This paper reviews the lessons learned from nine pilot court sites testing the Adolescent Diversion Program, which brings cases of 16- and 17-year-olds before specially trained judges, who have access to an expanded array of dispositions, including age-appropriate services.
Dr. Mara Schiff, an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University, focuses her work on restorative justice, community justice, and juvenile justice. Here, she gives on overview of restorative practices and discusses why a restorative approach can be particularly valuable for youth. (October 2012)
Angela Irvine, director of research in the Criminal Justice Division of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, sat down for this podcast interview after participating in a research roundtable on youth courts that was sponsored by the Center for Court Innovation and the Lowenstein Family Foundation on July 18, 2012. Irvine also discusses research into lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender justice-involved youth.
During a visit by the Tribal Justice Exchange to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington State, Robert V. Wolf talks with two elders--Matthew Dick Jr. and Darlene Wilder--and a client about peacemaking, a traditional Native American approach to resolving both criminal and civil issues. May 2012
The Youth Justice Board, an after school program operated by the Center for Court Innovation that gives young people the opportunity to be advocates for their peers, created this video Talking It Through: A Teen-Police Dialogue, which shows how positive communication can build stronger, friendlier relationships between police officers and young people.
This article discusses the Staten Island Youth Justice Center's efforts to reduce the number of youth in preventive detention, detailed case studies of youths who have gone through the program, and some of the challenges of and lessons learned from putting this model into practice. Published in the New York Law School Law Review.
This resource helps existing youth courts document, standardize, and maintain the high quality of their programs and helps planners of new youth courts develop all of the policies and procedures necessary for a successful program.
A complete curriculum for training young people to serve on a youth court. The curriculum includes over 23 classroom hours, broken into 50-minute lesson plans. Download includes introductory information and a sample lesson plan; contact us for the complete curriculum.
A comprehensive framework for starting a school- or community-based youth court from scratch. The guide provides an overview of the youth court model and prompts planners to consider, examine, and decide on all elements of a youth court’s operation, from staffing to referrals to sanctions.
