In this article from the Winter 2014 issue of the Government, Law, and Policy Journal of the New York Bar Association, Greg Berman and Robert V. Wolf examine the wide range of alternative-to-incarceration initiatives being pioneered by the New York State courts.
Schools are increasingly using youth courts in place of detention and suspension, diverting students who commit school infractions from standard punishment. In this study of two New York City high school youth courts, youth court participants, teachers, and administrators expressed positive perceptions of the capacity of the youth court to serve as a meaningful alternative to the use of traditional discipline, although student surveys showed that the youth court did not have a quantifiable impact on school climate.
In order to address the high prevalence of children’s exposure to violence, in 2010, eight sites around the country were selected by the U.S. Department of Justice for the Defending Childhood Demonstration Program. This national initiative aims: 1) to prevent children’s exposure to violence; 2) to mitigate the negative impact of such exposure when it does occur; and 3) to develop knowledge and spread awareness about children’s exposure to violence, both within and beyond the chosen pilot sites. The eight demonstration sites are:
Writing in the pages of Judges Journal, Center for Court Innovation Director of Mental Health Court Programs Carol Fisler discusses the implications of a growing body of research on the efficacy of mental health courts.
This study investigated the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and intimate partner violence perpetration in a representative sample of self-identified heterosexual adult men in the U.S.
This report evaluates a pilot program that screens misdemeanor defendants for mental health disorders. Those assigned to a brief mental health intervention were significantly less likely to be re-arrested within one year, compared with similar defendants who were not assigned to the intervention. Results were especially positive for female defendants.
For jurisdictions seeking to create or revise a domestic violence benchbook, this document reviews themes and best practices captured in similar guides around the country.
