MALTA — The verdict is in: the Saratoga County Youth Court program is a success. The success of the program is directly related to the active group of students who volunteer their time to the program.

The Youth Court program, sponsored by the Prevention Council in Saratoga Springs, is a voluntary alternative to the criminal justice system for young people who have committed a crime or an offense. The goal of the program, now 12 years old, is to intervene early in anti-social, delinquent and criminal behavior; as well as to reduce the incidence and prevent the escalation of such behavior.

The program’s annual training session was held over the weekend, when 77 new participants were welcomed to the program, bringing the total number of local students who participate to about 200. The 11-hour training session was completed over two days and included a variety of guest speakers and role-play.

“I am impressed that so many students from eight school districts in the county worked Friday night and Saturday to successfully complete Youth Court training,” said Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III. “Diverting cases to youth court saves thousands of taxpayer dollars while, at the same time, imposes meaningful sentences that help victims and offenders and are community driven. The recidivism rate for youth court participants is extremely low and is one of the best diversion programs available.”

“The training teaches students to be nonjudgmental,” said Lisa Chamberlain, director of the Saratoga County Youth Court. “Students learn to focus on what the individual offense is and help the offender learn from that mistake or choice and get back on track.”

Those under the age of 16 are recommended for the program by the Saratoga County Probation Department and those over the age of 16 come by recommendation of the criminal court. Offenders must admit guilt before participating in youth court.

The court proceeding does not then determine guilt, but instead serves as a sentencing hearing. The youth court participants must come up with the most appropriate sentence for the offender after the facts of the case are considered. Youth court is held in traditional courtrooms around the county with the trained students taking on the roles in the judicial system — prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, clerk and jury. The jury is presented with evidence, deliberates and passes sentence. Sentences can include community service, restitution, reparation, restorative justice and letters of apology.

“This program was set up as an alternative to the criminal justice system,” Chamberlain said. “It’s a more restorative type of program where kids can learn from their mistakes. Rather than be punished, it gives them the tools to help them in the future.”

The most frequent offense that comes through youth court is petit larceny, followed by other crimes such as unlawful possession of marijuana, alcohol offenses, criminal mischief and curfew violations. Violent offenses or offenses involving any type of weapon are not accepted into the program.

Chamberlain said the opportunity to participate in youth court is only given to offenders once and an estimated 85 percent of participants do not return to the court system for committing secondary offenses. She acknowledged that tracking the data with 100 percent accuracy is difficult because of the offenders’ juvenile status, which prohibits keeping records on them.


Youth Court Officers present:

Alexandra Finocchio
Daniel Glogowski
Marissa Mastroianni
Brian Morris
Bradley Rooke
Andrew Wine

Participants:

Andrew Alexander
Shannon Assman
Lucas Audi
Kidist Averill
Tyler Bailey
Zach Bernard
Alyson Best
Cayla Boettcher
Erin Bruce
William Bush
Jordan Butler
Leanne Bryan
Ryan Carli
Edna Casivant
Angelo Curto
Jeff Decarr
Krista Denclor
Ben English
Joseph English
Brian Gagnon
Paige Galloway
Chris Garofano
Amelia Gonzales
Adam Goodcoff
Cassandra Grandeau
Danielle Groat
James Gurney
Kyle Hall
Lauren Halligan
Stacia Harvey
Lauren Haskell
Jonathan Hendrix
Kierra Hines
Robert Hoach
Michael Hogan
Matthew Hogan
Alexander howk
Andrew Hudson
Kevin Hulbert
Michaela Ippolito
Kiecia Jeremias
Alexande Jones
Sarah Kopa
Katherine Lerz
Alexander Loy
Natalie Martin
Evan Mendez
Britta Moberg
Nicole Morbidelli
Taylor Murray
Kelly Nolan
Taylor Ostapczuk
Michael Pawlick
Connor Preece
Dylon Prehoda
Daniel Salage
Jesse Schilling
Stasha Schulz
Arielle Siniapkin
Katelynn Skoda
Hannah Smith
Sierra Smith
Sierra Soucy
Corey Stewart
Matthew Stewart
Alicia Sovie
Dylan Sullivan
Carly Towne
Robert Vandy
Jessica Volin-Rviz
Tina Walters
Joshua White
Abigail Zlotnick
Heather Priest
Davin LeClair
Caitlin Shufelt
Ashleigh Woodes