2021 COMBAT Funding: $53,312.25

In Kansas City Youth Court's Own Words

Kansas City Youth Court (KCYC) exists to nurture respect for the rule of law, encourage civic engagement and promote healthy, positive decision-making in young people.  Our motto is:  "Youth Helping Youth for a Better Community."   

COMBAT's efforts to address violence and drug use in our community is in line with the KCYC's mission to help at-risk youth make necessary changes to avoid criminal conduct and the use of substances.

Most Referrals From Schools

The KCYC is a teen court that receives referrals regarding low-level, usually first-time, juvenile offenders from the Kansas City Police Department, Jackson County Juvenile Office and schools for the purpose of adjudication. (During COVID-19 restrictions court sessions are held online). The KCYC is an official diversion program of the Jackson County Family Court that seeks to provide young offenders an opportunity to be mentored by their peers as they accept responsibility and make amends for harm to victims and the community. 

Most referrals to the youth court program emanate out of the school setting, which allows the Youth Court to address disruptive behaviors that impede the education of the offenders as well as other students.

Court sessions are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday evenings of each month in the UMKC School of Law Courtroom. 

Youth Volunteers & Trauma-Informed Practices

Youth Court defendants are represented by youth attorneys and youth judges who volunteer for our program, thereby providing a meaningful opportunity for youth leadership. The KCYC follows the principles of restorative justice and all staff and volunteers receive training in trauma-informed practices.

Effect Of Violence On Kids

Kansas City is ranked the fifth most violent city in the nation. The level of violence in our community has a profound effect on kids who commonly hear gunshots or sirens and learn of classmates, friends and family members killed by gun violence. Indeed, many of the kids before the youth court—and some of the attorneys—report high incidence of traumatic events. 

Toxic Trauma

In addition to a culture where conflict is resolved by violence these young people are suffering the behavioral consequences of toxic trauma. The urban corps youth are arguably the most at risk of continued trauma and find themselves in legal trouble more frequently according to the statistical information from the Family Court. 

Therefore, it is especially important to provide prevention programming for this group of at risk juveniles. The majority offense referred to the youth court at 58% was assault/disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana accounted for about 32%.

Less than five years ago theft, mostly shoplifting, constituted the majority of youth court referrals.

Many Assaults Occur At School

Many of the assaults/disorderly conduct cases referred to the KCYC occur at school, which is particularly problematic for the offender because of the no tolerance policies underlying Missouri’s Safe Schools Act. A lesser act of aggression (eg. hitting another kid on the head with an empty plastic coke bottle on a school bus) escalates into serious consequences such as a felony conviction and expulsion from school.

Further, criminal activity in the school environment creates distractions and can provoke fear that interferes with the entire student body’s ability to learn. Assault actually accounts for more juvenile criminal infractions in the state of Missouri than stealing.

School Suspensions Lead To More High-Risk Behavior

Further, many times the offending youth are suspended for a short period (3-10 days) where they are more likely to engage in high risk behavior and are certainly not likely to be engaged in learning. The Kansas City Youth Court collaborates with Community Partners in conjunction with the Criminal Justice System to support at-risk youth in many facets.  

We train youth to become prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges to assist in adjudicating other youth who have committed criminal acts. These trained youth learn about the criminal justice system, while becoming peer counselors for other youth who are struggling with decision making and peer pressure. They develop appropriate consequences for the charged youth in an attempt to provide a learning experience on how to improve choices while preventing the challenged youth from permanently impacting their future in a negative manner.

Numerous Community Partners

The Kansas City Youth Court partners with numerous community and court partners to provide a positive learning program for all at risk youth involved. The Kansas City Youth Court also works with the youth referred to the program and refers them to community resources for services when struggles are identified in the youth's living environment.  

With injustice issues as the forefront of citizens' concerns right now a program like KCYC as a part of the juvenile justice system is particularly important for the population we serve in our court setting. 

In 2020 the KCYC was looking to hire a new Legal Director to develop additional parnterships with area schools, but the pandemic and consequent school issues (including the law school's) prevented progress. Bullying and assaults in school setting are particularly problematic and time is needed to develop process and procedures to work in schools.