MISSION: Constructively allow juvenile offenders to take responsibility, be held accountable, and make restitution for violating the law through a peer-operated sentencing hearing.

Teen Court of Jefferson County, with divisions in Birmingham and Bessemer, is a peer sentencing court for juvenile offenders charged with misdemeanors or minor crimes. It is an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system that empowers youth and communities to take an active role in addressing the early stages of youth delinquency. Teen Court provides communities with an opportunity to ensure immediate consequences to youthful offenders through a peer operated sentencing hearing that constructively allows the offender to take responsibility, be held accountable, and make restitution for violating the law. Teen Court also allows young people to participate in the decision-making process for dealing with juvenile delinquency, while gaining hands-on knowledge of the juvenile and criminal justice systems as they serve as attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and jurors.

Teen Court is funded by Jefferson County Family Court, Junior League of Birmingham, Bessemer Junior Service League, and private donations.