Youth in the USA
contact with the system for status offenses – actions that are illegal only because of a youth’s age – such as tru - ancy, underage drinking, and running away from home. Not all of these cases, however, are formally processed through the courts. During a single year, over two million youth under the age of eighteen are arrested in the Uni - ted States. Once a young person enters the juvenile jus - tice system, it is very hard for them to be able to access jobs and college education and it takes a very heavy toll on a young person’s mental and physical health. Additi - onally, the criminalization of young people to enter the juvenile justice system disproportionately affects Black youth and young people of color. There have been efforts to try to make more rehabilitati - ve programming for young people in the criminal justice system, including through youth court and restorative justice. In youth court, a young person’s student peers serve as the attorneys, jurors, and clerks in the court, al - lowing them to learn more about the court system, while also administering sentences that they believe are fair such as formal apologies or community service. There has also been increased efforts to promote restorative justice programming for young people in the juvenile ju - stice system. Restorative justice promotes an active dia - logue between the victim and the offender and a suppor -
D.A.R.E. Another important program for young people throug - hout the United States is the Drug Abuse Resistance Edu- cation program (D.A.R.E). This program brings facilita - tors into schools to teach about substance abuse and addiction prevention. The organization has a set cur - riculum for elementary, middle, and high school stu - dents. There are over 1,700 D.A.R.E programs throug - hout the United States where facilitators work with schools to teach their curriculum on safety, substance abuse, conflict management, opioids, nicotine, mental health, and much more. Youth Participation / Youth Councils A Youth Council is a group of young people working to - ward the common purpose of developing their individual leadership skills to strengthen communities through vo - lunteer service and increased communication with mu - nicipal leaders, such as Mayors. Youth develop and lead initiatives with the support of adult mentors. A Mayor’s Youth Council is more than just a service club because members also determine to train and involve their peers in service leadership. Youth Councils also provide valu - able insight on issues affecting young people and the community at large. They can represent cities, commu -
tive space where everyone can collectively decide how best to proceed in a way that promotes accountabi - lity without criminalizing a young person.
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