Reintegration and Diversion for Youth

The President’s Award for Youth Empowerment Programme has established the Reintegration and Diversion for Youth (READY) project in 1994 to offer a holistic and non-formal experiential programme to inmates between the ages of 14-25 years. In partnership with the DCS, READY operates in over 60 correctional centers in five provinces, namely the Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng, and the Western Cape. The inmates get involved voluntarily, and have to have had no further charges against them, not be classified as maximums, and had to have served at least 12 months of their sentence. There are three levels of training (Bronze, Silver and Gold) that take three to four years to complete. The training develops the qualities of leadership, self-worth, discipline, entrepreneurship, and job creation skills, commitment, and community service.  One part of the programme focuses on service and it encourages inmates to develop a sense of responsibility towards the community through providing voluntary service to community projects and homes, hospitals, and within the correctional centre. The second component cultivates a spirit of adventure and discovery, an understanding of the environment, and the importance of working together in a team through wildlife hikes. Thirdly, the attainment and development of cultural, vocational, and practical skills are encouraged through skills training in agriculture, arts and crafts, the performing arts, building and construction, computer literacy, life skills, motor and hospitality industries.  Participants are further required to take part in individual or team sports like volleyball, football, rugby, and chess. The Presidents Award is responsible for annually recruiting and training the DCS staff and they facilitate the programme within the correctional facilities as volunteer Award Leaders.

Innovation

Given South Africa’s crime and juvenile offender rate, there can never be enough rehabilitation programmes operating in the DCS. The READY project allows for an easier transition for the inmate into their community by equipping them with skills that would improve their societal wellness. As a result it then makes it easier for these offender’s communities to accept them after their release because of the value the released inmate can bring to its development.

Effectiveness

Currently there are over 2500 inmates active in the project, and some 26 000 youth have been through the project since its inception. Between 1800 and 2300 inmates enroll annually and 25% have completed the programme on its various levels. In 2006, 864 young people achieved bronze, silver or gold awards and contributed 32, 430 hours of community service. Between July 2006 and July 2007, 230 DCS staff were trained as Award Leaders in the five provinces.

Poverty Impact

By assisting juvenile inmates to change their lives by equipping them with various skills, READY helps change the cycle of underdevelopment that plays a part in the youth’s decision to turn to crime in the first place. In the words of one participant “receiving this award did not provide me with employment, but it did increase my employability".

Sustainability

The programme is cost-effective with the unit cost to administer it less than R500 per participant. The total cost for the year ending in 2006 was R1.6 million and the amount for the year ending February 2007 was R2.2 million. 41.8% of their funding comes from South African Corporates that includes the De Beers Fund, Rand Merchant Bank, and Barloworld. 34.4% is sourced from national trust funds namely; Carlin Emile Fuchs and The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. The rest is donated by various international funders that include Kinder Post Zegels and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award World Fellowship.

Replication

The project was initially introduced as a pilot project at the St Alban’s Correctional Centre in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape, in 1994 and has expanded to being currently implemented in five provinces. The training available is dependant on the structure and resources of the specific correctional facility and thus is not a blanket national rollout of training but a locally appropriate one.

Partnerships

• The Presidents Award for Youth Empowerment
• Department of Correctional Services
• Barloworld
• De Beers Fund
• Mutual and Federal
• Rand Merchant Bank
• Carlin Emile Fuchs
• Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
• Duke of Edinburgh’s Award World Fellowship
• Hilden Charitable Trust
• Kinder Post Zegels