How much do NC teen court programs reduce recidivism among youth under 18?
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Project Overview
Summary
To better understand the use of teen court programs, the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) at the NC Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) is conducting qualitative and quantitative research to focus on the fidelity of the traditional teen court model in North Carolina and to understand the local impacts the model produces.
The following topics will inform this work:
- Implementation: Are teen court programs in North Carolina operated with fidelity to the traditional teen court model?
- Impact: To which populations of juveniles is the traditional teen court model most effective for in North Carolina? For example: Older versus younger, first-time referrals versus repeat referrals, legal status, etc.
- Improvement: What strategies should be considered for continuation, expansion, and targeting of teen court programs?
- Benefit-cost analysis: Assess the benefit to cost ratio and chance benefits will exceed costs akin to analysis available for NC traditional Teen Court and hybrid models.
The NC Department of Public Safety, Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the NC Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP) hosted a research partnership meeting on Monday, June 6 to discuss this project. Click here for the meeting recording and here for NCDPS’s presentation.
This project was awarded a grant from the North Carolina Evaluation Fund in October 2022.
Project last updated 7/20/23.
Anticipated deliverables
- Research design plan, which includes more about the project, evaluation approach, and how agency partners will use the findings
- Inventory of traditional teen court models available in North Carolina and their fidelity status, research briefs, presentations, benefit-cost analysis, and policy recommendations.
Planned use of results
Results can help DJJDP improve its comprehension of the implementation and impact of the traditional teen court model on the populations served by DJJDP. Results can also provide actionable information for continuation and expansion of the model and guide decision making for the continuum of services provided by DJJDP in North Carolina.
Data
The DJJDP will be able to support the project by providing juvenile recidivism data on program participants and the requisite comparison group.
The project is in progress.
We plan to post results and deliverables when the project is complete. In the meantime, we welcome questions about the project.
Project point of contact
Kimberly Quintus & Brittany Schott
Director of Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act & Community Programs Contract Administrator
kimberly.quintus@ncdps.gov & brittany.schott@ncdps.gov
Project Team
NC Department of Public Safety
Montreat College