The Second Chance Program (SCP)

RESTORING AND EQUIPPING YOUNG OFFENDERS FOR SUCCESSFUL REINTEGRATION INTO SOCIETY.

Fruit of many years of work in youth centers, the Second Chance Program has been developed in Partnership with the Department of Justice and Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Second Chance Program a community-based program aims to fight recidivism by accompanying young offenders or  Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) aged between 17 to 23 years old reach successful reintegration into society and be ready for professional life. 

It has developed social, psychological and educational interventions designed for the specific needs of these youth.  It is the result of the observation that reintegration of CICL’s starts in detention centers.

Second Chance Program (SCP) is composed of three subprograms:

1. Intervention in Youth Homes

Intervention to youth who are in detention centers. ACAY augments the services already provided by governmental institutions in Youth Homes or Bahay Pag Asa through training, coaching sessions, and personal guidance.

  • Coaching sessions
  • Legal assistance
  • Personal guidance
  • A set of group training: the GOAL formation 
  • Sports Education

Since 2010, Crossroad for Youth Training (CR4Y) of ACAY was awarded as Best Practice for the Youth in Jail by Juvenile Justice for the Welfare of Children (JJWC)

2. Intervention in the Courts

This intervention refers to youth who are in an alternative to detention: a diversion program. ACAY is taking part in the innovating Diversion Program launched by the Judiciary which also involves the families of the youth and the Barangay officials. 

While the youth is in his community, he follows a rehabilitation program in partnership with the Local Government Unit (LGU). A Judge from RTC Manila proposed to ACAY to innovate a pilot project offering these youth the GOAL training program in the Court room. 

3. After Care

ACAY offers a reintegration programs which aims to educate, to train and to prepare young adults who came out of youth centers and desire to be supported in their first step of reintegration to  society. An intensive training and coaching has been developed for them to have the knowledge,  techniques and necessary values in order to become an active member of the society. 

  • Three-month intensive aftercare training.
  • Mentoring and Coaching (once a week meeting with Life Coach).
  • Immersion in ACAY Family Life (weekend activities with ACAY other programs).

90% of youth did not go back to detention centers. These are the youth from 2009 to 2018 that have been coached with the After Care Program

They give support to this program: