Diversion: Engaging Families
By Ndang Darius Kindong (Counselor) HEDECS
Bolima Nancy (Diversion Manager) HEDECS
1 December 2015
Diversion in this context will mean taking away a juvenile from the formal judicial system to one that seeks to rehabilitate this juvenile (client).The family which is the basic unit of society can determine to a large extent the success or failure of diversion.
The whole process of diversion is a dynamic one, having to counsel the juvenile offender who has come in conflict with the law, working with the victim of the crime and the families of the offender and victim. As counselor, working just with the client (offender) alone may never permit me to realize my desired outcomes. To achieve my desired outcomes therefore, I must engage the families of clients because they play an important role in the entire process of restoration, rehabilitation and the reintegration of the child back into the family and community as a positive and productive citizen
I think without the family, diversion becomes almost impossible. For example, one of the families of my client contributed enormously to the success I made with a client. The parents of this client were giving her transport fare to attend her counseling sessions, they stood by their daughter all through, giving her psychosocial support, helping her keep to the decisions she made with me (counselor), gave me feedback on the improvements their daughter was making. All these and many more helped my client from relapsing and from falling back into crime and thus became a more positive and productive individual to his family and the community as a whole.
Thanks to the family, they contributed enormously to the success that was registered as the client is now in secondary school and performing very well
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL THE FAMILIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
