by Honolulu, HI, Mayor Mufi Hannemann
January 14, 2008

The Honolulu Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) is an adolescent diversion program that has redirected approximately 3,700 status offenders (i.e., runaways) and first time law violators from further criminal conduct or involvement in the juvenile justice system by holding them accountable to face individualized consequences that make them aware of and answerable for the loss, damage, or injury perpetuated upon the victim and or the community. Of those redirected through the JJC, less than 5 percent have re-offended.

Currently, the JJC’s target population includes those youth who have been arrested for first-time law violations, such as school assault, shoplifting, criminal property damage, and promotion of drugs. The youth that are referred include boys and girls from all economic and social levels and all ethnic groups.

The JJC case managers provide police-referred youth with in-depth assessments and other immediate consequences or sanctions that hold the juveniles accountable for their offenses. Immediate sanctions include police counseling, substance abuse education and counseling, intensive case management services, anger management classes, and mediation. The Center’s two locations, one in urban Honolulu and the other on the rural Leeward coast make it possible to conveniently serve all of Honolulu’s youth.

Since 2001, the City and County of Honolulu through its Department of Community Services (DCS) has operated, in collaboration with the Honolulu Police Department, the Juvenile Justice Center. The Center was created to address the needs of juveniles who become involved with the Honolulu Police Department through status offenses (e.g. runaway) and first-time law violations (e.g. school assault). The goal of the Center is to keep these youth from further involvement in the juvenile justice system.

Program evaluation measures are as follows:

1. The program coordinator conducts weekly staff meetings to discuss his review of staff weekly reports that identifies the number of juvenile assessed and referred to sanctions and follow up services needed for program completers;

2. The JJC case management staff conducts weekly examinations of the database to ensure that juvenile information is current and updated;

3. The program coordinator also initiates quarterly planned and random reviews of juvenile case files;

4. Upon the completion of their sanctions, the youth evaluate the effectiveness of the sanctions (i.e., substance abuse education) through surveys and self-reports; and

5. At program completion, JJC staff conducts exit interviews with each youth to gather data about attitudinal and behavioral changes, mastery of interpersonal skills, evaluations of services and/or sanctions, school status and other achievements, as well as to cite problems experienced

Since its inception in 2001, the JJC has been funded through the federal Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) administered by the State of Hawaii Office of Youth Services. The federal funds are allocated to the State’s four counties to support and strengthen the juvenile justice system and hold juvenile offenders more accountable for their actions.

Other Involvement

The JJC partners with the Honolulu Police Department for youth referrals and police counseling and with the Honolulu Juvenile Crime Enforcement Coalition (JCEC), which is responsible for overseeing the use of Honolulu’s JAIBG funds and the development of a Coordinated Enforcement Plan (CEP).  The Plan provides a seamless system of graduated sanctions across all juvenile justice agencies in Honolulu.  Members of the JCEC represent the various juvenile justice agencies (e.g. City Prosecutor’s Office) and community-based agencies (e.g. Boys & Girls Clubs of Hawaii).

Other community agencies provide program services and sanctions such as substance abused education from Hawaii Education and Counseling Center, anger management classes from the Institute For Family Enrichment, and mediation services from the Mediation Center of the Pacific.

An effective adolescent diversion program is contingent on establishing and maintaining strong partnerships with various juvenile justice agencies and community service providers. These partnerships ensure that enforcement and social service agencies are working together to keep youth from further involvement in the justice system through the sharing of resources and information on juvenile participants.

During the planning phase of the program, identify all the major stakeholders from the juvenile justice system and the community that would be involved with youth participants and solicit their involvement to create an adolescent diversion program that meet their agencies’ goals. Furthermore, implement focus groups with youth at-risk for court and gang involvement to solicit their recommendations and concerns about creating a diversion program.

Mr. Ernie Martin, Chief Executive

Office of Special Projects

Department of Community Services

City and County of Honolulu

711 Kapiolani Boulevard, Suite 1422

Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

(808) 592-2291