Time Dollar 

Youth Court

The Time Dollar Youth Court (TDYC) provides alternative sentencing to first-time juvenile offenders  in the District of Columbia and serves as a unique pre- petition diversion program for non-violent offenders. 

 

The goal of TDYC is to divert first-time youthful offenders, ages 13 – 17, away from the juvenile justice system and provide a meaningful alternative to the traditional adjudicatory format in juvenile cases.  TDYC has a twelve year history of providing successful peer-to-peer services to youth and is recognized as one of the largest youth courts in the nation.

The Time Dollar Youth Court was founded in 1996 and authorized by the District of Columbia Superior Court. The Time Dollar Youth Court, Inc. was incorporated October 12, 2005 in the District of Columbia. Since 1996, the Time Dollar Youth Court has operated as a program under the Time Dollar Institute. The Board of Directors of the Time Dollar Institute approved of a resolution on Dec 16, 2009 authorizing the spin off of the Time Dollar Youth Court.

 

In January 2009, TDYC  received funding through the Children & Youth Investment Corporation to implement a Truancy Program at Ballou Senior High School. Our main outcome is to improve youth's attendance in school and awareness of the importance of education.

Our new Manager of Truancy Services, Jamaal Jenkins, MSW, has begun work with a number of ninth graders, all of whom have been sanctioned to Jury Duty every Saturday morning at the Youth Court and will be meeting twice a week for Life Skills with Mr. Jenkins.

 

The Time Dollar Youth Court was authorized in 1996 by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to work with the courts in a "partnership for the purpose of jointly developing a diversion program that provides a meaningful alternative to the traditional adjudication format in juvenile cases."

Youth Court converts a youth's early encounters with the law into a turning point in that youth's life, leading to enhanced self-esteem, contribution, and opportunity.

Using the Co-production Model pioneered by the Time Dollar Institute and Time Banks USA, the Time Dollar Youth Court recognizes, validates, and rewards participants using Time Dollars and incentives for their participation in jury duty and other components of the program.

Youth Court enlists young people in creating a new kind of juvenile justice where youth juries have the power to impose a sentence on juvenile offenders and where non-violent juvenile respondents can avoid formal prosecution for their offense by carrying out the sentence imposed by their peers.