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What鈥檚 the best way is to keep kids from a life of crime? Most experts will tell you it鈥檚 to never have them enter the criminal justice system in the first place. That鈥檚 the idea behind juvenile diversion programs that offer kids arrested for misdemeanors a chance to avoid the court process.

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鈥淲hat we want to do is hold young people accountable without getting them caught up in the system with that criminal record, which can be so harmful for young people as they continue through life,鈥� explained Shirley Noble, program manager of Partnership for Youth Justice, King County鈥檚 juvenile diversion program.

The CABS program

Among the diversion options in King County are 鈥� or CABS. The boards are made up of volunteers from the community that hold hearings involving kids and their families.

The hearings last about 40 minutes, and involve asking questions about the offense, a kid鈥檚 engagement in school and community, their situation at home, and more. The hope is to get a full picture of what is going on in the child鈥檚 life, and come up with an accountability plan.

鈥淲e鈥檙e able to assign kids to community service hours, different types of groups or classes, order restitution, [and] order counseling,鈥� Noble said, adding they can even order a kid to stay away from certain people and geographical areas.

A kid then signs a diversion agreement and has to abide by whatever consequences the board decides for up to six months. If they don鈥檛, they end up in front of a judge for traditional court.

The CAB program has actually been around since the late 1950s in King County, and has expanded in recent years to more than a dozen separate community boards.

Taking part in diversion is a choice. The county sends a letter to the family and a final notice. If they don鈥檛 hear from the family, the case goes back to the prosecutor for filing.

鈥淎s I was thumbing through the cases of families that were not responding, I began to notice that when I looked at the ethnicity, I was seeing that a lot of these families were non-English speaking families,鈥� Noble recalled.

鈥淎 lot of times minority families have had bad experiences with the juvenile justice system, or the justice system in general. There鈥檚 a lack of trust with the justice system. There鈥檚 a lack of knowledge of understanding that here we are offering something that鈥檚 really good for your kid,鈥� she added.

That led to the creation of the Latin X Community Accountability Board, where all of the volunteers must speak Spanish. It dramatically increased participation among that community. As a result, earlier this year Noble expanded it, getting another set of volunteers to create the newest board: The East African CAB.

A key piece to the puzzle

Ayanle Ismail is one of the volunteers, and says bringing that cultural piece to juvenile diversion is important. That鈥檚 because a lot of parents in these cases were not born here, and are used to the way kids were dealt with in their culture.

鈥淲hen an individual gets into trouble, back home, it鈥檚 like the saying of 鈥榠t takes a village to raise a child,鈥� meaning that there鈥檚 no punishment,鈥� Ismail explained.

鈥淐oming into the American system, it is a whole entire new world. So coming here, the parent still has the idea of 鈥榤y child shouldn鈥檛 be punished.鈥� This is nothing compared to what we鈥檝e seen people do,鈥� he added.

Part of what they do is bridging that gap, and educating the parents on what the juvenile justice system is. That can prove a difficult concept for some, according to volunteer Faduma Ahmed.

鈥淚f their child is penalized for shoplifting, they [the parent] were like, 鈥榳ell, they put it back. I鈥檒l discipline at home, I鈥檒l handle it, it鈥檚 done.鈥� This whole concept of youth incarceration over misdemeanor is such a new phenomenon for us,鈥� Ahmed explained.

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While most of the kids are savvier about American culture and the rules than their parents, they don鈥檛 always understand the weight of what they鈥檝e done.

鈥淚 knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn鈥檛 (understand) 鈥� the punishment, the consequences,鈥� one teen who just had his hearing at the East African CAB said.

鈥淲e just had a counseling talk here and they basically gave me a sentencing, community service hours,鈥� he added, not wanting to share the details of his offense or his name.

The teen hopes to go on to college after high school, and says he didn鈥檛 realize his misdemeanor offense could put that and more at risk.

鈥淚 was really scared, it would just like jeopardize everything for me and my family,鈥� he said.

He was especially worried about his mom.

鈥淪he鈥檚 a single mom in a family of eight, and it鈥檚 really hard for her, and I just 鈥� I鈥檓 really sorry,鈥� he said as he looked across the table at his mom.

He鈥檚 grateful to have the opportunity for juvenile diversion as a form of accountability and to keep his record clean, as is his mom.

鈥淚t is good opportunity for him, also for next generation 鈥� he鈥檚 an example. I really say thank you,鈥� mom said.

Juvenile diversion

As for the teen 鈥� his community service will come with volunteering, and sharing his story with other kids, among other sanctions. He doesn鈥檛 see it as punishment but as a warning to adjust course, and is confident he鈥檚 learned his lesson.

That鈥檚 the idea.

鈥淭hat diversion piece is actually that moment we say 鈥榩ut everything to a stop, let鈥檚 talk about which direction you鈥檙e heading.鈥� That鈥檚 where the conversation starts and getting the parents involved; getting the child involved so that that child doesn鈥檛 head to the direction of felony, or getting into gangs. So before it even gets to that, we want to make sure that we put a stop to it,鈥� Ismail explained.

The hope is the lesson learned with each kid carries on into their community both now, and later.

鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of like creating an awareness of 鈥極h my God, now people know, I鈥檓 going to be held accountable, my mom is involved,鈥� and we put them in spaces that are familiar, [and] that create positive connections. Hopefully, that in the end will work out. They graduate high school, they go to college, they come back, they volunteer,鈥� Ahmed said.