Costing the Child Justice Bill

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Costing the Child Justice Bill

• Presentation to the Justice Portfolio Committee

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Costing during policy development
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Why cost the Child Justice Bill?

• Costing policy is good practice
• Section 35 of the PFMA
• a bill affecting provinces must be accompanied by
  a memorandum setting out the financial
  implications for provinces
• Enable Cabinet and Parliament to take informed
  decisions on the Bill
• Mobilise finances in the MTEF process
• Co-ordinate planning among departments to ensure
  effective implementation
• Get each department ready to run with the Bill.

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Departments involved in the Child Justice
System

• National Sphere of Government
• Justice
• Social Development
• Safety and Security
• Correctional Services
• Education
• Provincial Sphere of Government
• 9 provincial departments of Social Development
• 9 provincial departments of Education

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The Child Justice System proposed in the Bill

Stage Three
Stage Seven
Stage Eight
Stage Six
Stage Four
Stage Five
Stage One
Stage Two
Pre-
Waiting period
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
Serving
Appeal /
Sentence
Preliminary
Police
Period
Period
Period
period
Sentencing
sentence
Review
Phase
Inquiry
Trial
Action
Assessment
Care of Parent
Care of Parent
Care of Parent Supervision
Care of Parent Supervision
Care of Parent Supervision
Detention
Detention
Detention
Detention
Detention
Police cell
Police cell
Place of Safety
Places of Safety
Places of Safety
Place of Safety
Secure Care
Secure Care
Secure Care
Prison
Prison
Secure Care
Prison
Prison


Flow of children through the System
Non
-
residential


Release

Release

Release


Release
Release
Level 1

CCI

CCI

CCI

Level 2


Diversion

Diversion

Level 3

Level 1


Level 1


Corr. Supervision
Level 2

Level 2


Level 3

Level 3

Residential


Prison


Reform school

Note CCI Child Court Inquiry

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Child arrests by province (1999 - 2005)
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Initial cost-effectiveness analysis

• Showed the proposed system would be more
  cost-effective than existing system
• Highlighted areas that needed to be redrafted to
  reduce costs
• Showed the importance of the preliminary enquiry,
  diversion and alternative sentencing
• Concluded that

If more time and money is spent in the early
stages of the system, namely on assessment, the
preliminary inquiry and diversion,
then costs related to trials, detention and
incarceration will be reduced.
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Planning and budgeting process
Dept. of Justice Child Justice Project
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Implementation Planning

• Developing capacity
• setting the trajectory to achieve the objective
• Ensuring effective monitoring
• Focussing on areas of maximum impact
• metropolitan areas
• One-Stop Child Justice Centres
• court jurisdictions
• Priorities in sequencing implementation
• police providing transport
• probation officers assessing children within 48
  hours
• functioning of the preliminary inquiries
• provision of diversion and alternative sentences
• provision of alternatives to awaiting trial
  imprisonment

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Overall MTEF budgets
The current budget already allocates funds to
departments for the expansion of programmes that
are in line with the direction of the Child
Justice Bill
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Overall Benefits

• Introducing of new Child Justice System will
• reduce the pressure on the criminal justice
  system
• enable the courts to deal with existing backlogs
• deliver a more efficient and effective service
  both to children and the rest of society

The new child justice system proposed by the
Child Justice Bill will enable the Government to
increase efficiency, as well as ensure greater
effectiveness
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