Troubled Teens Resources

One very effective means of teen crisis intervention is peer pressure. Yes, the same peer pressure that may convince a teenager to try drugs can also convince them not to. Teens have an opportunity to apply some of that type of pressure by presiding over the sentencing of their fellow teens in teen court.

Teen courts exist all over the nation. in one variation or another. and are surprisingly effective in dealing out justice that seems to leave a lasting impression. Teen help in the form of positive peer culture is employed on a far more comprehensive level in behavioral programs in many teen boarding schools.

“The court sees between 25 and 35 defendants each year, Rutten said.

The program has shown it works, Rutten said.

Only about 3 percent of the teens who have completed the court program end up back in the Clallam County juvenile justice system…”

What the teens say, goes. Thus one teen was told to go fishing and catch “dinner” for a week for a disabled person unable to do so. One of the objectives of the program is to help an offender to develop a connection with the community, theory being that teens do not cause harm to a neighborhood that they feel a part of.

“While Rutten and DuBeau observe the court, they do not intervene as the teens hear arguments and pass sentences.

“Kids are doing sentencing; they understand the motivation of why kids did something. They understand kids’ thoughts and action.”
[…]
Teenagers volunteering for the court said they like being in charge, and they take it seriously.”
(source)