The Center for Court Innovation

Juvenile Justice

OVERVIEW

In recent years, a number of innovative approaches to juvenile justice have emerged, including youth courts that use positive peer pressure to encourage young people who have engaged in wrongdoing to repay the community; youthful offender domestic violence courts that address relationship abuse among teenagers; and juvenile drug courts that work with young people arrested for drug offenses and other low-level delinquency charges. Some family courts, like the Bronx Juvenile Accountability Court, are having juveniles appear regularly before a judge and mandating them to community service and other sanctions as alternatives to confinement, while programs like the Harlem Juvenile Reentry Network attempt to rehabilitate juveniles leaving state placement to prevent future delinquent behavior. Finally, programs like the Youth Justice Board give young people a voice in the crafting of juvenile justice policy.

ARTICLE

Youth Justice Board Presents Recommendations on Permanency Planning
On June 21, 2007, the Center’s Youth Justice Board presented the results of its year-long study of New York City’s permanency planning process to an audience that included New York City Council members, academics, judges, policymakers, and members of the press. The presentation was hosted by the Administrative Judge of New York City Family Court Judge Joseph Lauria, whose office supported the Board's work throughout the year. Written by the Board’s 16 teenage members—all New York City high schools students 15 to 19 years old, many of whom have been foster children themselves—the report, Stand Up Stand Out: Recommendations to Improve Youth Participation in New York City's Permanency Planning Process, proposes 14 specific recommendations to improve the court experiences and outcomes for adolescents in foster care.

The Board celebrates on the steps of the New York City Family Court

Watch members of the Board discuss the report on WNBC.

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ARTICLE

Red Hook Photo Project: Giving Young People a Means for Expression
The Red Hook Youth Photography Project was developed at the Red Hook Community Justice Center in 2006 to respond to the needs of local young people. Over the course of a summer, young people ages 14 to 18 use photography to express their feelings about the world in which they live. Program participants are trained in the technical elements of photography—camera operation and care, image editing, and photograph printing—and develop visual literacy by identifying and employing composition, framing, symbolism, mood, and gestures in images. At the end of the summer, all student portfolios are displayed in a show at the Justice Center, giving participants an opportunity to be the subject of positive attention from their community. To view the 2006 photos, including the one above by Stephene Brathwaite, click here.