Mentors Needed for Child Diversion Programme

The Justice Ministry is calling for volunteers to offer their guidance and expertise to youth participating in the Child Diversion Programme.

Acting Director of the Child Diversion Branch of the Social Justice Division within the Justice Ministry, Venisa Clarke, said interested persons can apply at www.moj.gov.jm.

“Persons can apply to be a mentor by completing the mentorship application form that is found online, and they can drop it off at any of the Justice Centres or any of the parish offices. From there we will do the assessment to determine if they are suitable for the programme,” she said.

Ms. Clarke, who was speaking in a recent JIS interview, said after vetting, the Ministry will also provide training before interaction with the children occurs.

“Mentorship looks different for each child and is crafted according to the need of the child. For example, a mentor might be able to provide guidance in terms of making better decisions or the career path that you are going to choose… every child is different,” she said.

“The mentor is assigned and they will contact the child weekly or a couple times per month to get involved with and to understand what is happening to the child and to provide guidance,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ms. Clarke noted that the work of the Child Diversion Parish Committees is managed through a multi-stakeholder effort.

“All parishes have a parish diversion committee made up of representatives from the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Justices of the Peace, persons who specialise in child psychology and so on,” she said.

The Child Diversion Committees also have partnerships with the National Council on Drug Abuse, which provides drug use and misuse intervention.

“We have partnerships with the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation for the provision of sexual and reproductive health education. There are also psychologists, social workers and guidance counsellors across the island who provide the psychosocial support needed for the children,” Ms. Clarke said.

The team that works with the Child Diversion Committees also provides individual as well as family counselling interventions that are needed. The main stakeholders are the court and police, whose representatives also sit on the committee.

“These committees have a stipulated number of persons who can represent their organisations.

For instance, the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) would select a representative for each parish and that is what would happen for all the other entities, except in cases where you have Justices of the Peace or other persons who specialise in child psychology,” Ms. Clarke said.