Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/JaneenBuck

This is the first report of findings from the Evaluation of Teen Courts (ETC) Project, which was conducted by the Urban Institute and funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The ETC Project studied teen courts in four States: Alaska, Arizona, Maryland, and Missouri. Researchers measured pre-court attitudes and post-court recidivism among more than 500 juveniles referred to teen court for non-violent offenses, such as shoplifting and vandalism. The study compared recidivism outcomes for teen court defendants with outcomes for youth handled by the regular juvenile justice system.

As of 2002, more than 800 teen courts were in operation across the United States, up from fewer than 100 programs just a decade ago. The rapid spread of teen courts underscores their popularity with the public, elected officials, schools, and parents. According to some advocates, teen courts are inexpensive to operate, reduce recidivism by young offenders, and promote increased knowledge of the law and respect for legal authorities. Skeptics, on the other hand, fear the possible net-widening effect of teen courts and resent the illusion of legal authority that surrounds teen court proceedings. Whether teen courts live up to the claims of their advocates is unknown. Research about teen courts is limited, although some studies offer encouraging results. This article examines how teen courts work and what current research tells us about the benefits and drawbacks of these youth-run programs.

This research bulletin from the U.S. Department of Justice describes the growth in teen courts (or youth courts) in the United States and summarizes the conclusions of existing evaluation literature on these programs. Published: October 2000 Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, NCJ-183472.

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