PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Just after Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed a new curfew bill into law Thursday, city leaders announced the creation of three new resource centers for kids who violate curfew, as part of a delinquent diversion program.
Effective immediately:
- Kids under 13 years old can’t stay out past 9:30 p.m.
- Kids 14 and 15 years old can be out until 10 p.m.
- No one under 18 years old can be out past midnight.
If a child breaks this policy, police can pick them up.
However, the kids can be taken to a new community resource center, run by a non-profit. These centers will be designated and are scheduled to open in the fall in three specified areas:
- East (24th, 25th and 26th police districts)
- Southwest (12th, 16th, 18th and 19th police districts)
- South (1st, 3rd and 17th police districts)
Fines for curfew violations have also been eliminated.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said she hopes this will also save lives. More than 130 kids have been shot so far this year, and about the same number of kids have been arrested on gun charges.
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"The Philadephia Police Department understands how upsetting it can be for children when they are taken to a police facility, and are in agreement to eliminate punitive actions for minor infractions that could negatively impact the future of our children," she said.
The centers will also be open for any kid who wants to go. The programming at each center will be built around teaching young people to handle conflicts peacefully.
"It will be about conflict resolution. It will be about how to have fun, how to be a teenager. It would also talk about supports the family may need," said Human Services Commissioner Kimberly Ali.
"We think it’s very important, in order to create that buy-in, to listen to the young people in terms of what they want to see at the center. We will do some additional programming because we know we want to engage them. So some of the traditional curriculum, of course, will be about anger management. It will be about positive youth development."
Non-profits who want to become a resource center can apply by August 26. Each center's operations are expects to cost about $650,000 to run. Organizations must take part in a virtual pre-proposal meeting on Wednesday, August 11. An announcement of which centers will be chosen for the program is expected on October 1, and then centers have 45 days to become operational. Click here for information.
If successful, city leaders hope to double the number of centers.
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