Caminos Hacia el Éxito

What is the Caminos Hacia El Éxito Program?


The Caminos Hacia el Éxito Program is administered by the Watsonville Police Department. It is a diversion program for Watsonville youth who commit a first-time offense (misdemeanor). The program uses evidence-based approaches to hold youth accountable for their actions in a timely and appropriate manner.
The youth who agree to participate in the program must complete the following requirements in order to prevent their case from being forward to the Santa Cruz County Probation Department.


1. Community Service hours
2. Counseling
3. Pro-Social hours
4. Case Management meetings  
5. Parenting Component

Who Qualifies?


First-time offender youth between the ages of 10 – 17 arrested and/or cited with a misdemeanor within Watsonville City limits.

Our Partners:

  • Santa Cruz County Office of Education – Teen Peer Court
  • Santa Cruz County Probation Department
  • Watsonville Police Activities League
  • Watsonville Police Neighborhood Services Division – Neighborhood Accountability Board
  • Pajaro Valley Prevention & Student Assistance, Inc.
  • Pajaro Valley Unified School District 

Caminos Program Stats :

April 2012 - December 2020

Number of youth that accepted program: 508

Number of youth that successfully completed the program: 428

Number of youth that re-offended within 6 months of program completion: 40

Number of community service hours completed by youth: 19,685

Prosocial hours: 6,807

Parenting component completion: 322 

Program success rate: 91% (388 out of 428 youth did not re-offend)

Program statistics as of December 31, 2020