effective resettlement for care leavers
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Youth Custody :
Effective resettlement for
care leavers leaving custody
Jacob Tas
Nacro Chief Executive
Tuesday 25 October
National Care Leavers Week Conference 2016
Nacro / Beyond Youth Custody (BYC)
Nacro• Social justice charity, celebrating 50 years:
• Housing• Education• Justice• Health • Research and policy
Beyond Youth Custody• Five year programme funded by the Big Lottery• Exists to challenge, advance, and promote better thinking in policy
and practice for the effective resettlement of young people leaving custody
• Partnership with Nacro, the university of Salford, university of Bedfordshire and ARCS (UK)
Looked after children and the criminal justice system
• 94% of looked after children do not get into trouble with the law
• 50% of children in custody have been in care at some point
• ‘Reducing offending by looked after children’ – Nacro good practice guidance, published in 2012
“Growing up in care, you get in trouble much quicker. For example police being called into a children’s homeafter an argument… but this probably wouldn’t happenif you lived at home”
• Sharp decline in number of young people in custody. In August 2016, 881 under 18s in custody
• This reduction is welcome but poses new and significant challenges:
67% reoffend within a year Entrenched pattern of offending, more serious offences Higher concentration of more complex needs Escalating levels of violence and gang related issues Over representation of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic
(BAME) and looked after children Young people held at greater distances away from home
Youth custody – current context
• Resettlement is the process of managing the transition between custody and the community and ensuring the right support is in place to help a young person move on from crime
• Plans for suitable support need to be in place well in advance of release
• To be effective and sustainable, the aim has to go ‘beyond’ the usual thinking of short-term preventing reoffending
• The ultimate aim should be improving outcomes for young people; enabling them to play a constructive role within their communities
5
What is resettlement?
Engaging the young person for positive change
• Relationships lie at the heart• User participation and involving young people• Engagement improves motivation to comply
Coordination of services
• Individually tailored, wrap around package of support delivered by partners across sectors
• Need for joint planning and information sharing, particularly for looked after children
Principles for effective resettlement
Preparation for release needs to start early
• Should begin at point of entering custody• Temporary release to meet providers of services, set-up employment or
education, refamiliarisation• Securing stable and suitable accommodation is key
Sentence planning should focus on resettlement
• Continuous service needed between custody and community, with sentence planning focused on resettlement throughout
• Work done in custody should carry on in the community
Principles for effective resettlement
Transition to the community needs enhanced support
• Reoffending more likely immediately after release• Young people should be met at the gate by someone familiar that
they trust• Immediate implementation of support plans• Release times should allow the opportunity to access a wide range
of services
Principles for effective resettlement
Looked after children and custody
• Looked after children in custody have more complex needs than their peers
• Some report not receiving visits from social workers, making them anxious about future plans, including where they would be living on release
• Young people’s looked after status is not always properly identified meaning they do not always receive statutory support they are entitled to
“Aren't looked after children supposed to be looked after?”
• These factors can cause additional barriers to supporting young people in custody and planning for their release
Discussion question
How can we provide effective support for care leavers leaving custody?
• How might the young person be feeling leading up to release/ what might their needs be?
• How can individuals / agencies ensure these needs are met?
More information
www.nacro.org.uk
www.beyondyouthcustody.net/
