Mason was pulling out of a parking lot not far from home this spring when he got stopped by a Stone Mountain police officer on suspicion of driving without his headlights on. The officer then searched the car and discovered a small bag of marijuana. But instead of being thrown in jail, the 17-year-old was given a different option. (Capital B has changed the names of Mason and his family to protect their identity.)
Because it was Mason’s first brush with the law, the prosecutor recommended his case to DeKalb County’s Juvenile Accountability Courts for youth ages 13-17. The goal is for young people to avoid traditional consequences like jail time.
Nearly half of all incarcerated youth in Georgia reoffend within three years, setting them up for a lifetime of struggling to find housing and work. DeKalb’s court aims to interrupt that trajectory.
In a 2023 interview, the juvenile court’s chief judge, Temika Murry, said that she sees it as her job to empower the young people that come through her courtroom.
“This is a place where it’s not about judgment so much as it is the mission of the court to redirect behaviors, to provide services that will actually strengthen families and to give children what they need to reach their full potential,” Murry said.
In the first six months of 2026, approximately 400 kids have participated in at least one juvenile court program in DeKalb. Referrals usually come from the district attorney’s office or the public defender.
Depending on the needs of the teen and their family, the program can include behavior and mental health therapy, substance-use treatment, parenting classes, conflict mediation and community service.
Alternatives to incarceration
Accountability that does not revolve around incarceration has the ability to make a significant difference in a young person’s life. Data from the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice in 2024 showed a 46% recidivism rate within three years for formerly incarcerated youth.
And the racial disparity is stark. In Georgia, Black youth are five times more likely than white youth to be incarcerated in a juvenile facility.
Atlanta attorney Allison Bantimba advocates for the court system to adopt more restorative justice practices.
“In our standard legal process, there’s no real incentive for children or adults to really take accountability because accountability means punishment,” Bantimba said.
As a Georgia State law student, Bantimba co-founded Restorative Conferencing Atlanta and regularly mediated cases referred to the organization by Fulton County Juvenile Court. The cases were primarily school fights, usually involving kids who were having their first interaction with the legal system.
Bantimba’s experience cemented the importance of teaching young people to take responsibility for their actions so they can grow into adults who do the same.
“When you take the automatic punishment off the table, then people can really sit down and hear how their actions affected somebody and understand that they made a choice to take that action,” she said.
Navigating new rules
Mason’s mom, Nicole, said she recognizes the value in her son being given the opportunity to correct his mistake without the burden of a criminal record. But beginning the program June 1 brought challenges of its own.
Coming into the program, Nicole said she felt like the hammer was being brought down a little hard. The 6 p.m. curfew imposed on Mason forced him to quit his summer job. But she’s hopeful the structure of the drug treatment program will put him on the same path as her three older kids — 27, 23, and 19 — who are college educated and support themselves independently.
“As someone that has parented ‘successfully’ … I just keep telling myself to trust the process,” she said.
Nicole said she feels grateful for a lot of the changes the program has instituted — such as mandatory drug testing — but the schedule of court dates and program meetings have forced the entire family to adjust.
“It is quite intensive,” Nicole said. “It does ask a lot, particularly of the parent, which I’m happy to be there for my son, I’m happy to be involved. I also am overwhelmed.”
Every other week, they have court check-ins with his judge and a few times a month they have individual and joint family therapy sessions. Twice a month, Nicole meets with a peer specialist and Mason meets with his assigned mentor and a teen peer group weekly.
“It has also raised awareness to things that may have flown under the radar, like his mental health,” she said. “Now those things are being monitored and he is working through them and we are able to speak about them.”
For juvenile case programs, active participation from parents is mandatory. Ericka Green, the juvenile program supervisor in DeKalb County, said the parental role is usually determined based on the case.
The county contracts primarily with local nonprofits and other groups who run a variety of programs, such as the strengthening families curriculum, anger management, and group and individual counseling.
“We also have Inspire, our family treatment court,” she said. “Those are adults that have [Division of Family & Children Services] cases and they’re going through a very strenuous drug court treatment program to possibly get their kids back.”
Upon successful completion of the program, Mason can petition to have this probation expunged from his record.
“Observing my son take accountability for his actions and accept the consequences, as a mother that’s something I’m very proud of,” Nicole said.
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