Mid Worcestershire MP Peter Luff has paid a visit to the Transition to Adulthood’s West Mercia pilot project, delivered by youth charity YSS.
 
Peter Luff was hosted by Lorraine Preece Director of Operations and Business Development YSS, alongside Manjinder Purewal, West Mercia Probation Trust Worcestershire Assistant Chief Officer and Phil Kendrick, YOS Performance Quality and Commissioning Manager, West Mercia YOS.
 
David Andrewartha, acting Team Manager YSS, and T2A Keyworker Alison Steedman together with three young service users gave the opportunity for the MP to hear first-hand some of the experiences of the young adults taking part in the programme.
 
They shared their views on a number of issues including employment, the lack of affordable rented accommodation, services for those with mental health issues and the need to provide better education on drugs in schools about the impact drugs.
 
Following his visit, Peter Luff commented: “I saw that it is perfectly possible to turn around young lives and give people who have fallen into bad company or made serious errors of judgement a completely fresh start. The testimony I heard from young offenders about the effectiveness and importance of this scheme was really impressive and I congratulate everyone involved.”
 
At a time when the future of probation is being much debated, it is particularly important for Members of Parliament to learn at first-hand about the results that can be achieved through holistic services, in which the third sector and statutory services work in partnership.

The Transition to Adulthood Alliance has welcomed the publication by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, of a new definitive Code of Conduct for the Crown Prosecution Service, which for the first time includes the concept of maturity in guidance on assessing culpability.

Sitting alongside the recent inclusion of maturity in the Sentencing Council’s guidelines, this represents a major step forward in establishing the concept of maturity throughout the criminal justice process.

The Criminal Justice Alliance, on behalf of the T2A Alliance, is shortly to publish a report including interviews with Crown Prosecutors, exploring their views on developmental maturity. The report will be published in full on the T2A Alliance website.

Robin Walker MP, Worcester’s Conservative Member of Parliament, has made a visit to the West Mercia Transition to Adulthood pilot project.
 
The project, delivered by the charity YSS, partners young adults who have come into contact with the criminal justice process with voluntary caseworkers who can help them to avoid reoffending and support them through the various challenges they face in their life.
 

 
Meeting young people who are currently participating in the project, Robin Walker MP heard how service users benefit from support in developing their confidence, finding work and gaining access to affordable housing. After the meeting, he commented:

“It is very clear that this is a scheme that works and makes a real difference to young people who want to get on the straight and narrow and avoid re-offending. I am delighted to see such clear proof that the voluntary sector can deliver in this area and I think it is vital that the new reforms are structured in a way that builds on this excellent work. It is absolutely right that the Government should be introducing reforms to improve the support available to all offenders and particularly those whose crimes are relatively small, but who might need just a little extra help. It is welcome that the public probation service will continue to deal with the most serious and high risk cases.”

Following last week’s Government announcements on probation reform, the Worcester MP raised the successful model of partnership working between statutory services and local voluntary organisations with the Secretary of State for Justice. You can read that in exchange in full at the Hansard website.
 
Visit the YSS website to read about the visit in more detail.

A report published today by the Inspectorate of Probation, Ofsted and Estyn has found that few young people under the supervision of both the care services and Youth Offending Teams were well prepared or supported for transition to adulthood and that successful transition to adulthood is compromised by the disruption caused by frequent moves.

The inspectors sought to find out how effectively youth offending teams  worked with this small yet highly vulnerable group and how well they planned  and co-ordinated their work with colleagues in other agencies.

The report finds that, despite the hard work and effort of many YOT staff, the overall outcomes and future life chances for these children and young people are extremely poor. The fact that they were away from their home areas and were moved frequently militated against their chances of rehabilitation. The fact of being looked after could escalate a child into the criminal justice system.

Chief Inspector of Probation, Liz Calderbank, said on behalf of all inspectorates:

“This very specific group of children and young people are among the most damaged in the care system. By the time they are placed out of area it is likely that most will have had a number of placements fail. They are vulnerable and, in some cases, potentially dangerous. They need both protection and work to help them stop offending. At the same time, others may need to be protected from them. Work to engage, help and support them is difficult and is made significantly more so when they are moved around. While there is much commitment and hard work accorded them by YOT staff and others, agencies do not always work effectively together in the best interests of the child or young person. Despite the allocation of significant resources, they have poor initial and longer term outcomes.”

The report, entitled ‘Looked After Children: An inspection of the work of Youth Offending Teams with children and young people who are Looked After and placed away from home’ can be read here: http://www.hmcpsi.gov.uk/cjji/inspections/inspection_no/594/

On Tuesday 13th November members of the House of Lords debated an amendment to the Crime and Courts Bill on dealing non-custodially with offenders. The amendment was tabled by former Chief Inspector of Prisons Lord Ramsbotham, who in advocating intensive alternatives to custody for young adults, cited the “remarkable work” of the Transition to Adulthood Alliance and commended the approaches set out in both Pathways from Crime and the Alliance’s most recent publication, Going for Gold.
 
The campaigning efforts of the Prison Reform Trust were praised by Baroness Howe, while Baroness Linklater, who spoke on an amendment about women in the criminal justice system, also welcomed T2A’s work.
 
Responding for the Government, Justice Minister Lord McNally noted that there were lessons to be learnt from successes in reducing offending among under-18s, saying:

“[Y]oung adult offenders are a very important group, and if we are going to succeed in a rehabilitation revolution it is in that group that we have to find our success. We must explore ideas to get effective programmes for them.”

 
Noting the recent introduction of the Youth Justice Board’s transitions framework for young adults being transferred to adult probation services, and forthcoming youth to adult portal, he went on to say:
 

“I can confirm that this Government share the concerns raised by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, and are committed to ensuring we deliver services that take account of young adult offenders’ particular needs. We recognise that transition between youth and adult services is a potential point of vulnerability for young people and we are already working hard to ensure more consistent processes for supporting young people who are transferring between systems.”

 
The full debate can be read on the Hansard website.

Lord David Ramsbotham, former Chief Inspector of Prisons, has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Courts Bill to further raise awareness of young adult issues. The amendment will be discussed in the House of Lords on Tuesday 13th November.

T2A has supported this amendment, which it hopes will achieve good discussion, drawing on the T2A ‘Pathways from Crime’ report.

The amendment is as follows:

A new report, Going for Gold – developing effective services for young adults throughout the criminal justice process, offers a step by step guide to developing young adult services based on the experience of organisations that have already done it.
 

 
In partnership with the three main T2A pilots and Social Justice Solutions, Clinks has developed a guide that shows why it is important to develop a unique approach for young adults as well as how local approaches could be implemented. Going for Gold provides senior strategic leads and commissioners with a benchmark from which they can develop effective, evidence-based approaches that have been proven to support young adults to desist from crime. Being mindful of diminishing local resources Clinks designed a “bronze, silver and gold approach” that offers practical ways services can be developed with very little resource, or when possible, with enough resources to commission a bespoke service.
 
Alongside the publication of Going for Gold, Clinks is offering the opportunity for five days’ free consultancy support to develop four new local strategies, initiatives, or services for young adults. Furthermore Clinks is offering up to £2,500 by way of an innovation fund to help provide capacity or buy in further expertise to support local developments. This has been made possible with the support of the T2A alliance and funding from the Barrow Cadbury Trust.
 
This project will focus on four geographical locations; Wales, the North West, Greater London and the South West. For the fund criteria and eligibility please download the application form below. You can find out more here.
 
Application form: download here.
 
Deadline for applications: 24:00 hrs on 14th December 2012

A report has been launched telling the story of the Addaction Drug and Alcohol Transitions Project for Young Adults, a highly successful pilot programme working with 17-24 year olds in Derby to end, or substantially reduce, their substance misuse.

Focussing on community outreach work and treatment work for individuals (two tiers of the National Treatment Agency’s model of service provision) the programme offered treatment in line with NICE clinical guidelines and targeted at young people not generally accessing adult treatment services, including those who were reluctant to regard themselves as needing treatment.

Staff adopted a down-to-earth, flexible and person-centred holistic approach, which included looking at self-esteem, relationship and general health issues. A specialist post within the local Youth Offending Team helped the project reach young people in the criminal justice system.

The project was also notable for having proved highly cost effective, with the costs of individual treatment estimated at around £940 per person, compared to the £3,000 per head identified by the National Audit Office as the ‘cost of funding for every adult in effective treatment’.

Recognising the fact that the transition to adulthood is evolving and that young people now take longer to achieve independence, the project drew on neurological evidence showing that the developing brain does not reach full maturity until the mid-20s. In pursuing an innovative model designed specifically with young people in the transition to adulthood in mind, the project contributes to a substantial and emerging body of evidence on the efficacy of such tailored approaches.

The project was joint funded by the Derby Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) and the Barrow Cadbury Trust. When the funding ended its approach influenced the creation of a new drugs and alcohol service for young people in Derby City run by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, particularly the decision to set its upper age limit at 21 rather than at 18.

You can read the report in full here.

In plans published today, new legislation for restorative justice with adult offenders and their victims will be introduced through an amendment to the Crime and Courts Bill.

The new clauses will allow the Courts to defer at the pre-sentence stage in order for the victim and offender to be offered restorative justice at the earliest opportunity. It is considered to be the biggest development for restorative justice in England and Wales since legislation introducing referral order panels to the youth justice system in 1999.

This change follows a two year campaign led by The Restorative Justice Council, and T2A Alliance members including the Prison Reform Trust and the Criminal Justice Alliance, who have campaigned for this legislation.

This new law will be consistent with the T2A Alliance’s 2012 report ‘Pathways from Crime’, published earlier this year, which stated that ‘Restorative Justice can be used post-charge but pre-sentence’ and recommended that: “Restorative justice should be considered for all young adult offenders at all stages of the criminal justice process, including pre-arrest, pre-sentence, and as part of a sentence”.

Announcing the new legislative provisions Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “For far too long, the Criminal Justice System has been centred on the offender – victims often feel they don’t have a voice. Restorative justice gives victims the chance to confront criminals face to face with the very real consequences of their crimes. This isn’t a soft option. This is about more rights for victims. And it has been proven to reduce reoffending too.”

The Restorative Justice Council are currently undertaking a specific project for T2A on ensuring that young adults have access to restorative justice interventions, for which a report will be published in early 2013.

RJC will work closely with the Ministry of Justice, the Magistrates Association and the Sentencing Council, to ensure the legislation is implemented and the judiciary receive the guidance they need. The RJC have stated that it ‘will continue working to ensure that, once offered restorative justice at the earliest opportunity through this legislation, victims are able to opt-in at a time that is right for them’.

 
At the end of September a celebratory event was held at the Midlands Arts Centre to mark the end of the Birmingham Transition to Adulthood Alliance (T2A) pilot project, which was managed by Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust.
 
Marking the great achievements of both the staff and young people they work, speakers at the event included Mike Maiden, Chief Executive of Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation, Dawn Roberts, Head of Birmingham Youth Offending Services and Debbie Pippard, Vice Chair of the T2A Alliance and Head of Programmes at the Barrow Cadbury Trust, who noted that: “We now have a good evidence base to show politicians that this approach does work”.
 
Project staff and programme participants also spoke movingly about their experiences. On team member, Emma Bignell, described her time on the T2A Pilot team as: “one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had”. You can read a longer account of the event on the website of Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust.