Though children sent to juvenile correctional facilities are seen by many as irredeemable, acting Commissioner of Correc-tions, June Spence-Jarrett, says they can be rehabilitated despite posing behavioural challenges.

In urging society "not to write off these children", she says a number of former juvenile offenders have gone on to achieve personal and professional success.

"If you are to look at the profile of one or two of these children, one of the many things they are charged with is being un-controllable. But we have a number of success stories; reform is possible," she said.

Redeemable

Spence-Jarrett cited the case of a girl who was placed at the Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre in St Ann, and who now has her own business.

"There are those who pass through Hill Top Juvenile Correctional Centre (St Ann) and are now customs brokers. We have this young lady from Armadale who is a diploma-trained teacher and she is now completing her degree at The Mico University College. This goes to show that these children are redeemable," she stated.

Spence-Jarrett credits the success stories, in large part, to the Government's rehabilitation programmes in the correctional centres. She said that while there are challenges to the rehabilitation process, these can be overcome through greater support from the parents and the society on a whole.

Responsible parents needed

"What we need to have is for parents to take up their responsibilities. We need parents to accept the whole business of reintegration and resettlement, which are very important," she said.

"We can do all that we can in the institutions, but the children must be released to their parents one day, and while they are in the institutions, the parents need to maintain contact."

She added: "We need the parents to shoulder their responsibilities because the children get dis-couraged when they are not in touch with them, especially when we have programmes and parents do not turn up. Parents cannot relegate their responsibilities to Government; I am pleading to parents not to write off their children."

Help from society

Spence-Jarrett also called for society at large to assist in the rehabilitation effort.

"These children need someone to love them, someone to care for them. You must find time for these children because some of them are angry; they have been abused and neglected. So they lose trust from an early age," she said.

Juvenile correctional centres, formerly known as approved schools, are educational institutions providing security, rehabilitation and training to a special group of juveniles. These institutions cater to young people, aged 12-18, who are ordered by the courts to be removed from their normal surroundings and placed in a more controlled environment.

- JIS feature