Children who are deemed uncontrollable, but who have committed no crime, should no longer face detention in correctional facilities at the whim of a Family Court judge, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has declared.
Chuck has indicated that, with the implementation of the child diversion programme, which is set to come on stream December 31, judges will be given softer options to mediate in the best interest of minors.
He said the alternatives have been established within the Child Diversion Act and through amendments to the Child Care and Protection Act, ensuring that children who appear before the court and at police stations are not summarily shunted into the penal system.
“We are going to ensure that it is done on a case-by-case basis and put in systems that will work on behalf of the child and parents. One size does not fit all,” Chuck told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday.
He was commenting after issuing a statement on Friday that expanded on his initial reaction in The Sunday Gleaner last week to concerns raised by human rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ). JFJ had revealed that more than 30 children had been locked away in correctional facilities for behaviour deemed uncontrollable, but without committing a crime. The actions run counter to a commitment made by the previous administration back in 2013, which had indicated it had already begun taking steps to bring legislation that would end the practice.
The issue came to national prominence following sustained activism by JFJ, which has for years been lobbying for the amendments to legislation allowing judges to confine children deemed uncontrollable to correctional facilities.
The legislation, Section 24 of the Child Care and Protection Act, allows for the court to issue a correctional order, under which the child would be sent to a juvenile correctional centre. The act also allows for the court to issue an order under which the child may be committed to the care of any fit person, being a relative or some other person who is willing to take care of the child; or an order under which the child is placed for a period, not being more than three years, under the supervision of a probation and after-care officer, a children’s officer or some other person.
The JFJ has contended that judges and court officers would not properly inform parents or guardians of ‘uncontrollable’ children the implications of placing them in the care of the Department of Correctional Services, and that children and their parents/guardians were not given an ear during court sittings.
But Chuck is adamant that will no longer obtain.
“Once a child comes before the court or to a police station, the child diversion officers will be engaged to mediate on behalf of the children and their parents. It does not matter if the child has run afoul of the law or not. The aim is to work in the best interest of the child and their parents and try to get them back together. The first step must not be to place the child in the system,” he said.
As of January 1 next year, when a parent or guardian brings a child before the court because the child may be deemed “beyond control”, and the evidence before the court discloses that the child is indeed beyond control, the court may only make an order if it is satisfied that it is expedient to deal with the child in a certain manner; and the parent or guardian understands what will happen to the child once the court makes the order and gives their consent.
Chuck said the issues raised by JFJ and outlined in The Sunday Gleaner last week were on the Government’s agenda and were also being addressed by the Office of the Children’s Advocate. This, he said, led to the Child Diversion including better options to deal with children deemed beyond control.
At the same time, however, Chuck cited the lack of good parenting as a factor which leads to minors exhibiting antisocial behaviour, and said the Government was also looking to bring parents on the same page.
“There is no doubt that a lot of the problems we face with these children is as a result of bad parenting. The child diversion officers will also work with parents as we look to redeem the children,” he said.
Provisions in the act will give the court the options of ferreting out what is in the best interest of the child, the nature and circumstances of the child’s misdeeds/behaviour, the recommendations of the court, the parent or guardian of the child, the socio-economic conditions of the child and the impact of the child’s misdeeds and behaviour on the community at large.
The justice minister said the joint select committee of Parliament also included provisions to the act which will mandate that parents who exhibit certain deficits attend parenting classes and get additional support where necessary and available.