Child Diversion Programme Achieving Success – Minister Chuck

The Child Diversion Programme in the Ministry of Justice is achieving “tremendous success” in steering young people away from the criminal justice system, says portfolio Minister, Hon. Delroy Chuck.

He noted that of the just over 1,000 cases referred to the programme by the courts since the operationalisation of the programme in 2020, more than 50 per cent of them have been successfully completed.

Under the initiative, which targets adolescents aged 12 to 17 who are accused, implicated, or suspected of breaches of the law, special measures are implemented to direct them away from formal judicial proceedings.

“The idea behind the Child Diversion Programme is to divert the child from the formal justice system so that they can, hopefully, be restored to strong, upright behaviour, and the programme has succeeded in doing so,” the Minister said.

He was addressing a Child Diversion Youth Forum held on Thursday (May 18), at the Hotel Four Seasons in St. Andrew.

The National Child Diversion Programme, which falls under the Social Justice Division at the Ministry, is in line with the country’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child to reduce the number of children who are institutionalised.

Youngsters accused of crimes are referred to the programme, and a treatment plan is designed specifically for the offence committed by the child, which is appropriate for children in the targeted age group.

That treatment plan, which involves psychological and mentoring support, is implemented after sign-off by the child diversion committee in each parish.

The parish committees comprise seven to 11 persons and include officials such as a Minister of Religion, Justice of the Peace, Children’s Officer from the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), an Education Officer, Guidance Counsellor and Medical Practitioner with specialisation in child psychology.

There are Child Diversion Officers, who work at the parish level providing management oversight for the programme.

Mentors are a key part of the rehabilitation aspect of the programme, providing guidance and supervision to the children to help them curb their behaviour and address the issues that have been identified.

Minister Chuck noted that after the children complete the programme, many of them have opted to remain in contact with the mentors.

“The programme is one of the great success stories in the last three to five years, and we hope that it will continue and that more Child Diversion Officers will be trained and become available, so that youngsters who may fall by the wayside can be recovered,” Mr. Chuck said.