Teen Court: An Examination of Processes and Outcomes

Abstract

Teen courts are becoming a popular mechanism whereby to process youngsters charged with relatively minor offenses. There has been limited systematic analysis of teen courts to identify either their successes or failures. This study examines the teen court of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, including its processes and apparent recidivism rates. The 478 participants were randomly selected from the program and traced through the local Juvenile Probation and Parole Office (JPPO) database. Interviews were conducted with a teen court staff member, JPPO staff members, and former teen court participants. A 25% recidivism rate was found between 1994 and 1998, affected by gender, age, the presence of a prior referral, whether the youngster completed the teen court program, with whom the juvenile resided, and the severity of the jury sentence. The study—the first of its kind for this court—was able to identify some of the successes and shortcomings of this county's teen court.