Independence Youth Court

The Independence Youth Court (IYC) was established in 1985 as a partnership between the local bar association, the Juvenile Division of the Jackson County (Mo.) Family Court, the city of Independence (Mo.), and the Independence Police Department. The youth court receives hundreds of referrals a year, with most of them coming from the Independence Police Department. Shoplifting, truancy, and vandalism make up the vast majority of cases, but the court may also hear cases involving status offenses, third-degree assaults, and minor drug and alcohol violations.

The IYC uses the youth judge model, in which there are no jurors, the case is argued by youths volunteering as defense attorneys and prosecutors, and youth volunteer judges are responsible for all proceedings and making the sentencing decision. While not part of the formal process, the executive director is present during court hearings as a spectator and reviews the sentence to make sure that the youth and his or her parents understand the disposition.

Youths may volunteer for IYC beginning at age 13. Defendants may be as young as 7 but no older than 16. All volunteers involved in the IYC must pass a youth bar exam to serve as attorneys or judges. Finally--unlike most youth courts--defendants may plead not guilty during their initial appearance, prompting an adjudication hearing. When a youth makes a "not guilty" plea, the youth judge is responsible for determining whether a finding of guilt is warranted. However, because the IYC is a diversion program, the youth still must comply with the initial diversion agreement regardless of the finding. If not, the defendant may be referred back to the Jackson County Family Court.

The primary goal of the Independence Youth Court is to reduce incidents of juvenile crime, divert offending youth from the Juvenile Justice System and to provide an alternative to the Jackson County Family court process and further contact with the police.

IYC was part of the Evaluation of Teen Courts (ETC) project. The ETC project used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the impact of four diverse teen courts in four different States. The ETC project identified teen courts suitable for evaluation based on several criteria, including 1) willingness to participate in an evaluation, 2) caseload size, 3) length of operation, 4) courtroom model, and 5) geographical location. The evaluation tracked youth outcomes in four treatment groups (i.e., teen courts) and four nonequivalent (nonrandomized) comparison groups. The composition of the comparison groups varied from site to site. The IYC comparison group was constructed from electronic records of first-time offenders referred to the Jackson County Family Court in 2000 but who would have qualified for the IYC. The program and comparison youths were matched on demographic characteristics and offense. The principal data sources included 1) self-administered questionnaires completed by youths and their parents, 2) teen court program files and administrative records, and 3) police and court records.

The findings of the ETC project suggest that teen courts are a promising alternative for the juvenile justice system. In IYC the results indicate that youths referred to teen court were significantly less likely to be re-referred to the juvenile justice system for a new offense within 6 months of their initial offense. Specifically, 9 percent of IYC youths recidivated, compared with 28 percent of comparison youths.