A prosecutor attached to the Dorchester Court briefed the Codman Square Neighborhood Council (CSNC) last week about diversion programs aimed at steering kids and teens away from the criminal justice system. Jose Sanabria, an assistant district attorney (ADA) at the court’s Juvenile session, said the programs target kids 12-17 and only apply to certain non-violent crimes.

“Our data suggest the mediation program is successful,” said Sanabria, who said select juveniles are routed into a jobs program instead of arraignments. If they are successful in attending and completing the program, they are not arraigned.”

The Juvenile Division at the court runs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week. A session runs in Chelsea District Court on Mondays, and in West Roxbury District Court (Jamaica Plain) on Fridays. Boston Municipal Court Central runs a session Monday through Thursday.

The program has five ADAs and victim-witness advocates assigned for the juveniles and their victims. Sanabria said each case is considered for the session, but some youths are charged as youthful offenders – or as adults – and are not eligible for the diversion program.

There was also discussion about a bill pending on Beacon Hill where individuals aged 18 to 21 could not be sentenced to life without parole no matter the crime they are charged with. That bill follows a recent ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) that struck down the life without parole sentences for those 18 to 21.

Next month’s council meeting (March 6) is expected to include a discussion about Boston Fried Chicken, a chain restaurant that civic leaders say wants to open on Washington Street. This comes after a heated battle that stretched over several years in which some neighbors, led by the council and the BOLD Teens program, successfully blocked the opening of a Popeye’s Fried Chicken on Washington Street. The company persisted in seeking city approvals for years, but finally let its lease expire last year.

Meanwhile, Domino’s Pizza has dropped its bid to relocate its Fields Corner location to the former Citizens Bank building in Codman Square. However, a plan for a locally owned taqueria at 559 Washington St. is still moving forward.

In other news from the meeting: State Rep. Russell Holmes addressed the Council about the state budget and warned that it’s going to a challenging year. He noted that revenue shortfalls have compelled Gov. Healey to cut already-approved earmarks by 50 percent. He noted that when he was elected 14 years ago, the state budget was $29 billion, and the current proposal is $58 billion with revenues not meeting benchmarks for the first time in a decade and the budget growing by 5.5 percent. The math on spending, he said, doesn’t add up.