Judge outlines juvenile justice reforms, stresses diversion and community-based treatment

Judge Jeffrey Dufant delivered a detailed presentation on juvenile justice and probation services, telling the Van Buren County Board of Commissioners—Committee of the Whole on Oct. 28 that the court—s focus is rehabilitation and keeping young people in their homes where possible.

Dufant described a sequence of interventions used by the family court: "FutureForward" prevention work to engage at-risk children before formal charges; diversion programs that typically last about 90 days; consent-calendar agreements that can extend to six months; standard probation for adjudicated delinquency; and intensive probation for higher-risk cases. "If we do diversion and don't have to make these children real formal, then, hopefully, in the long run, we're not gonna have them back," he said.