Community Services
Diversion
The Ottawa Community Youth Diversion Program (OCYDP) seeks to improve the manner in which our community deals with youth who are in conflict with the law.
Le Programme communautaire de déjudiciarisation pour les jeunes d’Ottawa (PCDJO) souhaite améliorer la façon de la communauté d’interagir avec les jeunes ayant des démêlés avec la justice.
Service Overview
The Ottawa Community Youth Diversion Program (OCYDP) seeks to improve the manner in which our community deals with youth who are in conflict with the law. The OCYDP was developed in order to meet the mandate of the Youth Criminal Justice Act that young persons aged 12 to 17 years be diverted from the formal justice system whenever possible and appropriate. The OCYDP aims to hold the young person accountable for his/her actions by providing timely and meaningful consequences. Through the OCYDP, the young person is provided an opportunity to avoid further involvement in the justice system, and he/she does not have to face the negative consequences of having a youth criminal record.
Youth are referred to the OCYDP through the police to complete an extrajudicial measure (EJM), or through the Crown Attorney’s office to complete an extrajudicial sanction (EJS). Screening is completed by the police or Crown Attorney’s office and is based on eligibility criteria and the belief that the youth will benefit from involvement in the program.
At the OCYDP, an individualized risk/needs assessment is completed with each participant using standardized assessment tools. Based on the outcome of the assessment, a case management plan is implemented outlining the goals that the participant is expected to complete. Goals are intended to hold the young person accountable for his/her actions, while also focusing on addressing risk factors and/or needs associated with criminal activity. The assessment process with the caseworker allows parents to express concerns they have with their child and allows them to make suggestions to the goals the youth will be completing. All goals are delivered through a network of community-based partnering agencies. Examples of goals include volunteer work, structured programs, counseling, workshops, victim-offender mediation and job search skills. Once goals are completed, a summary report is forwarded to the referring agency (police or Crown Attorney’s office) for review. Successful completion of the OCYDP results in no further action being taken by the police or crown attorney’s office.
Le Programme communautaire de déjudiciarisation pour les jeunes d’Ottawa (PCDJO) souhaite améliorer la façon de la communauté d’interagir avec les jeunes ayant des démêlés avec la justice. Le PCDJO a été créé dans le but de collaborer au mandat de la Loi sur le système de justice pénale pour les adolescents selon lequel les jeunes âgés de 12 à 17 ans devraient être écartés du système de justice conventionnel dans la mesure du possible et lorsqu’approprié. Le PCDJO souhaite responsabiliser les jeunes quant à leurs actions en leur proposant des conséquences significatives et limitées dans le temps. Le PCDJO aide la jeune personne en lui offrant la possibilité d’éviter de nouveaux démêlés avec la justice et ainsi à ne pas subir les conséquences négatives d’avoir un casier judiciaire.
Les jeunes personnes sont recommandées au PCDJO par la police afin de compléter un programme de mesures extrajudiciaires (MEJ), ou par le bureau du procureur de la Couronne afin de compléter un programme de sanctions extrajudiciaires (SEJ). La sélection est faite par la police ou par le bureau du procureur général. Elle se fonde sur des critères d’admissibilité et la conviction selon laquelle la jeune personne bénéficiera de sa participation au programme.
Au PCDJO, nous effectuons une évaluation individualisée des risques et des besoins avec chaque participant à l’aide d’outils d’évaluation normalisés. Par la suite, nous mettons en œuvre un plan d’intervention fondé sur les résultats de l’évaluation dans lequel sont définis les objectifs que le participant devra atteindre. Les objectifs ont pour but de responsabiliser la jeune personne par rapport à ses actions, mais sont également axés sur le contrôle des facteurs de risque et des besoins associés à la criminalité. Le processus d’évaluation avec l’intervenant permet aux parents d’exprimer leurs préoccupations à propos de leur enfant et de faire des suggestions quant aux objectifs que la jeune personne devra atteindre. Tous les objectifs sont établis à l’aide d’un réseau d’organismes communautaires partenaires. Parmi les exemples d’objectifs, citons : le bénévolat, les programmes structurés, le counseling, les ateliers, la médiation victime-délinquant et la recherche d’emploi. Une fois que les objectifs sont atteints, un rapport sommaire est envoyé à l’organisme ayant fait la demande de déjudiciarisation (la police ou le bureau du procureur de la Couronne) en vue d’un examen. Si la jeune personne réussit le PCDJO, les poursuites entamées contre elle par la police ou le bureau du procureur de la Couronne seront abandonnées.
The Ottawa Community Youth Diversion Program (OCYDP) seeks to improve the manner in which our community deals with youth who are in conflict with the law. The OCYDP was developed in order to meet the mandate of the Youth Criminal Justice Act that young persons aged 12 to 17 years be diverted from the formal justice system whenever possible and appropriate. The OCYDP aims to hold the young person accountable for his/her actions by providing timely and meaningful consequences. Through the OCYDP, the young person is provided an opportunity to avoid further involvement in the justice system, and he/she does not have to face the negative consequences of having a youth criminal record.
Youth are referred to the OCYDP through the police to complete an extrajudicial measure (EJM), or through the Crown Attorney’s office to complete an extrajudicial sanction (EJS). Screening is completed by the police or Crown Attorney’s office and is based on eligibility criteria and the belief that the youth will benefit from involvement in the program.
At the OCYDP, an individualized risk/needs assessment is completed with each participant using standardized assessment tools. Based on the outcome of the assessment, a case management plan is implemented outlining the goals that the participant is expected to complete. Goals are intended to hold the young person accountable for his/her actions, while also focusing on addressing risk factors and/or needs associated with criminal activity. The assessment process with the caseworker allows parents to express concerns they have with their child and allows them to make suggestions to the goals the youth will be completing. All goals are delivered through a network of community-based partnering agencies. Examples of goals include volunteer work, structured programs, counseling, workshops, victim-offender mediation and job search skills. Once goals are completed, a summary report is forwarded to the referring agency (police or Crown Attorney’s office) for review. Successful completion of the OCYDP results in no further action being taken by the police or crown attorney’s office.
Need more Information?
Please contact Tom Scholberg at tscholberg@bgcottawa.org.
Partners
Positive relationships.
Life-changing programs.
Meaningful impact.
Your donation will power positive impact for children and youth across the Ottawa region. Opportunity changes everything.
Help Build a Better Community
You can help thousands of children and youth in Ottawa’s most vulnerable communities reach their full potential by supporting the highest priority needs of the Club or you may choose to designate your funds to the programming pillar that has the greatest meaning for you personally. Your gift will make a significant impact in serving the needs of our community.
Make a DonationWe must acknowledge
BGC Ottawa acknowledges that our work spans many Territories and Treaty areas and we are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers Elders who are with us today, those who have gone before us and the youth that continuously inspire us in the work that we do. BGC Ottawa's mission statement is to provide safe, supportive places where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life. We recognize that these values are impossible to attain without the ongoing guidance and partnerships with Indigenous peoples.
_Horizontal.png)
