NCJ Number
239557
Date Published
2012
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the features of the Model Court Program of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ).
Abstract
The vision of the NCJFCJ is "for a society in which every family and child has access to fair, equal, effective, and timely justice." Its mission is to "provide all judges, courts, and related agencies involved with juvenile, family, and domestic violence cases with the knowledge and skills to improve the lives of the families and children who seek justice." After 3 years of work by over 100 experts in juvenile justice and allied fields, in 2005 the NCJFCJ published the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Delinquency Cases. Sixteen key principles of the Juvenile Delinquency Guidelines are listed in this paper. Since the publication of the Guidelines, the focus of the Juvenile Justice Model Courts Project has been to disseminate the Guidelines and encourage their use by jurisdictions in guiding system reform and improving practice in delinquency cases. Toward this end, the NCJFCJ began recruiting implementation sites across the Nation. These Juvenile Justice Model Courts work closely with NCJFCJ staff to implement the 16 key principles of the Guidelines and numerous recommendations for practice in order to improve delinquency case processing and outcomes for youth, families, and communities. The achievements of the Model Courts (Pima County Juvenile Court, Erie County Juvenile Court, and Salt Lake County Juvenile Court) are briefly described.