The Center for Court Innovation

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OVERVIEW

The Center for Court Innovation seeks to test innovative approaches to juvenile justice. For example, it has created youth courts that use positive peer pressure to encourage young people who have engaged in wrongdoing to repay the community; youthful offender domestic violence courts that address relationship abuse among teenagers; and alternative-to-detention programs that work with young people arrested for delinquency charges. The goal of all of the Center's juvenile justice projects is to provide troubled young people with the structure and support they need to avoid future delinquent behavior.

DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Providing Meaningful Alternatives to Detention
Working in partnership with the City of New York, the Center has created Queens Engagement Strategies for Teens an experimental after-school program for young people charged with delinquency in Queens Family Court. QUEST seeks to help reduce the use of detention by providing judges with a meaningful alternative.
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ARTICLE

Red Hook Photo Project: Giving Young People a Means for Expression
The Red Hook Youth Photography Project was developed at the Red Hook Community Justice Center to respond to the needs of local young people. Over the course of a summer, young people ages 14 to 18 use photography to express their feelings about the world in which they live. Program participants are trained in the technical elements of photography—camera operation and care, image editing, and photograph printing—and develop visual literacy by identifying and employing composition, framing, symbolism, mood, and gestures in images. At the end of the summer, all student portfolios are displayed in a show at the Justice Center, giving participants an opportunity to be the subject of positive attention from their community. To view photos, including the one above by Stephene Brathwaite, click here.

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DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS:

Bronx Juvenile Accountability Court

Harlem Youth Justice Center

Juvenile Intervention Court

Juvenile Reentry Court

QUEST

Red Hook Youth Court

Youth Domestic Violence Court

Youth Justice Board

FEATURED PUBLICATION

Youth Dating Violence: Can a Court Help Break the Cycle?
By Kristine Herman
An examination of the Brooklyn Youthful Offender Domestic Violence Court and how it addresses the unique and complicated issue of dating violence among teenagers.
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