Janet Gaggs, left, the architect of the island’s Child Youth and Community Tribunal scheme and Alestair Hamilton, who has two decades’ experience as a CYCT panellist in the Shetland Isles. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0632286)
A RECRUITMENT drive began yesterday to find 30 people to become panel members of the new Child Youth and Community Tribunal system.
A new law will be implemented next year that will move young people away from the juvenile court and instead they will be dealt with using the CYCT system.
The tribunal will look at a child’s whole environment to try to identify problems areas where support is needed to give them the best possible start in life. Concerns about a child’s welfare might have been raised by a family member, a neighbour, a teacher, or the police.
Examples of situations the tribunal might have to help resolve include those in which there are concerns about a child’s safety, where the young person might not be attending school, where there might be a lack of care, or the juvenile might have committed petty crimes.
Panel members will examine, with the child and their parents, the underlying causes of the concerns and try to help resolve them cooperatively.
Janet Gaggs, who coordinated the law’s development, said the CYCT system required people from all walks of life to sit on the panel.
‘Panel members need a real interest in young people and children, they have to be good listeners, they have to be willing to learn and they have to be able to give up some time,’ she said.
‘We will also need the support of employers as well because members will need time off work for the training.’
Panel members will go through an extensive training programme before the new law is implemented in the middle of next year.
Each will sit on the panel initially for three years, although that period could be extended.
‘It’s a big commitment,’ Mrs Gaggs said.
‘We need 30 because we anticipate that we will be running about nine hearings a month so we need enough people to cover those without asking members to do too many.’
Tribunal panel members can be aged from 21 to 70 and Mrs Gaggs said it was important they had a wide range of people.
‘This new system will affect so many children in the Bailiwick because it’s a new way of thinking and doing things,’ she said.
‘I think panel members will get a lot of satisfaction from doing something for the community.
‘It will also be very rewarding in most cases where they can see improvements for the child and see families overcome their difficulties.’
Mrs Gaggs hoped islanders would be keen to offer their experience and time to help improve the lives of children.
‘I think the Bailiwick as a community is very good at getting involved and is very caring and concerned about children in our community,’ she said.
Article posted on 2nd September, 2008 - 2.29pm
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