Evaluation of Kentucky's Teen Court Program

• NCJ Number: 166151
• Author(s): J B Wells; K I Minor
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 75 pages
• Contract Number(s): 12-20-025-CHKO
• Sponsoring Agency: Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts
• Corporate Author: Eastern Kentucky University
• Sale Source: Eastern Kentucky University
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of teen courts at six sites in Kentucky.

Abstract

Teen court provides first-time juvenile offenders charged with minor offenses an opportunity to participate in a less formal court process. In teen courts only the judge is an adult. Young persons perform the duties of attorneys, bailiffs, clerks, and jurors and conduct a trial session similar to the sentencing process in adult court. Teen court is based on the premise that the same force that leads youth into lawbreaking behavior, i.e., peer pressure, can be redirected to become a force that leads youth to law-abiding behavior. This evaluation of Kentucky teen courts in six sites involved a pretest and posttest of knowledge and attitudinal change, field observations, and exit evaluations. With the exception of one county, defendants from courts that provided both pretest and posttest data showed gains in knowledge test scores. Regarding attitudinal change, most of the participants posttest attitudes toward authority figures suggested low to moderate attitudes toward authority figures; posttest self-esteem scores suggested relatively positive self- concepts; posttest attitudes toward teen court suggested moderately high attitudes toward the court. Information from a limited number of participants' parents shows that most parents perceived their children as benefiting significantly from the teen court experience. Information from a limited number of participants shows that the most positive features of teen court were learning about the legal system and deterring defendants and others from committing offenses. Exit information from the coordinators shows that the greatest strengths of teen court are participants becoming involved and learning new skills. The recidivism rate from cases that were processed during the 1994-95 session was 37 percent. Compliance with teen court sentences was found to be associated with a reduced likelihood of recidivism; gender, age, and prior offenses were not related to recidivism. Recommendations for improving teen courts are offered. 21 tables, 2 references, and appended evaluation instruments