The authorities have decided not to close down the Baan Kanchanapisek Vocational Juvenile Training Centre, run by juvenile justice expert Thicha Nanakorn.
Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong and Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection (DJOP) director-general Pol Lt Gen Prawut Wongsrinil on Wednesday visited Ms Thicha at Baan Kanchanapisek in Nakhon Pathom to discuss the matter related to earlier news the government would cut the budget for hiring juvenile experts.
That would mean the closure of the juvenile centre and the end of Ms Thicha's role as its director.
Pol Col Tawee stressed the need for a system to prevent young people who have "made a mistake" from ending up in the same cycle and for returning citizens of high calibre back to society.
He said Baan Kanchanapisek is capable of meeting this mandate and the government's regulations are an obstacle to driving the required level of change.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut said the centre is considered part of the DJOP even though it is a privately owned organisation because it is fully funded by the department while Ms Thicha's position as a juvenile expert is a civil servant's position and must be assessed during budgeting.
However, the data on Baan Kanchanapisek's performance recently submitted to the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) for assessment was insufficient, resulting in the news about the budget cut, he said.
The discussion between officials from the DJOP and Baan Kanchanapisek yielded a positive result after Pol Lt Gen Prawut confirmed the data on the juvenile centre's performance had now been approved by the OCSC, which will allow the centre to continue operating.
Baan Kanchanapisek receives an annual budget of about 8 million-baht provided by the government. Ms Thicha has taken care of nearly 2,000 young convicts over the past 20 years.