Bolton: The right kind of diversion can keep youths out of trouble, help them succeed

Saving Our Youth

WHEN DE’AJA Spain first entered a youth arbitration program run by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, she didn’t want any part of it.

She had agreed to participate only because the alternative was a trip to court to face a judge for her part in a fight in which both sides shared equal blame. But if she completed the diversionary program, she would avoid court and would be given the opportunity to wipe her slate clean.

Still, it wasn’t easy. “I had to face the person I had the altercation with. I wasn’t a changed person (yet),” De’Aja said.

Today, she is a changed person and is singing the praises of the youth arbitration program.