juvenile diversion

After the passage last month of a California law that will bar children 11 and younger from juvenile prosecution, Los Angeles County leaders want to go even further to decriminalize youth.

This month, Liberty Hill Foundation President Shane Goldsmith was awarded a $100,000 fellowship from the Durfee Foundation to focus on youth justice issues in the county. Goldsmith said she will use the money from the Stanton Fellowship to support the county’s nascent commitment to building a system of youth diversion.

A pair of recent reports examine the impact of juvenile diversion programs and youth arrests in Michigan. In a report from the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency (MCCD), authors Jason Smith and Michelle Weemhoff look at juvenile diversion programs in 69 of the state’s 83 counties, offer best practices and suggest policy recommendations to create more effective programs.

With the support of a broad cross-section of juvenile justice advocates and newly minted Probation Department leadership, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal today that will create a comprehensive plan for juvenile diversion in the county.

Even as Los Angeles County has seen a sizable drop in the number of youth in its juvenile justice system over the past decade, the county’s Board of Supervisors is hoping that a countywide juvenile diversion program could improve matters even more.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion yesterday that would speed funds to community-based organizations under California’s Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA). As The Imprint of Social Change reported last week, Los Angeles County’s Probation Department has been holding back nearly $22 million in funds earmarked for prevention programs aimed at keeping youth out of the juvenile justice system.