Grants and Contributions

The City of Grande Prairie’s “Diversion First” Project aims to enhance the youth justice system’s ability to rehabilitate and reintegrate young people by increasing the use and effectiveness of out-of-court measures for less serious offences. The project will establish a coordinated diversion framework, a structured pathway that connects justice partners, outreach teams, schools, and community organizations to deliver meaningful interventions aimed at preventing youth from entering or re-entering the formal justice system.

In this three-year initiative, entitled “Piloting the PACIS group intervention program for justice-involved youth that engaged in sexual harm in Southeast New Brunswick” the Beausejour Family Crisis Resource Centre (BFCRC) will work collaboratively with its justice partners and diverse youth with lived experience to deliver and conduct intervention research on the Pour les Adolescents qui ont Commis des Infractions Sexuelles (PACIS) program for justice-involved youth that engaged in sexual harm. The BFCRC will target vulnerable groups such as Indigenous youth as well as those from rural communities. The anticipated outcomes of the delivery of the PACIS program for 60 youth engaged in sexual harm is a reduction in recidivism and an increase in the knowledge of the impacts of the various risk factors that lead to their offending and the development of critical skills to lead healthy interpersonal relationships into adulthood.

Indigenous Girls Matter Too! is a direct intervention project that specifically targets Indigenous girls aged 12-17 in Edmonton who have been in contact with the criminal justice system under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). The project is designed to improve the youth justice system’s ability to help youth rehabilitate and reintegrate by providing a culturally appropriate and trauma-informed alternative to traditional court measures. The project will also work to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth in the justice system by offering a comprehensive, community-based response to less serious offending and provide a holistic suite of services to address the root causes of youth criminality and empower participants to lead positive and productive lives.

École de la Relève’s project entitled “The Next Generation Rises: reintegration and accountability for justice-involved youth” aims to strengthen the rehabilitation and social reintegration of youth aged 12 to 17 already involved in the criminal justice system, primarily from the boroughs of Saint-Michel, Montréal-Nord and Rivière-des-Prairies. The project will implement structured community-based measures that promote accountability, restorative justice and the prevention of recidivism.

The Mino-Padakigan – Justice, Food and Future project is a community justice and social reintegration initiative inspired by the proven Fourchette de l’Espoir (Montreal North) model, adapted to the Anishinaabe reality of the Lac Simon territory. It aims to offer a culturally grounded, restorative, and empowering pathway for youth under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), while supporting recidivism prevention and the development of skills related to autonomy, employability, and community belonging.

The "Pathways to Purpose: A Youth Empowerment and Justice Reintegration Program" is a three-year, community-driven initiative designed to reduce youth violence and gang involvement among racialized youth aged 12 to 17 in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick who are in contact with the youth criminal justice system. The program delivers wraparound services-including case management, mentorship, trauma-informed counselling, restorative justice supports, and gang exit programming-to youth at multiple stages of justice system involvement: post-arrest, during diversion or community-based sentencing, and throughout rehabilitation and reintegration. It provides individualized, culturally competent, and trauma-informed interventions that recognize the unique, multilayered barriers faced by racialized youth and their families.

The project "Bridges to Reintegration and Restorative Justice – A Crossroads of Hope and Reconstruction", led by Youth Anchorage Point, is a three-year Francophone initiative in Toronto aimed at strengthening reintegration, accountability and healing for Afro-descendant Francophone youth aged 12 to 17 who have had contact with the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
Through a holistic, culturally adapted and trauma-informed approach, the project will offer: restorative justice circles, psycho-educational workshops, supervised community engagement and volunteer initiatives, training for Francophone practitioners in restorative and inclusive practices to increase the capacity of the youth justice system to provide appropriate services, establish an intersectoral coordination table ensuring sustainable coordination between justice, mental health, education and community organizations. The overall objective is to contribute to reduced short-term recidivism, strengthened sense of community belonging and the promotion of positive and lasting trajectories.

The “Scarborough Youth ReStart Initiative (SYRI)” is a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, rehabilitation and restorative justice program that aims to support Black and racialized youth aged 12–17 in Scarborough who are involved with the criminal justice system, gang-involved and/or currently being dealt with under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). Over three years, the program will directly engage 180 youth (60 per year) through structured restorative justice activities that provide meaningful alternatives to detention, foster accountability, and support long-term reintegration into the community. Additionally, it utilizes evidence-informed alternatives to detention and incarceration, focusing on personal responsibility, addressing systemic issues and community integration for youth violent offenders.

The program focuses on rehabilitation, reintegration, and accountability. It seeks to address the underlying social and systemic factors faced by racialized youth, such as poverty, racism, trauma, and community violence, that contribute to youth offending, while helping participants develop the skills, confidence, and support necessary to build positive, crime-free futures. Participants will be empowered to take responsibility for their actions, repair harm, and develop pro-social attitudes and life skills that promote lasting change.

The Department of Justice Canada (JUS), in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and the Canadian Police Association (CPA), is pleased to present the Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award 2025. The Award recognizes innovative approaches to using provisions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act while dealing with youth in contact with the criminal justice system. It celebrates excellence in police responses to youth crime by all sworn police officers from federal, provincial, municipal, military and railway police services in Canada.

The Department of Justice Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and the Canadian Police Association (CPA), is seeking nominations for the 2024 Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award. The award recognizes police officers or police-led initiatives who develop innovative approaches or promising practices that go beyond the formal court system when dealing with youth in conflict with the law. It celebrates innovative policing, and serves to inform the police and the wider community about creative responses to youth involvement with the criminal justice system.