JUVENILE DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS

The risk factors that seem to explain the reason why children tend to commit crimes
are related to their families and immediate environment. These risk factors include

a. poverty,
b. parental neglect,
c. exposure to violence,
d. lack of livelihood and educational opportunities,
e. peer pressure, and
f. unfavorable living surroundings.

Moreover, these factors are compounded by individual risk factors such as the

a. children’s and adolescents’ vulnerable stage,

b. lack of maturity and capacity to discern,
c. incomplete development of the brain of children and adolescents, and
d. lack of life skills to deal with negative factors.

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

I. Department of Social Welfare and Development

1. Preventive Strategies

Considering the uniqueness of the needs of the youth sector, the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government and nongovernmental
agencies have implemented strategies directed to the youth, his/her family and the
community.

A. Youth opportunities for growth

1. Free secondary education — The enactment of Republic Act 6655 or the Free
Secondary Education Act of 1988 provided for free secondary education to youths in
national high schools, comprehensive high schools, state universities and colleges,
specialized schools, trade schools, technical schools, vocational schools, fishery and
agricultural schools and other public schools.
2. Sikap Kabataang Pinoy (SIKAP) — is designed to ensure the youth’s participation in
community service and exposes them to actual private and government operations. It
also provides employment opportunities, although limited, for the youth.
3. The Unlad Kabataan (Youth Development) Program — is a program geared toward
the total development of the disadvantaged youth in terms of spiritual, economic,
 physical, psychological, cultural and social development. The services included in this
program are available in the social service units of the local governments.
4. Education and organization of out-of-school youths — The DSWD organized the
out-of-school youths so as to provide them with opportunities to participate in socio-
cultural activities, livelihood projects, community activities and training programs. They
are also taught the value of leadership and education. They are often asked to attend
seminars on premarital sex, substance abuse, pregnancy and contraception, violence,
smoking, drinking, suicide, STDs/HIV/AIDS, abortion and homosexuality.
5. Information and education activities — are aimed at raising the awareness of the
public in protecting the rights and promoting the welfare of children through
intensified information, education and advocacy campaign.
6. “Ahon Bata sa Lansangan” — provides for an integrated and comprehensive social
welfare services to street children rescued from the streets. The center serves as a
processing center prior to the children’s referral to other agencies, if indicated, on
return to their families/relatives.
7. Bantay-Bata (Child Watch) hotlines — were established in key cities to report cases of
child abuse and exploitation.
8. Intergenerational program — brings together the different generations in new and
on-going mutually beneficial structured activities to know the need of individuals and
family throughout the life cycle. It is a pilot program which shall bring children and
older adults (senior citizens) together through activities that will promote mutual care
and support where the young may be enriched by the warmth and understanding of
loving “grandparent figures” at the Centre while gaining a positive insight into the
aging process.
9. Assistance to disadvantaged transnational children — provides social services for
transnational children 0-17 years of age born from relationships between Filipinos
and foreign nationals. In collaboration with other GOs and NGOs, services in the form
of limited financial and material assistance, educational, legal, medical, practical skills
development, repatriation and adoption are extended to them according to their
needs.
10. Supervised neighborhood play — is a form of day care service providing children 3-
12 years old with early childhood enrichment activities through a variety of play
activities and opportunities guided by a trained child development worker and/or
parent volunteers under the supervision of a social worker.
11. Bright Child — is a holistic program directed at children 0-6 years old. It ensures that
service providers will work together in providing the best opportunities for all children.
 The program has four components, namely: a) health and nutrition; b) psychosocial
care and development; c) early education; and d) food security and livelihood.
12. School-on-the-Air — provides relevant and helpful information to parents with
young children (0-6) about early childhood development. This was aired through
DZMM “Paksa” (Topic) Program from September to December 2002.
13. Child-minding service — Day Care centers are established in barangays to take care
of developmental needs of children below school age whose parents are employed or
busy with house chores.
B. Strategies directed to the family

Self-employment assistance is provided through capital extended to parents or

their children without interest or collateral. Skills training opportunities for adult
members widen their chances of finding gainful employment. Specific programs
include:

1. Systematic Training of Effective Parenting (STEP) — includes counselling, training

of parents and the youth, and information dissemination.
2. Family Drug Abuse Program — is a pilot community-based program of preparing
families to protect their members against the adverse effects of drug abuse. It
further aims to equip families with parenting and life skills towards drug-free
homes.
3. Night Care for Children and Working Mothers — is a preventive measure to
eliminate abuses and neglect against young children while mothers are at work
during night-time.
4. Empowerment and Reaffirmation of Paternal Abilities (ERPAT) — is a preventive
and developmental intervention on enhancing parental skills which gives
importance and emphasis to the father’s parental roles, responsibilities and
abilities through activities promoting effective performance of familial tasks of
Filipino fathers as well as achieving gender equality for women and men and
prevention of violence against women and children.
C. Community organization strategy

This enables community members to identify and assess their needs and problems
and formulate corresponding solutions. Volunteers and local councils are also tapped
to promote the rights of children and to provide protective measures in the
prevention of youth offences.

1. Organization of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children — composed

of barangay officials and representatives of the different sectors in the barangay to
 identify conditions that may lead to child abuse, neglect and exploitation and
adopt measures to protect the rights and promote the welfare of children
2. Organization of community mobilization/development of volunteers — the
development of a pool of community volunteers who will assist in identifying and
reporting suspected victims of child abuse, neglect and exploitation, and who shall
be assigned to look after the welfare of the children. Emphasis is given on the role
of community volunteers in providing care/assistance to children and detecting
severely traumatized children needing therapeutic interventions.

2. Protection/Recovery and Reintegration

1. Missing Children Program — is the government’s response to the growing number of

children who are separated from their families. This program utilizes a website, the
“sagip-com project” which serves as an information center for missing children
wherein pictures and information about missing children can be posted and viewed. It
also involves the use of a mobile messaging system with a designated number to
receive reports of missing children.
2. Adoption Program — Adoption Resources and Referral Units (ARRUs) were set up in
pilot areas to monitor the existence, number and flow of children legally available for
adoption and assess prospective adopters and facilitate their matching. ARRUs keeps
records of adoption proceedings, generate resources to help child-caring and child-
placing agencies and maintain viability. The DSWD also has a Post Adoption service
that provides professional help to adoptee, adopter and biological parents.
3. Child care and placement services — provides alternative parental care to children (in
especially difficult circumstances) whose parents are unable to provide for their basic
needs, temporarily or permanently, brought about by problems in family relationships,
illness, extreme poverty, lack of parenting preparation, etc., aggravated by lack of
family support. The alternative family care arrangements may be provided through
adoption, foster family care, legal guardianship or residential care depending on the
needs of the child.
4. Residential care service — is an alternative form of family care which provides 24-
hour residential group care to children on a temporary basis whose needs cannot, at
the time, be adequately met by their biological parents and other alternative family
care arrangements. It is an approximation of family life to children under the guidance
of staff especially trained for this purpose.
5. Social services for children in need of special protection — are services provided to
children whose parents are unable to provide the required protection and whose
conditions demonstrate observable evidence of injurious effects of the failure to meet
 the children’s basic needs. Immediate intervention is provided to a child who is
abandoned, neglected, physically or sexually abused or exploited, to prevent further
abuse and exploitation and to assist the child/family to overcome the trauma of such
experiences.
6. Special Drug Education Center (SDEC) — is a community-based facility which serves
as a venue in promoting preventive and developmental services for out-of-school
youth and street children. This aims to enable them to cope with the challenges of
adolescence particularly their vulnerability to drug and substance abuse. The
preventive and developmental services seek to equip the OSY and street children with
the knowledge and life-coping skills to prevent drug and substance abuse.
7. Group home for street children — provides an alternative home arrangement for
rehabilitated street children who are abandoned by their families. Children are trained
for independent living by social workers.
8. Legal guardianship — is a socio-legal process of providing substitute parental care
through the appointment of a legal guardian for the child and his or her property until
the child reaches the age of majority. This does not give the child equal rights and
status as that of a biological or adoptive childlike right to a name, inheritance, etc.

3. Interventions and Services for Children in Conflict with the Law

Certain services are provided by the government to youth offenders and to assist
them and their families. The objective is to rehabilitate and reintegrate youth offenders into
the mainstream of society and facilitate their access to developmental opportunities. The
DSWD implements both community-based or noninstitutional and center-based or
institutional programs for youth offenders.

A. Centre-based
1. Casework/group work services — the focus is on treatment and rehabilitation of
children who have undergone traumatic experiences that may affect their growth
and development as human beings.
2. Organization of support groups — examples are survivor groups or parent groups,
etc. to assist in the rehabilitation efforts of children victims.
3. Psychological and psychiatric intervention — refers to tests and other modes of
assessment as well as therapeutic sessions extended to the child to determine
aptitudes, capacities, interests and behavioral problems to facilitate treatment in
accordance with individual needs.
4. Medical services — is the form of referral for medico-legal examination,
hospitalization and medical treatment if indicated.
 5. Livelihood service — refers to the provision of skills training and grant of capital
assistance to enable the child and family to engage in income producing activities
to alleviate their financial difficulties and improve their economic conditions.
6. Group living services/ homelife services — this provision of well-balanced,
organized and non-formal activities to the children which are geared toward
achievement of treatment/rehabilitative goals for the child and the group as a
whole.
7. Educational services — provides opportunities for the continuing education of the
children through formal or non-formal education in cooperation with the
Department of Education and NGOs.
8. Spiritual/religious activities — attendance at church, bible studies and fellowships
that would bring the children to the knowledge of their Creator.
9. Functional literacy — provides alternative education, cultural activities such as art
and music session, theatre workshops, tutoring, spiritual guidance to develop
creativity and critical thinking.
10. Provision of limited financial assistance — to meet needs for food, clothing,
footwear, transportation assistance, school supplies and emergency needs for
medicines.
11. Issuance of travel clearance — to minors travelling alone or with only one parent.
12. Recreational, sports and other socio-cultural activities — the provision of a wide
range of both indoor and outdoor activities to encourage and motivate the
children to participate on the basis of their interests and needs. As much as
possible, community facilities can be used.
B. Community-Based
1. After care services — are community-based support services designed to
strengthen family life. These are provided to those reunited with their
families/guardians from the evacuation/rehabilitation centers in order to facilitate
the child’s readjustment and reintegration into his family and the community.
2. Conduct of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) — a stress management
strategy designed to assist children in handling stress caused by armed conflict to
prevent trauma and impairment. The Senior Social Worker and the Municipal
Social Worker Development Office (MSWDO) shall conduct this activity which may
consist of games, songs, storytelling, drama, arts, crafts and others.
3. Family reunification and counselling — an intervention that enables
unaccompanied displaced children to be reunited with their families. Parents and
other members of unaccompanied children are immediately located through
tracing and other services. They are also made aware of the dynamics of their
 children and the roles and responsibilities of each member in the treatment and
rehabilitation process. Family care within the child’s own community is considered
as the first placement option.
4. Socio-legal services — the following services are provided to Children in Conflict
with the Law:
a. Diversion / Mediation - the youth offender is diverted to the Juvenile Justice
System such as the Barangay Lupong Tagapamayapa (Village Justice System)
for amicable settlement of his case, community work or other arrangement
and parent-child counselling. Through these interventions, the filing of
complaints is prevented.
b. Release on Recognizance - this socio-legal process seeks to release from
detention a youth offender who has committed a minor offence. The social
worker conducts a case study and recommends to the Court the youth’s
release to his parents, relatives or other responsible person in the community
who will be capable of providing him with protection and supervision while
awaiting arraignment or trial. He ensures the youth’s presence during court
hearings.
c. Custody Supervision - is a process that provides an opportunity for the youth
offender to serve a suspended sentence and to undergo rehabilitation under
the care and custody of his/her family or relative or responsible person in the
community subject to visitation and guidance of the social worker.

II. Philippine National Police

The Philippine National Police most acknowledged program was the establishment of
the Women and Children’s Protection Desk in every police station throughout the country to
attend to cases of women and children victims of violence.

III. National Youth Commission

Republic Act 8044 otherwise known as the Youth in Nation-Building Act was
approved creating the National Youth Commission to serve as the sole policymaking and
coordinating body of all youth programs and projects of the government. Some of their
program and projects are the following:

1. Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) — helps the young to develop entrepreneurial

skills providing training and technical assistance for the youth’s business development
with the goal of creating a strong economic base of young entrepreneurs.
 2. Kabataan 2000 — is a youth work program aimed at instilling among the youth the
proper values towards work and community service, providing them with
opportunities for self-development and participation in nation building.
3. Integrated Sangguniang Kabataan Organizational, Leadership, and Reorientation
(ISKOLAR) Program — is aimed at developing the management and leadership skills
of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SKs) and mold them into strong community leaders
and advocates of reform, through values education and seminars.
4. Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) — is an annual youth exchange
that provides the youth with the opportunity to visit ASEAN countries and Japan, on
board a Japanese luxury ship. While on country visits, they engage in various activities
such as courtesy calls, interaction with local youth, visiting institutions, and staying with
local families.
5. National Youth Parliament — is a biennial assembly of youth representing various
sub-sectors and geographic groupings nationwide to develop a legislative-executive
agenda for youth development.
6. National Youth Environmental Action Plan and Green Brigade — are community-
based youth environmental corps composed of the Katipunan ng Kabataan that
advocate environmental awareness and action as a means to attain a balanced and
healthful ecology.
7. Student Government Management Program — is designed to help student leaders
develop effective task and people management skills by exposing them to innovative
management principles, practical tools and technologies that can be readily applied to
bring about excellent performance in their respective student bodies.
8. Bantay Tele-Cinema Youth Network — youth are deputized by the Movie and
Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to monitor the enforcement of
MTRCB rules and regulations in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
9. National Inter-Fraternity and Sorority Council — was formed to address the problems
and issues of fraternities and sororities in campuses and unify them by a common
agenda of promoting academic excellence as a vital contribution to nation-building.

INTERVENTIONS

Intervention is a series of activities designed to address issues that caused the child to
commit an offense. It refers to programmatic approaches or systematic social protection
programs for children that are designed to promote the physical and social well-being of
children, avert or prevent juvenile delinquency from occurring and stop or prevent children
from re-offending. Intervention has three levels namely, primary intervention, secondary
intervention and tertiary intervention.
1. Primary interventions are interventions which include measures to promote social justice
for the root cause of the commission of crimes such as:
a. Early childhood care and development
b. Creation of Youth Resource Centers in every municipality
c. Institutionalization of activities on/for children and youth e.g., congress, camps,
summits
d. Health services/education
e. Access of children to Child and Youth Organizations like SK, PYA and church-
based organizations, Barangay Children Associations, Children Federations like the
National Coalition of Children Association of the Philippines (NACCAP) and the
National Anti- Poverty Commission – Children and Youth Sector
f. Value formation activities
2. Secondary interventions are interventions which include measures to assist children at risk.
They consist of:
a. Organization of youth, e.g., Pag-asa Youth Associations, faith-based
organizations, children associations/federations
b. Psycho-social interventions such as group/individual sessions by the social worker
for children at-risk
c. Involvement of former CICL in self-help groups as advocates
d. Family therapy for families of children at-risk
e. Organization of watch groups
f. Development of foster families
g. Establishment of Special Drug Education Centers in every province and highly
urbanized cities
h. Family Drug Abuse Prevention Program
i. Institutionalization of Birth Registration in Barangays
j. Barkada sa Barangay or Youth Facilitators
3. Tertiary Interventions are interventions which include measures to avoid unnecessary
contract with the formal justice system and measures to avoid re-offending such as
diversion, rehabilitation and reintegration programs like:
a. Release on recognizance
b. Temporary shelter
c. Psycho-social and therapeutic programs
d. Financial assistance and support services
e. Organization of peer support groups
f. Diversion program as indicated in RA 9344
g. Restitution of property
 h. Reparation of damaged cause
i. Indemnification for consequential damages
j. Written or oral apology
k. Care, guidance and supervision orders
l. Counseling for the CICL and the child’s family regarding the law
m. Attendance in trainings, seminars, and lectures on: anger management skills; problem
solving and/or conflict resolution skills; values formation and other skills which will aid
the child in dealing with situations which can lead to repetition of the offense
n. Participation in available community-based programs including community services
o. Participation in education, vocation and life skills programs.

Reference

Sanidad-Leones, C.V. (n.d.) EFFECTIVE PREVENTIVE MEASURES FOR YOUTH AT RISK IN THE
PHILIPPINES. Retrieved from
https://www.unafei.or.jp/publications/pdf/RS_No68/No68_14VE_Leones2.pdf

Fabre, R. P., Barrero, H. B., Amay, G. C., Mansueto, S. G., Dayta, N. B., and Vedra, S. A. (2016).
Intervention programs for children in conflict with the law (cicl): gearing towards
sustainable development. American Journal of Social Sciences, Arts and Literature . Vol.
3, No. 3 April 2016, pp. 1-6, E-ISSN: 2334-0037. Available online at http://ajssal.com/