The Federal legislation authorizing the JAIBG program called for the establishment of juvenile gun courts. Like its better known counterpart, the youth drug court, the juvenile gun court is a specialty court. Such courts feature small caseloads, frequent hearings, immediate sanctions, family involvement, and treatment services.

Juvenile gun courts are targeted interventions that expose youth charged with gun offenses to the ramifications of involvement in such acts.This Bulletin draws on the experiences of policymakers and practitioners involved with juvenile gun courts to describe their development. By way of illustration, it reviews the Jefferson County (AL) Juvenile Gun Court, which is supported by OJJDP.

The JAIBG program seeks to strengthen the capacity of the juvenile justice system to hold delinquents accountable. An effective juvenile gun court can advance that end for youth involved in gun-related offenses.

David Sheppard, Ph.D., is Program Director and Patricia Kelly is a Senior Research Associate at COSMOS Corporation, Bethesda, MD. Heath Grant, Research Associate at the Criminal Justice Research Center, John Jay College, New York, NY, and John Sloan, Ph.D., researcher at the Department of Justice Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, helped prepare the section on the Jefferson County Juvenile Gun Court. Molly Armstrong, J.D., LL.M., Coordinator of Demonstration Projects at the Vera Institute of Justice, New York, NY, contributed significantly to the preparation of this Bulletin.