IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 576 
Recognizing youth court programs for the efforts of such programs in enhanc-
ing the quality of the juvenile justice system in the United States and 
encouraging the recognition of a National Youth Court Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2007 
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida (for herself and Mr. POE) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
and Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing youth court programs for the efforts of such 
programs in enhancing the quality of the juvenile justice 
system in the United States and encouraging the recogni-
tion of a National Youth Court Month. 
Whereas a strong country begins with strong communities in 
which all members have an active role and investment in 
the success and future of the youth of the United States; 
Whereas a National Youth Court Month would celebrate the 
outstanding achievement of youth court programs 
throughout the country, including the achievement in 
2006 of over 120,000 youths volunteering to hear over 
130,000 juvenile cases and over 20,000 adults volun-
teering to facilitate peer justice, thereby reducing juvenile 
crime; 
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•HRES 576 IH 
Whereas 1,210 youth court programs in 49 States and the 
District of Columbia provide restorative justice programs 
for juvenile offenders, which provide effective prevention 
of criminal activity, early intervention with respect to 
such criminal activity, and education for all youth partici-
pants in such programs, and which enhance public safety 
throughout the country; 
Whereas some youth court programs use as models several 
community-based court programs, including diversionary 
courts, tribal courts, and school-based courts, and all of 
the youth court programs include active youth participa-
tion in advocacy and decision-making to meet the needs 
of the respective community; 
Whereas youth court programs are a benefit to the judicial 
system and the community by holding youth offenders ac-
countable, by addressing the concerns of victims of juve-
nile crime, juvenile offenders, the families of such offend-
ers, and the communities of such victims and of such of-
fenders, by reducing case loads for the judicial system, by 
investigating offenses which may otherwise be ignored 
until the offending behavior escalates, and by encour-
aging juvenile offenders to become contributing members 
of their communities; 
Whereas Federal, State, and local governments, corporations, 
foundations, service organizations, educational institu-
tions, juvenile justice agencies, and individual adults sup-
port youth court programs because such programs ac-
tively promote and contribute to building successful, pro-
ductive lives and futures for the youth of the United 
States; 
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•HRES 576 IH 
Whereas a fundamental correlation exists between community 
service while one is a young person and a lifelong com-
mitment and involvement to one’s community; 
Whereas community service and related service learning op-
portunities enable young people to build character and to 
enhance and learn life skills, including responsibility, de-
cision-making, time management, teamwork, public 
speaking, and leadership, which are skills that prospec-
tive employers value and which help to transform partici-
pants in youth court programs into productive members 
of their communities; 
Whereas 1,210 youth court programs in 49 States and the 
District of Columbia believe recruiting, recognizing, train-
ing, and retaining youth and adult volunteers will achieve 
the sustainability, growth, and effectiveness of youth 
court programs and the ability of such programs to re-
duce juvenile crime; 
Whereas such 1,210 youth court programs exemplify the 
practice of empowering youth through involvement in 
community solutions, increase public safety by holding ju-
venile offenders accountable for illegal acts, use positive 
peer influence to achieve law-abiding behavior, provide 
understanding and appreciation of the law through class-
es and court participation, and develop individual com-
petence and leadership skills through problem-solving and 
decision-making; and 
Whereas for the past six years some youth court programs 
throughout the country have celebrated the month of 
September as a youth court month: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 576 IH 
(1) recognizes and commends the 1,210 youth 
court programs in existence in 49 States and the 
District of Columbia for the support and efforts of 
such programs in enhancing the quality of the juve-
nile justice system in the United States and sup-
ports the purposes and practices of such programs 
in improving such system; 
(2) encourages the recognition of a National 
Youth Court Month and urges the people, schools, 
businesses, and media of the United States to ob-
serve such a month by participating in activities to 
preserve and strengthen youth court programs in 
each respective community; and 
(3) encourages the cultivation of a common 
bond among all young people and adult volunteers 
dedicated to serving their peers, communities, and 
the United States in the pursuit of justice for all 
youth. 
Æ 
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