Dedicated to Empowering Youth and Reducing Crime
Adopting a restorative justice approach to reducing crime, Teen Court develops alternative pathways to empower youth to avoid further involvement in the judicial process by diverting them to community service. Youth are referred by School Resource Officers (S.R.O.s) and juvenile court counselors to Teen Court to have a jury of their peers decide sanctions that repairs the harm caused by the offense without marginalizing the youth. Parents and juvenile justice professionals praise the program for its impact on the youth it serves.
What We Do
Counseling and support for children, youth, families & groups of those who have been victimized or have experienced direct/indirect violence. Services include TF-CBT, IFS, and psychotherapy.
Paint Party
An enjoyable time to express yourself through painting. Two facilitators guide Paint Party in positive and encouraging ways with a different theme each time. You can paint along with the theme or paint your own images. Supplies provided.
SEE-IT
An interactive theatre experience where a group of youths explore a social issue that includes conflict. The group builds a story, the story is acted out, and the group decides how the characters can better cope with the social issue and its conflict.
Online Trauma Interventions
- Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (C-BITS) is offered twice a year in a group format for children and youth.
- Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is offered individually online.
Problematic Sexual Behavior – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT)
Problematic Sexual Behavior-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is offered to children aged 7-12 and their caregivers in an online format.
Veep Funding
The NC Youth Violence Prevention Center (NC-YVPC) in partnership with SAMHSA and the U.S. Department of Justice offers this program for assisting and empowering survivors of crime and violence.
The Community Impact
Bruce Stanback, Richmond Teen Court Coordinator, shared this story of one of his teen court participants.
“KD’s involvement with the Richmond County Teen Court resulted from a simple assault charge from the local middle school. She was referred to us by the Juvenile Justice Office. Prior to her involvement with Teen Court, she was not performing well at school and received multiple disciplinary referrals. After her appearance in court, her demeanor changed drastically. After completing all her requirements for Teen Court, she continued to volunteer, receiving additional training as an attorney advocate so she could “represent” other youth going before a jury of their peers. As her involvement with Teen Court increased, so did her grades and attendance at school resulting in successfully passing the 10th grade! Since becoming a volunteer with Teen Court, KD has decided she wants to pursue a career as an attorney.”
Committed to Adolescents, Powered by Their Peers
Teen Court’s innovative approach to crime reduction is not possible without the dedicated work of adolescents who serve as attroney advocates and jury members. Since 2011, the program has served over 800 youth throughout Robeson County, recruited and trained over 300 volunteers! Teen Court not only helps adolescents avoid further involvement in the judicial process, the program also helps them connect with committed community members that helps them pursue their interests and get involved in positive activities. The Teen Court Coordinator, Derrick Crumpler, supplied a story of a youth who appeared before teen court in January.
“DPS referred a 14-year old boy who was charged with trespassing, auto theft, and driving without a license. The boy and his friend got up one Saturday morning and had the idea they would go joy riding in a junk yard/auto mechanic shop near their home. The young boy expressed that an older guy informed them that the keys were in the car. The police were called, and the young boy was banned from the property.
After the hearing with the peer jury, one of the boy’s sanctions was to write an apology letter to the owner of the mechanic shop. The owner was moved by the apology letter, allowing the young boy to come to the shop and talk things over. Within this talk, the young boy was able to express his love for cars. The owner forgave the young boy and expressed that he would allow him to do a few things around the car garage to further his interest in cars. The young man expressed that he now looks at the owner as a mentor and looks forward to doing community service hours with him even after his sanctions are fulfilled.”