LIHU‘E — Following a meeting convened by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. earlier this week, the Kaua‘i Police Department has agreed to resume referrals of status offenders to the Teen Court program operated by Hale ‘Opio, according to county officials. The
LIHU‘E — Following a meeting convened by Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. earlier this week, the Kaua‘i Police Department has agreed to resume referrals of status offenders to the Teen Court program operated by Hale ‘Opio, according to county officials.
The decision follows several months in which virtually no minors were referred to the well-established program, which provides an alternative to the criminal justice system for minors who are first-time offenders, states a county press release.
“I’m very grateful to the chief of police, the chair and vice chair of the Police Commission, and Hale ‘Opio for coming together to resolve this matter on behalf of our youth,” Carvalho says in the release. “It reinforces my belief that collaboration is always the key to resolving the tough issues we face.”
The Teen Court program allows youth who are accused of offenses, such as truancy and curfew violation, to admit to their offense, become members of a peer jury, attend skill building classes and complete community service, according to the release. The offender and his or her family are also referred to counseling services.
“Kaua‘i Teen Court is ready to resume effective diversion services for Kaua‘i’s youthful offenders,” Hale ‘Opio Executive Director LaVerne Bishop says in the release. “We’ve worked for many years with Kaua‘i Police Department and appreciate their cooperation and commitment to improved outcomes for youth.”
Bishop said since county Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho took office in 2008, referrals have been made by the Office of Prosecuting Attorney instead of KPD.
But since April, OPA has stopped making referrals, except for a short period in the summer when two referrals were made. Iseri-Carvalho has said recently that the referrals were first stopped because concerns from the County Attorney’s Office and then from the state Office of Youth Services.
Following the county’s press release Wednesday, Iseri-Carvalho sent a brief statement, in which she said OPA is “excited” to see Teen Court referrals restart.
“We remain committed to ensuring that our keiki receive the benefits of diversion programs,” Iseri-Carvalho states. “Unfortunately, we were unable to attend this meeting due to the preparations on the recent murder case, but we are extremely pleased to see that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, the recent announcement only addresses status offenses, which are violations of the law which would not be a violation if the offender were an adult.
As far as referrals for teens who are first-time offenders and have committed minor law violations, Bishop said Hale ‘Opio is trying to work with OPA so they can start sending referrals again, and that there are no reasons for OPA to not send referrals.
OPA has publicly said they support Teen Court.
“I’m not sure what will take,” Bishop said of referrals from OPA to restart. “They keep saying that repeatedly, but they need to start sending referrals to us.”
