U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

John J. Wilson, Acting Administrator

practices that promote accountability and integrity in the juvenile

justice system. NYCC also is compiling a compendium of resources to assist youth courts in implementing the suggested

guidelines; it will include sample forms, policies, procedures, and

protocols that a program can easily customize as needed.

Training and Technical Assistance

The Center will conduct a total of five regional and national

training seminars beginning this year. These seminars will consist

of two tracks—a beginner track for new or developing programs

and an advanced track for operating programs. NYCC is also

coordinating a national conference in Albuquerque, NM, to be

held October 22–24, 2000. The conference will offer more than

30 workshops on a variety of topics, including volunteer recruitment and training, evaluation of youth courts, and promotion and

encouragement of community involvement. Workshops will be

geared to both adults and young people who are involved in

youth court programs.

Technical assistance ranging from telephone and written correspondence to onsite assistance is available from NYCC to

jurisdictions needing support for program implementation or

enhancement.

Partnerships

The appeal of youth court programs across a variety of disciplines

has led to diverse partnerships. At the Federal level, NYCC receives support from four agencies—OJJDP, the U.S. Department

of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the

U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. NYCC also has formal partnerships with three of

OJJDP’s Law-Related Education (LRE) program grantees to develop materials for NYCC. (The LRE program teaches K–12

students about law, the Constitution, and their rights and responsibilities under the law.)

May 2000 #07

National Youth Court Center

Youth court programs have become an integral component of the

juvenile justice system in communities across America and have

expanded rapidly in the past 5 years. There are now more than

650 programs, with hundreds of jurisdictions ready to develop

new programs. Although jurisdictions may call their programs

different names—youth court, teen court, or peer court—the

philosophy guiding the programs is the same: hold juvenile

offenders accountable for their actions, educate youth about the

judicial and legal systems, and empower youth to be active in

their communities.

To create a central point of contact for youth court programs, the

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

established the National Youth Court Center (NYCC) in 1999 at

the American Probation and Parole Association in Lexington, KY.

The Center provides training, technical assistance, and resource

materials to developing and existing youth courts.

Information Clearinghouse

NYCC manages an information clearinghouse, which provides

information on operations and practices of youth court programs in

the United States. It also provides resource materials for program

development. The Center maintains a searchable database of

information about active and developing youth court programs;

nearly 500 youth courts have submitted comprehensive information. The database allows NYCC staff to perform customized

searches to meet specific requests for information. For example,

staff can track the number and location of youth courts that accept

truancy cases or the number and location of programs that use

youth judges. NYCC also maintains a youth court Web site

(www.youthcourt.net), which is updated frequently and contains a

current list of youth court programs, downloadable resource

information, training announcements, and links to other helpful

sites.

National Guidelines

OJJDP has asked NYCC to develop national guidelines to assist

youth court programs in developing policy and implementing

by Mistene Vickers
PRESORTED STANDARD

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/OJJDP

PERMIT NO. G–91

FS–200007 Fact Sheet

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

The American Bar Association of Washington, DC, will develop a

youth volunteer training/education package for youth volunteers.

This package will provide educational resources to train youth

court volunteers and enhance their understanding of both the law

and the justice system. The package will include youth volunteer

manuals based on the different youth court program models and an

instructor’s guide. Street Law, Inc., of Washington, DC, is developing 10 student-centered, interactive, law-related lessons that deal

with topics for which young people frequently are arrested and

referred to youth court. These lessons will be a sentencing resource

for youth court programs. Phi Alpha Delta of Granada Hills, CA,

the largest law fraternity in the United States, is promoting youth

courts to its members to encourage them to volunteer with local

programs. Finally, a National Youth Court Alliance, comprising

Federal, national, State, and local public and private agencies, has

been formed to help promote the youth court concept and to work

with the Center on youth court initiatives as they arise.

For Further Information

National Youth Court Center

Tracy Godwin, Director

P.O. Box 11910

Lexington, KY 40578–1910

606–244–8215

tgodwin@csg.org (e-mail)

www.youthcourt.net (Internet)

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Scott Peterson

202–616–2368

peterson@ojp.usdoj.gov (e-mail)

www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org (Internet)

American Bar Association

Paula Nessel

pnessel@staff.abanet.org (e-mail)

www.abanet.org/publiced/youth (Internet)

Street Law, Inc.

Maureen Meyer

mmeyer@streetlaw.org (e-mail)

www.streetlaw.org (Internet)

Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center

Paula Erickson

Padpsc@aol.com (e-mail)

www.pad.org/psc

Mistene Vickers is a Research Assistant with NYCC.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau

of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National

Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

FS–200007