Inspired by the success of programs in the Eastern District and across the country, the Southern District has launched a pilot program to provide young adult defendants a chance to have their charges and sentences reduced or dismissed altogether.

Court officials said the project, called the Young Adult Opportunity Program, will provide defendants with access to employment, counseling and treatment resources in an intensively supervised program. If successful, defendants may receive shorter sentences, a reduction or deferral of charges filed against them, or a dismissal of their charges entirely.