NCJ Number
173799
Journal
Judicial Review Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: March 1998 Pages: 215-249
Date Published
1998
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This article examines the nature, scope, and operation of New Zealand's Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989, the role of each of the participants in the Family Group Conferencing process, and the operation of the scheme in the New Zealand Youth Court; specific community initiatives at Mount Roskill and Wellington are highlighted, and reports of two case studies by a youth justice coordinator are included.
Abstract
The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 was enacted to overcome many of the problems of the welfare system for children, which operated under the less culturally sensitive Children and Young Persons Act of 1984. The current legislation seeks to deal with issues of and problems created by young offenders. Administered by the Department of Social Welfare, the statute's objectives and principles aim to promote the well-being of children, young persons, and their families through community services and facilities sensitive to the cultural perspectives and aspirations of various racial groups within the community. A principal strategy of the legislation is Family Group Conferencing, an important diversionary measure designed to reduce the number of children appearing in court on criminal charges of a less serious nature. At family group conferences, an important vehicle for implementing restorative justice, a young person is given the opportunity of accepting responsibility for their actions and becoming accountable for some of the consequences of their conduct through voluntarily participating in a plan with the victim and other persons immediately concerned with the offending. The success of the New Zealand legislation was the basis of a major diversionary program for young offenders in New South Wales, Australia. The legislative framework for this initiative was drafted, refined, and enacted as the Young Offenders Act 1997.