Innovative Positive Juvenile Justice Tools for Youth Courts

ABSTRACT Adolescents in underserved, urban communities are disproportionately involved in the juvenile justice system. Youth involvement in the court system is a serious public health concern. In recent years, juvenile justice professionals have begun to supplement traditional efforts aimed at discipline and punishment with an asset- based perspective referred to as positive youth justice (PYJ). The PYJ approach encourages young court participants to build upon their existing strengths, while learning andmastering new life skills through development of pro-social relationships within their peer groups, families, and communities. These core assets are posited to prevent substance use and related risk behaviors and promote successful entry into young adulthood. In the proposed SBIR project, we will adapt and test a two-pronged multi-level intervention for the youth court setting. Youth courts are special diversionary programs for young people who have committed relatively minor offenses; youth who partici