Our post today comes from Beth Broderick, Program Coordinator of the Center for Court Innovation’s Greenpoint Youth Court.
Like all youth programs, the Greenpoint Youth Court (GYC) spends a fair amount of time convincing potential partners to invest in our program. Sometimes, we seek financial backing to fund the work we do; other times, we look for referrals or opportunities for our young people to serve the community. Each partnership we develop is unique. We craft our message to best match our programming with the interests and capabilities of a potential partner. A lot of this may sound like business 101 – and it is. We invest in our potential partners, even before they are ready to support our needs, as a way of modeling the investment we are seeking from them. However, at the GYC, we don’t only use our business skills with potential partners. We extend these investment principles to our members and clients as well. One of the foundations to our success as a program is our ability to convince young people to invest in themselves - and we do that by investing in them first.
There are a few secrets to our success. We shake hands. We listen. We call. A lot.
Shaking Hands: When young people arrive at the Youth Court, a GYC team member greets them at the door. We shake hands with the guardians AND the youths. Although youths’ participation frequently is decided by their guardians, we treat them as the decision makers in the process. As a result, the conversation is always directed toward the youths. Later, following the hearings, our team meets with the youths and their families to review the case and schedule any assigned sanctions. Mirroring our initial meeting, we ask the youths to be responsible for the paperwork, to call if they need to reschedule, to follow through with their commitments. When they leave, we shake their hand again. At subsequent workshops or meetings with the youths, the GYC team member – and often the Youth Court Members as well - will refer to them by name and shake their hand. Shaking hands and addressing young people directly are minute details within the grand scheme of our program. However, in Youth Court it is up to these young people to explain their story and represent themselves before a jury of their peers. The GYC team believes that attention to detail makes a difference in the way respondents approach their responsibilities within our program and produces positive outcomes. We shake hands a lot.
Listening: Many families that are referred to our program learn about us from a referral source, such as a probation officer or an attorney with the Law Department. Often the referral partner discusses the program, but only with the parent or guardian. Whenever possible, we arrange for a “Youth Advocate call” in advance of a hearing appointment, and the Member assigned to represent the Respondent speaks with the young person by phone. The goal is to help potential respondents feel more comfortable about coming in and better understand the purpose of their hearings. Once youths arrive at the Youth Court, a GYC team member explains the program again. We listen to the youths’ concerns, their story of what brought them to youth court, and do our best to help them feel comfortable. The Youth Advocate reinforces this conversation through the intake with the youths and then works to help them feel supported throughout the process. Even during breaks in the hearings, other youth court Members engage the Respondents in conversation and ensure that their experiences are positive. The goal of a youth court is to offer young people and their families an appropriate and meaningful process unlike that of our traditional justice system. We want the young people participating in our program, especially the respondents, to feel as though their voices and their thoughts matter. We do a lot of listening.
Calling: In addition to the initial Youth Advocate call, young people and their families receive several additional calls from the GYC team. We call to remind them about their appointments and to answer any questions they may have. We call in advance of each assigned sanction to ensure they have directions and can meet their commitment. If they miss any of the above, we call back and help them to ask for a new opportunity. Once youths have completed our program, we follow up with a call to see how things are going with them and we recruit them to join our leadership training program. Youth Court members receive weekly announcements by email, regular programming updates via Facebook, and calls home for big events or trips. Calling is time consuming. Often numbers change, they go out of service, or they cannot accept messages. Greenpoint Youth Court team members are persistent and creative – because we believe that proactive communication primes young people for success. We call a lot.
Shaking hands, listening, and calling are the little things that contribute heavily to our success as a program. They are also incredibly easy to overlook, to skip, to take for granted. In the business world, we know that the details make the difference. A personal thank you note to a potential partner can be the difference between a missed opportunity and a fruitful relationship. When you are hoping to land a million dollar client, you make the extra effort and pay attention to the details. At Greenpoint Youth Court, we challenge ourselves to treat youth as if they are our next million dollar client. Our investment in our clients – and in the details – facilitates, on the part of the young people we work with, an investment in themselves.
