Teen Court Mission & History
Mission
The City of Lone Tree Teen Court is designed to increase community safety by providing an alternative opportunity to youthful respondents that promotes accountability and community engagement.
Teen Court is both a volunteer program and a program for eligible youth respondents who obtain an offense in the City of Lone Tree. Community engagement is an important aspect of the Lone Tree program and helps us complete our mission.
Both youth and adult volunteers are heavily involved in the Teen Court process. If you are interested in volunteering, please check out the Volunteer page to the left.
If you are a potential respondent or family member and would like more information about the program, please check out the Respondent page to the left or contact the Teen Court Coordinator via email or at 720-509-1265.
History
Teen Court in Lone Tree officially started in January 2017 with the help of our Douglas County Teen Court partners. The Teen Court program, thanks to the City Council, came to be after realizing the potential benefits of such a program in Lone Tree. The Teen Court program has had a great start. It’s continued development is due to the support of the community and amazing volunteers.
70 youth respondents enrolled in the program in 2017. 93% of these youth successfully completed the program.
Check out the Lone Tree Voice article from December 2017 about Teen Court here.
The first Teen Court still in operation, according to the National Association of Youth Courts, started in 1968 in Naperville, Illinois. Teen Court, Youth Courts, Student Courts, Youth Jury programs became popular in the 1990’s when it expanded from 78 program nationally to over 1,050 program in 2010. There are now over 1800 programs in the US and in in more than 10 other countries, according to Global Youth Justice.
Teen Court in Colorado
Colorado added Teen Court legislation to the Children’s Code in 2005. There are about 12 Teen Court programs in Colorado. Three of these programs are in Douglas County: Lone Tree, Parker and Castle Rock.
Lone Tree Teen Court is a member of the Colorado Teen Court Association (CTCA). CTCA helps new programs and hosts annual state-wide events for youth volunteers and Teen Court professionals.
CTCA’s Mission:
The mission of the Colorado Teen Court Association (CTCA) is to unite Teen Court professionals and volunteers for the purpose of education, advocacy, and support.
To learn more, go to coloradoteencourt.org.