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Mat-Su Youth Court

The Mission of the Mat-Su Youth Court is to provide the Mat-Su Community with a diversion program for juvenile offenders that promotes accountability, restorative justice, and education through early intervention.

The Mat-Su Youth Court (MSYC) is a state-sanctioned court that operates in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Alaska, which deals with first-time juvenile offenders that have committed misdemeanors. The system consists of teen attorneys, judges, clerks, and bailiffs. Assisted by the program staff and a legal advisor, the court meets twice per week to hear cases. The most common charge is shoplifting. The vast majority of defendants who enter the system plead guilty, and their cases are handled strictly as sentencing hearings. A three-judge panel hands down sentences consisting of community work service hours, an essay, and other sanctions, such as a letter of apology, viewing an adult arraignment, a tour of the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility, a drug/alcohol assessment, or a Juvenile Anti-Shoplifting class.

The Mat-Su Youth Court was established in mid-1996. The concept of the program was modeled after the highly successful Anchorage Youth Court. As a non-profit organization, Mat-Su Youth Court is under the umbrella of the City of Wasilla's Police Department, but relies on state and federal grants, city and borough contributions, local fundraising, and charitable donations from the community to fund the program. Cases are referred to MSYC from the Division of Juvenile Justice's Youth Corrections office in Palmer.

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Links:

National Youth Court   United Youth Courts of Alaska