Restorative justice and youth courts: A new approach to delinquency prevention

This study presents findings from the South Carolina Youth Court Initiative, a statewide community corrections approach to delinquency prevention. The national youth court movement, its restorative justice theoretical underpinnings, and a brief history of youth courts in South Carolina are reviewed as a context for the present study. A mixed-methodological design utilizing a survey, costs–benefits analysis, site visits, and interviewing was employed to analyze the entire study population (N=21). Findings are presented which call into question the value of youth court performance in terms of effectiveness and expenditure.