Turnabout
Turnabout is a provincial prevention program that provides children under 12 years of age with the support and direction they need to avoid conflict with the law. Through a referral process, Turnabout responds to a child(ren) when s/he has been in trouble with the law or is at risk of coming into conflict with the law. We work with families to deal with the underlying issues that may be causing the child to act in a criminal way. Our goal is to connect the child(ren) and their families with appropriate community resources that will support the family. Examples of some services utilized include: free and/or subsidized recreational opportunities; clinical referrals; Elder support; mentorship opportunities; program-specific referrals (i.e. anti-gang programs); multi-systems planning meetings and advocacy support.
Referrals to Turnabout are made by law enforcement, community agencies, schools, child and family service (CFS) agencies, community members and concerned parents. Once a referral is received the Turnabout coordinator will reach out to the parent/guardian to discuss the incident and determine the concerns. With the family the Turnabout coordinator examines the risk and protective factors in order to identify the needs of the child(ren) and family. When necessary, appropriate systems/agencies will be called upon to help support the family.
Contact with the parent or guardian is made in the form of a letter, phone call or home visit. Turnabout is a voluntary program so the parent or guardian must consent to work with the Turnabout coordinator. The amount of support provided by Turnabout varies, depending on the family’s need and their willingness to work with the coordinator.
Children who are eligible for support from Turnabout are:
- Children under the age of 12 identified as at-risk of coming into contact with the law.
- Children under the age of 12 and behaving in ways that may result in criminal charges if they were 12 or older.
The program’s goals are to:
- prevent a child from having future police contact as a child, youth or adult.
- identify as early as possible children who are demonstrating serious, persistent at-risk behaviour and arrange for them to receive the appropriate services.
- reduce the number of children under 12 coming into conflict with police.
- develop procedures to ensure information between police, fire service, child welfare, schools and community agencies is shared to ensure that the family's needs are being met.
If you know of a child under 12 in need of Turnabout services, or if you want more information, contact the Turnabout Coordinator in your area. Or, fill out the Turnabout Referral Form and send it to the Turnabout coordinator nearest to you.
