Staten Island Youth Justice Center
Overview
The Staten Island Youth Justice Center, opened in 2009, consists of two principal components–a teen-led youth court, in which local teenagers hear actual cases involving peers, and an alternative to detention program in which young people arrested for delinquency, are supervised in the community while their cases are pending in family court. By intervening in the lives of young people at the point of their initial encounters with the justice system, the Staten Island Youth Justice Center aims to provide the juvenile justice system with better tools with which to respond to youth crime. The program helps young people avoid further involvement in the justice system.
How It Works
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Staten Island Youth CourtYouth Court:
The Staten Island Youth Court is a peer-led court where teens hear cases (for example, shoplifting, graffiti and truancy) committed by other teens. Local teenagers serve as judge, advocates and jurors. Cases are referred by judges, police, and probation officers. For example, in partnership with the New York City criminal court and the Richmond County District Attorney’s office, the Youth Court hears criminal court cases. Young people under 18 who are arrested for low-level, non-violent offenses are offered an opportunity to participate in Youth Court as a condition of their case disposition. Those who successfully complete the Youth Court have their cases dismissed. The Youth Court is not a fact-finding body–rather it hears cases where the respondent has acknowledged responsibility for the offense and has agreed to participate. After deliberation, members impose appropriate sanctions that hold youth accountable and emphasize restorative justice concepts. The Youth Court trains 40 teens and handles 120 cases each year.
Project READY: Project READY provides case management, after-school programming and rigorous compliance monitoring for young people with pending delinquency cases in Family Court. The program stresses individual accountability, law-abiding behavior, and adherence to court-mandated parole conditions. Staff utilizes an assortment of engagement strategies for participants and family members to promote compliance. READY provides family court judges with timely, accurate and comprehensive information regarding compliance with court mandates. Youth who successfully complete READY are much more likely to avoid placement and receive community-based dispositions. READY works with 60 young people each year.
As a complement to READY, the Staten Island Youth Justice Center and New York Foundling have created the city’s first program is designed for youth who do not present a serious risk to the community, but who cannot return home. The program model, funded through the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, relies on trained Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care families. Young people placed in respite are concurrently enrolled in READY, creating a seamless web of support and supervision.
Partners
The project is funded by the City of New York, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the New York Bar Foundation.
