Tennessee Program awarded grant

Tennessee Youth Court Coordinator Anjanette Eash (center) receives the grant check from (left to right) Carole Collins, Phi Alpha Delta; Donni LeBouef, OJJDP; Linda Schenk, Wilson County Teen Court; Eash; Kerri Strug, OJJDP; Scott Peterson, OJJDP; and Marjorie McCoy, Bristol Teen Court.

The Tennessee Youth Court Program was awarded a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at a recent meeting of state youth court programs. The $5,000 grant will be used to strengthen Tennessee's state-level youth court program.

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Youth Court honored by national groups
The Tennessee Youth Court Program was honored during a national meeting of youth court leaders in Washington. The National Youth Court Center and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recognized the Tennessee program and its coordinator, Anjanette Eash, for work in supporting and promoting youth courts in the state. When Tennessee's program started in 2001, there were two youth courts in Tennessee. Now in 2005 there are nine active and three developing programs.

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What are Youth Courts?
Rather than going before an adult judge in a traditional juvenile court, a young person referred to a Youth Court has his or her fate decided by other young people. Teens serve as the lawyers in the case, as well as jurors, court clerks, and bailiffs. Teen volunteers also choose the disposition or sentence for each case.

In most cases, the young offenders have pled guilty to misdemeanors like truancy, alcohol possession or traffic violations. Typically, a juvenile court judge will refer offenders to the program. Youth Courts offer an alternative method of sanctioning these offenders and free up the juvenile courts to deal with more serious crimes.

Youth Courts inform and educate young people about the role of law in our democracy and about their role as active citizens. Youth Courts seek to educate participants about court procedures, sentencing options, trial techniques, structure of the justice system, the meaning of justice and relationships between rights and responsibilities. Young people who are equipped with this knowledge are inclined to have a better understanding of their connection to the American system of justice and feel they are participants in it instead of potential victims of it.