Florence Mueni Muema’s research while affiliated with United States International University Africa and other places

Children seeking justice, interact with numerous agencies as they navigate through the justice system. They are more often than not subjected to a myriad of processes some of which are too complex and even traumatizing. Despite the existence of many international instruments guiding on the interaction between them and justice actors, children remain passive participants lacking agency and inclusion in matters affecting them. This makes it difficult for the justice system to respond appropriately to their needs. In Kenya there is a dearth of studies with regard to how children who have passed through the justice system experience and perceive it. The aim of this study was to find out how children experienced the system, its processes and practitioners. The sample size constituted 36 children aged 12-17 years drawn from remand homes, probation hostels, youth corrective centers and Borstal institutions. The participants were distributed across five focus group discussions which were guided by a semi structured interview tool that enabled children to share their experiences with police officers, prosecutors, lawyers, magistrates, probation, children and prisons officers. The findings indicate that children experience some justice actors as threatening, unemphatic, shaming, and could not trust them. With regard to the environments, the police station was described as the most scaring and unsafe while the court room was intimidating, too formal and sometimes oblivious to the distress children experience when seated in court. There was limited participation as children were not consulted or informed about various legal processes. There were also positive interactions with some justice practitioners. The study provided rich insights into the justice system from the eyes of the child. The findings can be used to institute reforms in the child justice system and promote therapeutic jurisprudence so as to enhance access to justice for all children.

Children bring into the justice system their past and current experiences both positive and negative. Despite this, studies show that child justice systems have limited mechanisms for screening and assessment of their psychosocial needs. This lack of internal audit mechanisms by agencies can contribute to worsening of the young person’s mental status. This study screened children in need of care and protection residing in child protection units, remand homes and rescue centres in Nairobi County. Participants constituted 32 female and nine (9) male children recruited from these institutions. The Kiswahili version of strengths and difficulties questionnaire was used to determine their psychosocial needs. A brief questionnaire was developed for use in identifying their social and demographic profiles. The results showed that 64.41 % of respondents had prior contacts with the child protection system. The children had high scores in emotional (M=5.41, SD=1.78) and peer problems (M=3.24, SD=1.97). The study found an association between the nature of the statutory institution the child was residing and hyperactivity problems (p=.0.034), ethnicity and conduct problems (0.009), and between family type and prosocial behaviors (p=0.001). The study findings point to the need for in depth assessments for all children entering statutory institutions and development of evidence-based treatment programs to address their psychosocial wellbeing

Mental health screening, assessment and subsequent treatment is increasingly becoming necessary and fundamental in juvenile justice settings. Recent systematic reviews have reported an increase in the population of children with mental disorders (Beandry et al., 2021). Conversely, many children pass through the justice system without being assessed and end up being subjected to treatment interventions that do not match their mental health needs (Snehil & Sagar, 2020). The aim of this study was to explore the landscape of assessment and treatment of justice involved children with a focus on available tools and procedures for screening and assessment and to find out if there existed any evidence- based programs for addressing the mental health needs of children. This was a mixed methods study involving 193 child justice practitioners in Nairobi County sampled from courts, police, prosecution probation, prisons and children services. The study found that only one risk/need assessment tool (YLS/CMI) was being used by probation and children services and only with children committed to statutory institutions. Counseling and some forms of cognitive behavioral therapy were the only mental health interventions. Respondents cited various barriers to assessment and treatment and these included; lack of training, feeling incompetent, language barriers, high caseloads, non-prioritization of child clients, and limited resources. The findings of this study can be used by all agencies and child justice policy-making bodies to streamline assessment and treatment so as to ensure access to justice and mental health service for children.