| Illinois Youth Court Association:
IYCA Youth Court Survey Results
The Illinois Youth Court Association sent out a questionnaire to all known youth court programs in Illinois in February 2001. The survey’s purpose was to find out detailed information about youth court programs in the state. The following are the results of the survey.
RESPONSE RATE, (as of 7/1/01)
Surveys Sent: 68
Surveys Returned: 46
Response Rate: 68% RESULT HIGHLIGHTS:
• The oldest reported youth court in Illinois is the Naperville Peer Jury, which began in 1972.
• The primary administering agencies of these youth court programs were:
57% Law enforcement
24% Non-profit organizations
6% Juvenile probation
2% Schools
• Most programs (61%) used the Peer Jury Model followed by the Adult Judge Model (37%). Only one program used the Youth Judge Model and no programs used the Youth Tribunal Model.
• Most programs (61%) reported using an advisory committee or task force when developing their youth court.
• Referrals to youth courts come from the following sources:
98% Police/Sheriff
24% School
13% Juvenile court or probation
• Youth courts accept the following cases:
100% First time offenders
93% Misdemeanor cases
78% Status offenses
33% Offenders with prior offenses
31% School disciplinary cases
22% Felony cases
• Most programs accept offenders ages 12 to 16. The age range of youth volunteers is 13 to 18 years old. The gender of volunteers was 56% female and 44% male.
• Continual law related education was offered in 62% of the programs.
• Racial composition of offenders:
85% White
20% African American
14% Hispanic
3% Asian American
• Racial composition of volunteers:
85% White
31% African American
13% Hispanic
5% Asian American
3% American Indian or Alaskan Native
• Youth courts were asked to indicate what types of sentencing options their programs used. The responses were the following:
100% Community service, essays, and oral/written apologies
70% Restitution
57% Alcohol/drug assessment
41% Drug testing
39% Curfew
28% Tutoring
24% Victim awareness classes
• Almost half (48%) of youth courts are held in courtrooms and 4% are held in schools. 48% chose “other,” which included city council chambers, police departments, and the village or city hall. Most programs (74%) were held once per month and heard 2-3 hearings per youth court session. The programs who responded heard 1,250 cases in 2000 and an average of 35 cases per year.
• Most programs (89%) operated all year long, but a few (7%) operated just during the school year.
• The average operating budget was $10,700. The program budgets ranged from $0 to $60,000.
• Programs received funding in FY00 from the following:
36% City funds
30% Line item in fiscal budget
24% Other (non-profits, fees, fund-raising, etc.)
13% Social/ civic organizations
11% State funds
7% Local businesses or private foundations
4% Federal or county funds
• Over half (51%) of the programs’ coordinators were paid and 39% were volunteers. Paid coordinators devoted an average of 56% of their time to youth court-related work.
• In 1999, the completion rate for youth court programs was 91% and the recidivism rate was 8%. |
