The Ministry of Home Affairs’ Juvenile Justice Department (MOHA-JJD) today signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Guyana Legal Aid Clinic (GLAC) and Blossom Inc. to assist juveniles in contact with the law.
The MoU was signed between MOHA-JJD and GLAC, enabling the Juvenile Justice Department (JJD) to work with GLAC in ensuring all juveniles in contact with the law are in receipt of their Birth Certificates to determine whether they are criminally responsible.
GLAC will inform the General Register Office of the list of juveniles to obtain Birth Certificates to enable timely access to justice and to be qualified for admission into diversionary programmes and/ or closed or open residential facilities.
Meanwhile, the MoU signed between MOHA-JJD and BLOSSOM INC. is to enable Blossom Inc. to conduct Forensic Interviews and gather information about incidents of alleged sexual or child abuse in a manner that will yield information from the juvenile and stand up to scrutiny in court.
Further, the MoU sets the stage to provide a combination of behavioural and family therapy for juveniles who are in contact or conflict with the law and who have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, behavioural problems and other difficulties related to traumatic life experiences.
