Bartlesville Rotary in Action
Youth Court
Youth Court, a program launched with the help of Bartlesville Rotary Club members in 1988, provides a “peer court” for first-time misdemeanor offenders. Students from 8th through 12th grades in Washington County Schools sit in judgment over juvenile offenders. Offenders get one shot at Youth Court. They are sentenced to up to 100 hours of community service, restitution, apologies, reports to the court, attendance at Victim's Impact Panel and counseling. The sentences are almost always at the discretion of the Youth Court judges
To date, Youth Court has heard more than 1,000 cases. The repeat offender rate is less than 5 percent – an astonishingly low rate compared with the national average for juvenile offenders of over 75 percent.
The Bartlesville Rotary Club provides volunteer assistance and annual financial support for the operation of Youth Court. The club’s key role in establishing the program was featured in Rotary International’s magazine, The Rotarian, which inspired other clubs to undertake similar efforts. The executive director of Youth Court is a Bartlesville Rotarian.
