Improving Juvenile Justice Systems in Europe: Training for Professionals

In 2010 the Guidelines of the Council of Europe on Child Friendly Justice have been adopted, supported by the European Commission. This project intends to provide information, knowledge and training to juvenile justice national authorities and staff working with juvenile offenders at a European level, in order to promote a better and more consistent implementation of international standards concerning children in conflict with the law.

The project will focus on improving national juvenile justice systems by exchanging promising practices concerning juvenile offenders subject to sanctions or measures. The project will consist of training modules on the creation of child friendly justice and will focus on two main activities, a training of trainers and national interdisciplinary workshops on child-friendly justice (for defender, community workers, health care professionals, penitentiary staff, etc). Particular attention is paid to individual care concepts and mentoring measures to prevent arrests.

The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) participates in the development of the training program and handbook and participates at the joint trainings in Brussels. Furthermore, two workshops will be organised in Austria for practitioners and professionals dealing with children in residential care or detention. Based on their feedback gathered,  the training program and handbooks will be revised and finalised. The results of the project will be presented at a conference in Brussels in January 2017.