Question

Identify a juvenile diversion, prevention, or intervention program in your area.

Discuss some of the benefits provided by the program

Answer 1

Juvenile diversion program of SAGE is active in my Area.

Its main objectives are:

• Divert youths who have committed minor offences away from the system and involve them in community-based systems such as providing school environment, supervision and building a support system around them. This helps in creating a more productive way of addressing and preventing future delinquency.
• Different from the traditional justice system. Diversions tactics involvement is carried out in the earliest in the juvenile justice system.
• address delinquent behaviour informally and build an environment for the juvenile to not feel as if going through a trial.
• many services are provided to make them ready for life outside.
• Job skills training, education and learning, Crisis intervention, family counselling, Mental health treatment.
• Support for building family relationships.

Prevention & Intervention:

Juvenile delinquency follows a trajectory similar to that of normal adolescent development.

In other words, children and youth tend to follow a path toward delinquent and criminal behaviour rather than engaging randomly.

There are two different types of delinquent:

• those in whom the onset of severe antisocial behaviour begins in early childhood, and
• those in whom this onset coincides with entry into adolescence.

In both cases, these developmental paths give families, communities, and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of antisocial behaviours and justice system involvement.

The intervention should be as early as possible as they tend to be most effective.

Early intervention prevents the beginning of criminal(minor) behaviour and assists in the development of a youth’s assets and resilience.

• The delinquency prevention programs are good financial investments too as benefits are most of the times more than the cost involved.
• In general, intervening early not only saves juvenile's life from being wasted but also prevents an adult criminal career of the Juvenile and in turn reduces the crime in society saving millions of taxpayers money.
• In most cases, the support provided by the care system helps them shape their career onwards and become a potential asset in future.