The Teen Court Program is a diversion program offered to youth age 11 to 17. The Boys & Girls Club of Brookings, Boys & Girls Club of Moody County, Boys & Girls Club of Yankton, and Boys & Girls Club of Vermillion each run the Teen Court program in their respective counties.

Teen Court works in collaboration with the States Attorney’s office to offer youth the opportunity to accept full responsibility for their behaviors and work towards clearing their juvenile record. Youth may participate only if they have admitted guilt and if it is their first offense.

The Teen Court Program is mainly available to first time offenders and is run specifically by teens for teens. Youth in the courtroom can be a jury member, bailiff, prosecuting attorney or a defense attorney. An adult attorney from the community serves as the judge. Some of the cases that have been heard in Teen Court include: underage consumption, petty theft, simple assault, and entering and remaining. Please note that these are not all the cases that have been heard in Teen Court.

Teen Court receives referrals from the local States Attorney’s Office. The Teen Court Coordinator will receive all paperwork and police reports via mail from the States Attorney’s Office. Contact for an intake is made through a formal letter with basic information regarding the program. Parents are then asked to contact the Teen Court Coordinator to set up the intake.