Most youth courts do not hold hearings to determine guilt. What do they do instead?

In youth courts, the primary goal is to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Instead of engaging in the traditional judicial process that determines guilt or innocence through trials, these courts typically skip this phase and concentrate on the consequences of the youth's behavior. By focusing on sentencing only, they aim to create constructive outcomes, encouraging accountability and reflection while providing support systems and resources for the youth. This approach facilitates a more therapeutic environment, as it emphasizes understanding the reasons behind a youth's actions and steering them towards positive behavior changes rather than simply assigning penalties.

Other choices involve processes that either imply a guilt determination phase, such as full trials and preliminary hearings, or focus solely on assessing the evidence without directly addressing rehabilitation, which is not the central goal of youth courts.