Sai Samineni, University of Utah
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Introduction: Salt Lake Peer Court (SLPC) is an alternative program to juvenile justice where Salt Lake School District (SLSD) youth are referred for minor offenses such as truancy, disorderly conduct, fighting, theft, etc… The court is mediated by a panel of high school mentors who act as a jury which questions and mentors the referred youth while adult advisers facilitate court. Restorative justice-based contract requirements are used with many options including community service, attendance tracking, tutoring, counseling, and life skills classes. One major area that remains unaddressed among Peer Court’s disposition options is that of career exploration and college preparation. The intent of this research project is to create a new sustainable option that impedes the cycle of juvenile delinquency in families and increases their ability to stay free of crime by providing youth with tools to gain socioeconomic power through self-direction, goal-setting skills, and discovering their passions.
Methods: Identifying Programs- The strategy for finding disposition options involved identifying existing, cost free programs that would be willing to partner with SLPC. Thirteen community based science, engineering, and vocational-related programs in the SLSD area that offer academic outreach for students in the K-12 range were created as a potential pool for partnership. Program were contacted and introduced to SLPC and its goals.
Disposition Option Outreach- The main tools to educate referred youth about these opportunities were twofold—during the initial pre-court social history intake and at court when the panel members discuss and assess the youth’s interest level in these programs.
Assessment- Each youth participating in a program is given a positive means assessment with 40 statements before and after completing the program to evaluate the impact of the program on their personal & academic identity.
Results: It took eight weeks to find and recruit 12 partnering programs and enroll nine youth.