| Overview : The Youth Hostel (established in 1960) is the only certified institution providing services for juveniles who come in conflict with the law within the country of Belize. Its initial purpose was to house those committed for “uncontrollable behaviour.” However, the increased participation of juveniles in criminal activities over the past decade has changed this demographic. As Belize experiences an upsurge in violent crimes, especially in Belize City, many of which are committed by juveniles, not only has the number of persons entering the Youth Hostel on an annual basis continued to increase, but so has the gravity of the crimes committed. This has posed significant challenges for the Youth Hostel in its ability to meet the rehabilitation needs of those entering the facility. Vast differences in age, behaviour and attitude, type of offence committed, coupled with overcrowding and limited financial and trained human resources have certainly impacted the quality of services provided to the target population of 12 – 17 year olds. The Youth Hostel, as a minimum security setting is not adequately able to meet this increasing demand. For several years now, the Youth Hostel and the Youth Cadet Corps have been neighbouring institutions at Mile 21.5 George Price Highway. Both facilities serve, in essence, the same at-risk population – most of whom have dropped out of the formal education system and display behavioural problems, and in the case of those at the Youth Hostel, have actually violated the law in some way. The Youth Cadet Corps is an alternative education program aimed also at creating attitudinal and behavioural change among those minors who have been sent “voluntarily” to the program by parents. The core difference between both institutions presently, is that while parents volunteer their children to participate in the programs at the Youth Cadet Corps, those entering the Youth Hostel have been sent there by the Courts. Therefore, while those in the Youth Hostel have been caught committing infractions against the law, those at the Youth Cadet Corps display similar patterns of risky behaviour and come from similarly difficult circumstances, but for the most part, have not yet encountered the legal system or have been diverted from the juvenile justice system in some way. Under the Community Action for Public Safety (CAPS) Project, which concluded in December 2015, many significant strides were made to improve the Youth Hostel overall and to provide better quality of care and services to the adolescents served. These included the upgrading of the physical infrastructure at the facility and the development of new programmes. A new Continuum of Care was designed which outlines the new evidence approaches and practices that are being utilized in other juvenile rehabilitation facilities in many other countries worldwide. The current SOP of the Youth Hostel is limited and needs to be updated to integrate the reforms of the facility and clearly outline the standards and practice procedures that are being implemented. This consultancy seeks to review the existing Standard Operating Procedures of the Youth Hostel, identify gaps within the SOP based on best practice standards of other youth detention and rehabilitation facilities in other countries. |
