By Sue Baldauf

The Local Officials Human Services Council, the human services arm of the MMA, hosted a regional spring forum on “Diversion Programs and Sentencing Options: Alternative Approaches to Traditional Juvenile Court.”

The forum, held May 13 in Taunton, featured three regional experts: Lisa Birknes Tavares, director of the New Bedford Youth Court; Robert McPherson, case manager for the New Bedford Juvenile Drug Court/Diversion Program; and Kathy Quatromoni, director of the Barnstable County Juvenile Diversion Program for the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office.

Tavares began the forum by explaining the concept of “youth court,” which is a peer-driven court that holds young people accountable for inappropriate behaviors and misdemeanor offenses. Until recently, Massachusetts was one of only four states that did not have a youth court, and Tavares is credited with leading the effort to develop the state’s first youth court in New Bedford in October 2002.

Based on the restorative justice principles of accountability, competency development, and community safety, the court dealt with 75 youth offenders in its first year with a 91 percent compliance rate and 120 youths in its second year with a 97 percent compliance rate.

High school juniors and seniors undergo a rigorous 18-hour training process and assume most every role in the court (e.g., prosecutor, defense attorney, clerk, bailiff). The role of judge in the New Bedford model is an adult, either a retired judge or a volunteer attorney. Tavares discussed other models for youth courts nationally, but said the adult judge model has the best success rate.

McPherson, of the New Bedford Juvenile Drug Court/Diversion Program, discussed his work with pre-adjudicated youths and status offenders, such as runaways and truants. Of the 4,291 complaints filed in Bristol County in 2004, he said, 1,690 related to juveniles and 70 percent of those involved substance abuse.

Focusing on strength-based encouragement and engaging both the youths and the parents, McPherson emphasized the collaboration evident on the supervising panel, which involves the magistrate, school-court liaison, local treatment providers, probation officer, Department of Social Services, and the family.

Quatromoni developed a six-month juvenile diversion program for first-time offending juveniles out of the Cape and Islands DA’s office. With the goal of reducing recidivism, Quatromoni’s program serves about 300 juveniles annually, with a completion rate of between 85 percent and 90 percent and a recidivism rate of 27 percent.

Youths who are deemed eligible for the program and who agree to participate are required to do community service, an essay, a letter of apology, restitution (in property cases), a defensive driving class (in the case of a motor vehicle offense), and an assessment (in drug or assault cases).

Bedford Police Chief James Hicks said there are variations among the different courts and questioned whether a consistent approach statewide would be more effective.

For more information about youth courts nationally, visit www.youthcourt.net. For more information about local youth courts, contact LOHSC President Peter Kirwin at (508) 548-0533 or LOHSC Public Relations chair Sue Baldauf at (781) 275-7727.

Sue Baldauf is the Youth and Family Services director in Bedford.