Addressing the Needs of Juvenile Offenders: A Study of the Greene County Missouri Teen Court Model

Abstract

Over the past several years, the teen court concept has been gaining popularity as a cost-effective alternative to traditional juvenile court proceedings for youth offenders. Relying on informal mechanisms of social control, Teen Courts are seen as a beneficial alternative to formal criminal justice intervention that have more positive consequences in terms of positively impacting the lives of juveniles. To date, the empirical data pertaining to how teen courts operate and their effect on changing the behaviors of young offenders is relatively limited in the research literature. This study provides a meta-analysis of some of the major evaluation studies of Teen Court, as well as examines data gathered on the Greene County Missouri Teen Court Model.