, No. 33 (Spec. Sess. No. 1), § 5, effective in 120 days; 2004, Nov. 30, P.L. 1703, No. 217, § 4, imd. effective.