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Mental Health & Addiction Services
Young Offender Program

Accessing Services

Referrals to this program are received from a number of sources:

  • Corrections, Public Safety and policing representatives
  • Youth courts
  • Internal Mental Health and Addiction Services

For more information regarding the Young Offenders Program, contact the Intake Coordinator at 306-655-4900.  The Young Offender referral form can be found HERE.

Who Do We Serve?

The Young Offender program is a multidisciplinary team that provides treatment and assessment services for clients between the ages of 12 and 17 who have committed criminal offences and are involved in the criminal justice system.   Youth are generally referred to the team by the court or youth workers in the justice system. 

The central goal of our assessment and treatment service is to reduce the risk of future criminal behaviour by targeting criminogenic needs.  Criminogenic needs are those factors that when addressed, directly reduce a person's risk of re-offense.  Thus the focus of treatment may include contributing mental health issues but more so attitudes and thoughts that are supportive of crime, criminally involved peers, and issues with school, employment, family, and/or leisure time.

​Attitude: 
"How I approach Life" 

Services Offered:

The team offers a variety of services, based on the type of offense and questions that the court may have regarding recommendations for how to best assist youth in abstaining from criminal activity.  Young offenders who have multiple violent offenses (or one serious violent offense) may be referred for the High Risk Violent Young Offender Initiative (HRVYOI), which offers assessment of future violence and treatment needs as well as therapy to address pro-violent attitudes and cognitions.  If a youth has committed a specific serious violent offense and also qualifies for a mental health diagnosis, they may receive an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision Sentence (IRCS) which qualifies them for federal funding for rehabilitative services to reduce risk of re-offense.

When a youth has committed a sexual offense, they are frequently referred by the court for an assessment of future risk of sexual re-offense and mandated to attend counselling as a condition of their sentence.  The team offers both individual and group treatment services to address factors that increase risk of future offending.  Youth may receive individual therapy or a combination of group and individual services, based on their specific needs and abilities.

Substance management can also be an important part of treatment for young offenders.  Unlike general addictions services, forensic substance management is appropriate when the substance use is directly related to the youth's offending behaviour.  Thus, services focus not only on reducing substance use but increasing the client's understanding of how their use contributes to their past offending and risk of future offending.

A youth may qualify for general forensic services when they have not met criteria for the aforementioned services.  Such services include: anger management; supportive counselling while awaiting trial; conviction, or sentencing; skill-building; problem-solving; and /or reducing pro-criminal attitudes.

Apart from those assessments for risk of future violent and sexual offenses, the court may also order a youth be assessed for psychoeducational reasons, concerns about cognitive functioning, or to determine general mental health needs.  In addition to those assessments ordered by the court, the Young Offender team accepts referrals for crisis assessments within youth facilities, assessments for referral to in-patient substance management treatment, and cognitive assessments on a case-by-case basis.

Service Providers:

Our multidisciplinary team includes:

  • Addictions Counsellors
  • Indegenous Cultural Support Worker
  • Psychologists
  • Social Workers

Location and Contact Information:

Main Office
311 20th Street East
Saskatoon, SK.  S7K 0A9
306-655-4900

Business Hours  Monday to Friday  8 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Meter parking only.


 

Last Modified: Thursday, May 11, 2023 |
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