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Teen Court (Caroline County) FY20 and Beyond (Annual)
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Story Behind the Curve
FY23
The Teen Court Program had another successful year in diverting youth from the Department of Juvenile Services. As law enforcement officials realize the importance of diverting youth from the criminal system for minor crimes referrals to Teen Court have increased. The impact of going to a court of peers has a much higher influence on the respondants. Many youth after completeing their sanctions and serving their jury duty ask to join the program. The reoffend rate has been low in FY23 which shows the Teen Court program works.
Partners
FY23
The success of the Teen Court Program is attributed in part to our partners which include, local law enforcement, Caroline County Circuit Court, Dept. of Juvenile Services, Caroline County Public Schools and our partners who provide community based resources.
Program Summary
Teen Court is a referral process for 1st time juvenile offenders to be diverted from the juvenile system and go before a court of their peers. New to the Program are youth who have a high rate of absenteeism and truancy. The Program uses volunteers from the local schools who have an interest in any type of law career or who have a desire to help other students make better decisions. Volunteers serve as Judges, Prosecuters, Defense Attorneys, Clerk, Baliff, and Jury Members. Teen Court volunteers receive service learning hours for their participation.
Target Population
The target population for this program is 1st time juvenile offenders of misdemeanor crimes. New in FY20 are truant youth.
Measures
FY23
The data does not always look like it is heading in the right direction, this is because youth are given 6 months to complete sanctions. Some cases are carried over to the FY for completion so the data for those referrals will appear in the next FY. Youth that have been referred to the Program may begin attending school regularly and the school system may withdraw the referral so the data does not always appear successful. These youth are also given 6 months to complete sanctions.
The data for youth who have completed the Program including sanctions is very positive and shows the successful outcomes of the program.
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