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What are Time Dollars
Time Dollars are a strength-based approach for working with at-risk youth that can engage and reward them in unique ways. With agencies that provide wraparound services to disturbed youth, this can mean giving them a say in their treatment process and letting them choose the services and supports they believe will make a positive difference in their lives. It can also mean informal support networks so that youth can continue to improve at the end of their prescribed term of care. Using Time Dollars can incorporate the contributions of youth and their families as integral elements of their care solutions rather than relying totally on the services of professional providers.
Another approach for at-risk youth is a Youth Court. The Time Dollar Youth Court does not use a Youth Prosecutor or Defense Counsel; rather it is run by members of a youth jury who have the power to impose a sentence. The jury interacts directly with the respondent (juvenile offender) and the parent and ensures that the hearing is not simply a spectator sport. An adult presides but the jury foreperson, a teenager, leads the questioning and calls upon other jurors to ask questions and follow-up questions. Being a juror is a mandatory element of every sentence; the shift in role creates a shift in perspective and a powerful shift in attitude for the youth.
Time Dollar Youth Court, Washington D.C:
Founded in 1996 by the Time Dollar Institute, the Time Dollar Youth Court is authorized and sanctioned 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 which provides a meaningful alternative to the traditional adjudicatory format in juvenile cases.” Since the beginning of the program, the Institute has sought to lay the foundation for Youth Court as a cornerstone of an effective juvenile justice system in D.C. The Youth Court is designed to demonstrate that it is both possible and necessary to enlist youth in the co-production of a new kind of juvenile justice by reaching out to their peers in partnership between the courts and the community to reclaim young people, and to prevent them from sliding deeper into the justice system.
The Youth Court requires youthful offenders to appear before a jury of their peers and receive sentences of community service, an apology, LifeSkills training, and mandatory jury duty. Recently added youth development elements include a peer tutoring program and a community service club. As one youth commented to the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the District’s juvenile justice system, “It’s like they design the system to keep you in it.” The Youth Court is intended to change that, helping youth take a new pathway out of the juvenile justice system by providing an intervention that effectively involves teens and their communities in the process of change -- involving the youth themselves as role models and supporters of other youth and drawing on community organizations to supply community service sites, support, and other services that the respondents need.
Member Spotlight:
Omar Johnson (named changed for privacy), a 16 year-old African American male respondent, was diverted to the Time Dollar Youth Court from the Metropolitan Police Department for disorderly conduct and gambling at the Metro. After his intake with the Youth Court staff and his hearing at the University of the District of Columbia, Omar was sentenced to provide 25 hours of community service, to serve 8 times on the Youth Court Jury, and to participate in 8 sessions of Life Skills, a science-based model that uses curricula that focuses on preventive interventions.
Respondents are given 90 days to complete their sentences, yet after two and a half months, Omar had completed only 2 sessions of jury duty and Life Skills and 8 hours of community service. Omar’s mother expressed her strong interest in keeping Omar in the program because, despite his spotty attendance, she saw the positive effects it was having on him. Impressed by the commitment of the Youth Court staff and the resources available to the respondents and their parents, Ms. Johnson became involved by helping out at the Saturday hearings as the front desk attendance monitor and assisting during the holiday luncheon. After a sentence extension, Omar completed his remaining community service hours at the D.C. Central Kitchen assisting with meal preparation at the site. Although it was part of his required sentence, Omar enjoyed his time as a juror, and he would like to continue as a juror, but this time as a volunteer!
Omar has been accepted and received full scholarships to attend Princeton University, Hampton University, Salisbury College and Rutgers University. He plans to attend the University of Maryland, College Park for the summer semester and then transfer to Princeton University where he hopes to earn a dual degree in Criminal Law and Electrical Engineering.