It’s a hard day when you find out your child is heading to a detention center. Whatever crime they committed, they’re still your child at the end of the day and hopefully, there are some opportunities for rehabilitation in the future.
However, at this current time where your child might have just entered the facility, it’s important to know what rights your child has. Here are five ways to protect your child’s rights in detention centers.
- They deserve to be treated with respect
Every person deserves to be treated with respect, especially when they’re in places where their rights might be limited or they may be watched by someone other than yourself.
Within detention centers, you’ll often find that the position of power is exploited and children or youths within the center become exploited in some way, shape, or form.
When this happens, it’s important to get legal aid as quickly as possible. Speaking to a sexual abuse attorney for detained youth might be required to get the help needed for your child.
- Ensure individual care and treatment is provided
As a child within a detention center, your loved one is entitled to individual care and treatment. Of course, that level of care and treatment might not be the same as what you’d expect typically for your child when they’re in your home or care.
Every child has different needs and requirements, which shouldn’t change when they enter a detention center. Being exposed to different risks, they should be treated with care.
- Access to education
While your child is in a detention center, they should still be entitled and have access to education. For some, the crimes they commit are something that they can learn from and be rehabilitated in order to be released instead of being sent to an adult prison.
In order to ensure they still have a future, access to education is imperative so that they come out with the relevant qualifications they need to find a future.
- They should feel safe and secure
Safety and security are important to have, especially when your child is in an environment where you can’t watch them most of the time.
As such, they shouldn’t be placed in cells with older children or adults who could otherwise cause safeguarding issues. They should also feel safe and secure from those who are looking after them within the center.
When you see your child, ask them whether they feel safe in the environment they’re in currently. If not then you might want to take further action where required.
- Ability to file complaints and take appropriate action where required
Finally, when it comes to detention centers, there should be specific processes in place whereby you and your child can file complaints and take appropriate action where required. Your child should also have the access required to mechanisms that enable them to file complaints where required.
Protecting your child’s rights is important wherever they are and as a parent, you can still do a lot even when they aren’t in your care.
