Teen Court of Lincoln County | OREGON |
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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1992, a juvenile ad hoc procedures multi-agency committee was formed to look at the serious
problem in Lincoln County of "minor in possession" charges. Although 264 youths were
arrested for that offense, the six law enforcement agencies were enforcing the law inconsistently.
The committee developed a new protocol for handling "minor in possession" charges. As a
result, the Juvenile Department was flooded with cases. When someone on the committee heard
about the Teen Court concept, the committee decided to give it a try.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of Teen Court is to divert first-time juvenile offenders from the formal juvenile justice
system in order to reduce recidivism and to promote safe driving and other healthy behavior. The
objectives are to:
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Teen Court is staffed by adult volunteers and teenagers, including previous defendants, who hear
cases referred by the Juvenile Department.
To be eligible for Teen Court, the offender must admit guilt prior to a hearing. Upon receiving a
referral, the Teen Court coordinator meets with the youth and parent/guardian to explain the
program and the youth's rights. The presiding judge is the only adult to participate in the
hearing. Volunteer high school students function as attorneys. The Teen Court determines the
sentence. Each defendant receiving a sentence in Teen Court will perform community service
and, after being trained for jury duty, serve as a juror in one or more trials. Part of the sentence
often is to watch a traffic safety video and write a report or to interview an EMS technician about
alcohol-related crashes and write a report.
In conjunction with local chapters of Oregon Student Safety on the Move (OSSOM), the Teen
Court coordinator recruits high school volunteers to teach traffic safety to elementary school
students.
Community service is performed in agencies throughout the county (for example, the police
department, schools, Head Start, the wastewater treatment plant).
RESULTS
Lincoln County Teen Court has successfully met the program objectives. In the first year, the
court has diverted 208 youths involved in 229 offenses. The completion rate for the program is
95 percent with 100 percent of the youths receiving an assessment and referral, when appropriate,
for additional services needed. The cost savings of the Teen Court is encouraging. The per case
cost is about $314 at the time of disposition. A similar case handled through the traditional
juvenile system costs $580. The recidivism rate is eight percent, well below the objective of 17
percent set by the program developers. The program recently was one of four programs to win an
award from the Association for Community Traffic Safety (ACTS), a statewide organization.
The continuation of Teen Court is highly likely because of its success. In fact, it is now considered a county agency in its own right. However, the success of Teen Court has tempted officials to increase the caseload and expand the charges addressed beyond the original limits and capacity of the program.