Street Law, Inc. is seeking youth court programs to serve as pilot sites to test and refine a new curriculum designed to deepen conflict resolution, restorative practices, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) skills in youth court programming. This initiative is part of the Youth Court Collaborative project.
Selected sites will get early access to new high-quality resources, participate in a paid training opportunity in Silver Spring, Maryland, and receive a $2,000 stipend for their time and feedback.
This is a unique opportunity to help strengthen youth courts as spaces for civic learning, leadership, accountability, and justice.
The purpose of the curriculum is to support youth courts as settings for civic learning and youth development by strengthening young people’s legal understanding, conflict resolution skills, leadership, and engagement with justice systems. The curriculum is designed to be used by adult facilitators or leaders of the youth courts to help prepare their youth court members to apply alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tools and techniques—including negotiation, mediation, and restorative practices—to real decision-making in youth courts. In particular, the curriculum will help youth develop the communication, deliberation, and ethical reasoning skills needed to resolve conflict, design restorative dispositions, and participate meaningfully in a justice process.
The curriculum will feature five core lessons:
- The Role of Youth Courts in Conflict Resolution
- Impact, Accountability, and Restorative Practices
- Core ADR Communication Skills
- Deliberation and Decision-Making
- Designing Dispositions
We are looking to partner with youth or teen court programs who can integrate a minimum of four of the five lessons into their education, training and skills building processes for youth court members over the course of six to nine months (Fall 2026 to Spring 2027). If your program does not have established processes for continuing education or training with your youth members but you have the interest and ability to develop such processes through this pilot, we still encourage you to apply.
Eligibility:
- Applicants must represent a U.S.-based single organizational entity that has official responsibility for operating, supervising, or directly supporting one or more youth court programs, such as:
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- A school or school district,
- A municipal or county agency, or
- A nonprofit or community-based organization
- Eligible applicants may include organizations or entities that oversee one youth court program OR organizations that oversee numerous youth court programs. For the purpose of this initiative, a pilot site may consist of a maximum of three (3) youth court programs that are formally connected under shared oversight, administration, or coordination. Please clearly indicate in your application if you plan to include more than one youth court program in your pilot site, and if so please elaborate. Note that those programs:
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- Do not need to pilot the same resources
- Do not need to be located in the same building/school/town
- Do need to share an administrative connection
- Applicant must have:
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- One primary contact with formal authority and organizational capacity to manage the pilot expectations including, training participation, coordinating implementation of new materials, providing feedback and data, etc.
- Ability to utilize a minimum of four of the five lessons to train their youth members—either through existing education, training and skills building processes for youth court members OR applicant confirms ability to develop such processes through this pilot.
- Ability to meet all expectations outlined below.
- Consultants, volunteers, and unaffiliated individuals are not eligible to independently apply.
Implementation Key Dates:
While exact dates are subject to change, we anticipate the following key dates during the pilot of the curriculum:
- October 2026: Selected youth court programs participate in two-day training on the new curriculum in Silver Spring, Maryland.
- October 2026 – May 2027: Participating youth courts integrate curriculum into programming and provide feedback.
- January – April 2027: Street Law conducts on-site observations at each participating youth court program.
Expectations:
Selected youth court programs will agree to:
- Send up to two leaders/facilitators to participate in a Street Law-facilitated two-day training in Silver Spring, Maryland, on the curricular and training materials in October 2026;
- Utilize/incorporate a minimum of four of the five lessons in youth court member trainings from October 2026 through May 2027;
- Allow one on-site observation visit of the youth court program during the January to April 2027 period; and
- Participate in surveys and interviews to provide implementation feedback, and share lessons learned that will shape national resources.
Benefits:
Selected youth court programs will receive:
- Early access to high quality resources and an opportunity to shape them for national distribution and adoption;
- All expenses paid for up to two program leaders and/or staff to travel to Silver Spring, Maryland to participate in training on the curriculum (flights, lodging, and local transport will be provided); and
- A stipend of $2000 to compensate for the time and effort spent implementing the materials and providing feedback.
Timeline:
- Application Window: The application window is open from May 4 to June 21, 2026.
- Application Deadline: Please fill out the online form linked below no later than June 21.
- Review Committee Evaluation: A committee will review all applications and make a decision by early/mid July. We intend to select three pilot sites.
- Notification & Agreement: Street Law will notify the selected sites in July, initiate the MOU process and further clarify expectations of the pilot.
Review Criteria:
Applications will be reviewed and selected based on the following criteria.
| Criteria | Description |
| Readiness and Capacity | Evidence of operational stability, clear referral processes, staff capacity, and willingness to engage in evaluation and training. |
| Commitment to Integration of New Practices | Clear interest in integrating mediation, negotiation, or restorative practices and reflecting on impact. |
| Program Reach and Representation | Adds balance to the pilot cohort, such as mix of geography, setting, program maturity, current network connectivity, and demographics. |
| Evaluation Readiness | Has basic systems for data collection, participant tracking, and consent procedures. |
| Learning Partnership Potential | Demonstrates openness to learning, sharing insights, and helping build fieldwide resources. |
Applications are due by June 21, 2026.
Optional: Not required but applicants may attach 1–2 short examples of materials currently used for youth member training (if available), program brochure or other materials.
