ESCONDIDO -- On a Thursday morning this summer, a 16-year-old walked into a small, pastel-colored conference room tucked away on Grand Avenue.

Dressed head to toe in black, the Escondido teen earned points with the adults waiting for him when he immediately took off his hat and put it on the table in front of him.

The boy, whose name cannot be published because he is under 18 and involved in a legal matter, recently had been picked up by Escondido police for being out after the city's 11 p.m. curfew.

If police had sent the case straight to court, it could have resulted in a mark on the teen's permanent record. Instead, officials identified him as someone who might be better served by the department's Juvenile Diversion program.

The program oversees youths who avoid court by agreeing to a variety of requirements -- some academic, some social, some behavioral. They are overseen by case managers from police and community organizations, usually for three months.

On that Thursday morning, the teen sat down with his mother in front of a five-person panel lead by Judy Seale, the Police Department's juvenile diversion specialist.

"If you get a call from us, that's a good thing," Seale told him.

Not long ago, the teen -- who was walking his cousin home after midnight when he was caught -- wouldn't have been eligible for diversion, let alone a second shot at diversion, which is what he was getting.

When the department started its program eight years ago, with the blessing of the San Diego Superior Court, it only accepted kids accused of petty theft for the first time.

Police Chief Jim Maher said he believes the initial incarnation of juvenile diversion was an effective one, but that when he became chief in 2006 he was open to the suggestions of community activists Mary Anne Dijak and Patty Huerta.

Both women now sit on the five-person Multi-Diciplinary Team, a panel that hears some of the more complex cases in the program, including the Escondido teen's curfew violation case.

One of their early recommendations for the program was broadening the definition of who was eligible for diversion, Maher said.

"We changed the rules based on the belief that diversion is good for kids and their parents," he said.

Now, Seale and the Multi-Diciplinary Team work with kids cited for petty theft, truancy, curfew violations, some alcohol offenses and some cases of minor possession of marijuana.

Department officials said it's rare for any minor accused of a felony to be diverted, but that it has happened, in the case of a teen who hacked into another student's Myspace page.

Some offenses -- serious assaults, drug sales of any kind and graffiti -- are ineligible for diversion, officials said.

Maher said the juvenile diversion model provides more supervision and support than the typical juvenile court experience and demands more accountability from participants.

In 2007, 125 juveniles were diverted to the Escondido program, according to department statistics. Of those,106 successfully completed the program.

"If we keep the kids here and run them though our diversion program, we have a greater chance of success," Maher said.

The 16-year-old picked up after curfew was making his second appearance in front of Seale. A few years earlier, he'd been caught with marijuana.

But Seale, who determines who is eligible for diversion, gave him a second chance because he'd met the requirements of the program the first time around.

The panel -- which included Seale, Dijak, Huerta, the teen's high school principal and a representative from the Boys & Girls Club -- quizzed him on why he'd been out past midnight when he was stopped by police, how he was doing in school, and what his friends were like.

They were generally satisfied with his answers, and liked the initiative he'd shown by taking classes at Palomar Community College to make up what he'd missed in his regular classes.

None of them failed to notice that he'd stayed out of gangs despite knowing gang members through school and living with a brother who is one of the city's documented gang members.

His mother, whose name was withheld to protect his identity, said she noticed an immediate difference in her son after his curfew violation. He became much more particular about when he left the house, she said told the panel.

"I think actually getting handcuffed and taken into the station was an experience for him," she said. "He'll look at the clock and say, 'No, it's too late. I don't want to get taken in again.'"

She teared up as her son told the panel the worst part of being caught after curfew.

"I never wanted my mom to see me in handcuffs," he said. "I always knew I never wanted my mom to see me in handcuffs."

Still, he balked at one of the non-negotiable conditions the panel came up with for him if he chose diversion.

Community service hours weren't the answer, because he needed to spend much of his time meeting academic goals, they said.

Instead, he'd have a 7 p.m. curfew for three months.

Dijak gently reminded him that he wasn't obligated to go through the diversion program.

"You can always go and see what the judge says," she said.

Ultimately, he chose the curfew over court.

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.