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5 <br /> INTRODUCTION <br /> Legislation creating the Teen Court program in the 12th Judicial District (Cumberland <br /> County) was introduced in the General Assembly in May 1993, and was enacted and became <br /> effective in July 1993 (1993 Session Laws, Chapter 561, Section 80, copy attached). The <br /> legislation appropriated $30,000 to the Judicial Branch for Fiscal Year 1993-94 to be used by <br /> the Cumberland County Dispute Resolution Center for development and implementation of a <br /> Teen Court program, as well as certain other programs and activities. During the 1993 <br /> General Assembly, Extra Session 1994, legislation was passed that appropriated $75,000 for <br /> the 1994-95 fiscal year for development and implementation of Teen Court programs in <br /> selected judicial districts (1993 Session Laws, Extra Session 1994, Chapter 24, Section 40, <br /> copy attached, hereinafter "the 1994 legislation"). Pursuant to the 1994 legislation, the <br /> Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) submitted an interim report to the General . <br /> Assembly on the effectiveness of the Cumberland County Teen Court program in May 1994. <br /> Pursuant to both the 1993 and the 1994 legislation, the current report addresses the three Teen <br /> Court programs operating during the 1994-95 fiscal year. Teen Court programs are currently <br /> operating in Cumberland County (District 12), Buncombe County (District 28), and Durham <br /> County (District 14). <br /> This report reviews the history of the establishment of the three Teen Court programs, <br /> identifies goals of the programs, describes their operation, provides data on the juveniles <br /> processed and the cases handled, and examines certain outcome measures relevant to an <br /> evaluation of effectiveness. Since the Cumberland County program has been in operation <br /> much longer than the other two programs (since October 1993), and therefore has had <br /> sufficient time to resolve many of the issues that follow initial.implementation, substantially <br /> more information and data are available relevant to the Cumberland County Teen Court <br /> program. Measures addressed in this report for all three programs include the total number of <br /> hearings held to date, the number of juveniles who did not appear for their hearings, the types <br /> of sentences that were ordered, and the completion and failure rates for sentences. In addition, <br /> possible future directions and program enhancements that are being considered by each of the <br /> three programs are discussed. Finally, this report provides information relevant to other <br /> potential measures of effectiveness for the Cumberland County program, including the <br /> program's potential impact on the recidivism rate for these juveniles. <br /> GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE TEEN COURT PROGRAMS <br /> The implementing legislation specifies that Teen Court is to be a community resource <br /> in which juvenile offenders are "sentenced by a jury of the juvenile's peers." This section <br /> discusses the philosophy, goals, and objectives of each of the three Teen Court programs. <br /> Cumberland County. A primary goal of Teen Court in Cumberland County is to offer <br /> the community a positive, alternative approach to disciplining youths who commit non-violent <br /> misdemeanors or who present disciplinary problems at school. This alternative can be used in <br />