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A Pilot Assessment of a School‐Based Youth Court in a Resource‐Poor African‐American Urban School District: Lessons Learned From Youth Court Volunteers
Author(s) -
HirschingerBlank Nancy,
Simons Lori,
Volz Gregory L.,
Thompson Raymond,
Finely Laura,
Cleary Joseph
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
juvenile and family court journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.155
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1755-6988
pISSN - 0161-7109
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-6988.2009.01025.x
Subject(s) - citizenship , focus group , juvenile court , psychology , maturity (psychological) , context (archaeology) , photovoice , medical education , political science , criminology , juvenile delinquency , law , sociology , developmental psychology , medicine , geography , economic growth , archaeology , politics , anthropology , economics
This study assesses the benefits of youth court participation for volunteers (N = 14) serving as jurors in an urban school‐based youth court. Focus group and questionnaire data indicate that volunteers are capable of providing more effective sanctioning decisions than adults. Volunteers reported developing citizenship skills including learning about the law and decision‐making skills. The youth court leaders developed self‐confidence and maturity while learning the conflict resolution skills necessary for rendering dispositions and conducting trials. We interpret our findings within the context of the youth court literature, the issue of the school‐to‐prison pipeline, and Elijah Anderson's analysis of the Code of the Street.