The United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Linda Taglialatela, congratulated government officials in Antigua and Barbuda for their ongoing juvenile justice reform efforts during a close out ceremony for the Antigua segment of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Juvenile Justice Reform Project (JJRP) in the OECS.

Ambassador Taglialatela stated that the U.S. Government $5.8 million initiative had “set juvenile justice reform on an upward trajectory in the region.” She commended Antigua and Barbuda for being one of three OECS member states to pass a model Child Justice Bill into law, signaling a true commitment to juvenile justice reform.

“We congratulate you on this development and remain hopeful that the necessary amendment will be made in the near term to change the age of criminal responsibility from 8 years to 12 years, as is recognized internationally. We are also mindful of the steps that juvenile justice authorities here are taking to ensure that youth in conflict with the law are eventually housed in separate facilities from adults,” the Ambassador stressed.

Describing the JJRP’s achievements in Antigua as “significant and far-reaching,” the US envoy expressed gratitude for the level of support garnered from stakeholders in generating national and regional interest in changing the lives of young people.

“In Antigua, approximately $700,000 has been expended to support reform work in the juvenile justice sector through regional and local approaches. Under the JJRP, significant steps have been taken to modernize Antigua and Barbuda’s juvenile justice system. In strengthening its human resource capacity, over 100 juvenile justice practitioners (including members of the judiciary), have undergone extensive and specialized training to enhance their knowledge of modern approaches, resulting in the improved treatment of youth within the system,” she said.

Capacity building was provided to the island’s primary juvenile justice agencies and modern tools and approaches were implemented to help juvenile justice practitioners better identify, assess, and treat youth with special mental health needs and other risk factors. The US envoy pledged the USG’s continued support to strengthening diversion approaches and helping at-risk youth successfully reintegrate into their communities following periods of detention. She also expressed full confidence that, given the requisite support, such youth could and would meaningfully contribute to Antigua and Barbuda’s development.