Evaluation of United Youth Courts of Alaska

Research > Evaluation of United Youth Courts of Alaska

Principal investigator(s):	André Rosay Gale Smoke Krista Scully
Other project personnel:	Miranda Burzinski Lynn Conception-Glover Shannon Crowley
Project dates:	2004
JC#:	0409
Agency:	UAA Community-Based Learning Minigrant
Project amount:	$2000
Project status:	Closed

See also:
> Alaska juvenile justice > Juvenile courts

United Youth Courts of Alaska (UYCA) provides support and assistance to youth courts in 14 Alaska communities— Kotzebue, Nome, Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Mat-Su, Anchorage, Kenai/Homer, Kodiak, Valdez, Juneau, Kake, Sitka, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Youth courts act as a restorative justice alternative to the formal juvenile justice system for minor and first-time offenders. The youth court process is entirely handled by youth volunteers who have received special training in informally adjudicating other youth. Youth offenders referred to youth courts typically are required to perform community service, to write essays describing the harm they have caused to victims, parents, and society, to attend classes (such as anti-shoplifiting classes), or other such informal adjustments.
The effectiveness of the youth court model is demonstrable. A 2002 evaluation of Anchorage Youth Court by the Urban Institute found that only 6 percent of youths sentenced through the youth court reoffended within a six-month period after their sentence, compared with 23 percent of comparable youths sentenced through the formal juvenile justice system. This represents a 74 percent reduction in recidivism by the youth cours over the formal system.
Through this project, UAA students under the direction of UAA faculty members André Rosay (Justice Center), Gale Smoke (Sociology), and Krista Scully (Human Services) conducted a collaborative reseach project to evaluate UYCA through three simultaneous focus groups conducted at the the Seventh Annual Statewide Youth Court Conference held in Anchorage in November 2003. The evaluation focused on ways to improve recruitment and retention of youth court volunteers.

Products

Rosay, André. (2004). Volunteer Recruitment and Sustainability Assessment: United Youth Courts of Alaska—Final Report. Report prepared for United Youth Courts of Alaska. Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Articles

Rosay, André. (Fall 2004). "Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers in Alaska Justice Agencies." Alaska Justice Forum 21(3): 6-7.

Return to Research index | Justice Center Home Page | UAA Home Page

Last updated 17-Jun-2005 by ayjust@uaa.alaska.edu