probation offices may refer the juvenile offender to youth court. Depending on what type
of youth court the community has decided to implement, the police, prosecutor’s offices,
probation, social service agencies, or the youth courts’ own non-profit organizations are in
charge of running the program. These programs handle offenses such as first-time
misdemeanors, theft, vandalism, disorderly conduct, alcohol/drug offenses, assault, and
truancy. Youth court gives the offender the opportunity to take responsibility for their
actions while their peers are given the opportunity to determine what the offender’s
punishment will be. Commonly, community service, apology letters, restitution,
counseling, tutoring, drug and alcohol assessment, and classes are found to be appropriate
punishment for these offenders. These programs teach these offenders that what they did
was wrong while simultaneously encouraging them to take responsibility for their actions
and seek forgiveness from the community. By doing this, the youth is not labeled as a
criminal and avoids going through typical in-court proceedings, which may have very
negative effects on that child.
Programs that handle school misconduct are typically operated by schools, but may
include other juvenile facilities, such as detention centers. Offenders are typically referred
to the program by the school or organization’s disciplinary offices, often as an alternative
to detention and suspension. The offenses that are typically handled by these programs are
rule violations, such as truancy, minor fights, cheating, or smoking. Similar to the criminal
programs, a typical punishment may include community service, apology letters,
counseling, mentoring, tutoring, and extracurricular activities. These programs can be very
effective in middle school, high school and even post-secondary education. Moreover,
these programs inspire students to become involved in the justice system while also
providing offenders an opportunity to have a trial by their peers, which helps give a level
of perspective to both the youth and the administrators participating in the program.
Typically, part of the disposition requires that the respondent serve on the youth
court as a juror or bailiff in a subsequent youth court case. Instead of exclusion from peers,
these respondents are included once more within the community and have a chance to see
the law from both sides, encouraging the juvenile to stay on the right side of the law. This
requirement helps to ensure that the youth court reflects the diversity of the community.
Failure to complete the disposition imposed by the youth court will generally result in
referral back to the original agency. For example, youth failing to complete their
disposition for crimes will be referred back to whomever referred them to youth court,
typically to go through the traditional adversarial process. Thus, youth failing to complete
their disposition for violating school rules will be referred back to the traditional school
disciplinary process.
There have been predictions that nationwide, 25% of juvenile offenders will be
referred to youth court by the end of 2015. Thus, it is crucial to successfully implement
new youth courts throughout Illinois. The American Bar Association has urged both state
and federal organizations to increase the amount of participation in youth courts. Illinois
leads the nation with 134 operational youth court programs around the state and boasts
