Sheffield Hallam’s first interim evaluation report into the Transition to Adulthood Pathway Programme, in partnership with Social Justice Solutions (SJS), has been published today.

The University and SJS were commissioned by Barrow Cadbury Trust to evaluate the T2A Pathway programme demonstration projects which were set up to test approaches which take account of maturity and transitions for young adults at key points on the T2A Pathway.

The six projects are run by voluntary organisations which provide targeted initiatives to support young people and address the underlying causes of crime.  The organisations are Addaction, Advance, PACT, The Prince’s Trust, Remedi, and Together for Mental Wellbeing.

This evaluation report drew on the lessons learned from the T2A pilot projects (2009-2013) and will provide an evidence base for the T2A approach with examples of best practice and case studies.  It also outlines what could be done differently at each stage of the criminal justice process – from policing and arrest to custody and resettlement – and provides robust evidence and recommendations for commissioners, practitioners and policy-makers.

This is the first interim report for the evaluation.  A further interim report, final formative evaluation report and final summative evaluation report are due to be produced later this year and in 2017.  The report presents research findings focused on the development, set up and early implementation of the T2A Pathway projects, examining the effectiveness of the processes and partnership arrangements used to deliver the approach within each project site.

Panda Media have also been filming the projects to capture the effectiveness of the projects, to demonstrate how T2A principles are embodied in a ‘real life’ environment and to give a voice to some of the young adults and staff involved.  You can see the videos here.

While the six projects operated at different points on the T2A Pathway their delivery models had common features such as: a welfare-driven approach to young adults; a befriending relationship between project staff and clients; and a holistic approach to the complex and numerous needs of clients.

Some projects benefited from their past experience of delivering similar services, and others from existing working relationships with key statutory partners, such as police, probation and YOTS.  Some projects were able to align their service to meet a locally-identified unmet need that had been identified by key statutory agencies.

Whilst a proportion of the projects appeared to be on track to achieve the target numbers of clients that had been originally identified in applications, challenges remained for others in securing referrals to meet their targets; in some instances this was due to a mismatch between available resources and the scope of the delivery model, which may have been too ambitious.

The interim report found that deploying staff with the right attitude and skills to work with the client group combined with effective staff induction and appropriate training made a big difference to the capacity of a project to operate effectively.

Partnership working operated at different levels across the projects. Projects with the involvement of senior managers from statutory agencies and those with project staff visibly working in partner agency environments saw benefits. However, the report found that cultural dissonance between VCS and statutory agency staff was evident in some projects.

Many of the factors which can improve a project and many of the barriers to the successful development, set-up and operation of projects are not new and are common to these types of initiatives.  A body of evidence already exists to provide learning about these issues.

Project beneficiaries, project staff and partner  agencies were able to identify common benefits such as enhancing self-esteem, encouraging a more positive outlook on their lives, and learning life skills. Benefits for the VCS lead organisation included: an appreciation of the benefits of delivering a preventative initiative; better working relationships with statutory agencies; and expanding their network of agencies. Project and partner agency staff also became more aware of the importance of staff understanding the needs of young adults and females specifically and how that understanding could reduce demand on services as well as reducing workloads.

Read the report

Watch the videos

The Howard League for Penal Reform welcomes the opportunity to engage in Lord Harris’ review. The review is a unique opportunity for expert scrutiny of systemic failings in the penal system that have culminated in the tragic deaths of so many young adults in custody.

This inquiry is the only opportunity to examine the wider context surrounding young adults in prison. Inquests and inquiries have hitherto only considered their treatment in prison that immediately led to death but no one has asked the critical question about whether they should have been in prison in the first place. From the inquest and inquiry into the murder of Zahid Mubarek to the death of Greg Revell a couple of weeks ago, the question about the remand and sentencing decisions and practices of the courts need to be questioned as a contributory factor that led directly murder and suicide. Far too many young men are remanded and sentenced to prison unnecessarily and unless an independent inquiry looks at the route into custody as well as the treatment whilst inside, the problem will not be solved and lives will continue to be lost.

The Howard League for Penal Reform believes that there are too many young adults in prison who should not be there at all. The crime rate continues to fall. While the child custody population has fallen by two-thirds since 2008, there has only been a minimal fall in the number of young adults in prison. It is critical that we build on the successes for children across the system by ensuring that a different approach is taken for young adults from the first point of contact with the police to sentencing.

Summary of submission

Many young adults face avoidable problems in prison that may increase the likelihood of suicide. Despite claims from the Ministry of Justice as to the need for prisoners to make use of their time, most young adults are cooped up for excessive periods of time each day with nothing to do. The inadequate provision of meaningful or, indeed, any activity at all for this group is exacerbated by the hopelessness caused by the new incentives and privileges regime. The scheme, introduced in November 2013, makes it impossible for most prisoners to be rewarded for good behaviour or motivation. Others are paralysed by violence, racism, homophobia and insufficient interventions to meet their needs or allow them to progress in prison.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has identified a number of warning signs that we believe should trigger anxious scrutiny of a young person’s well being. When young people with mental health problems, learning difficulties, histories of abuse and victimization are sent to prison the authorities should not use segregation but should make sure that young people benefit from monitoring and support for their own safety. The caseload of our legal team shows that too many vulnerable teenagers are subjected to adjudications and physical interventions in prison. When the state takes a young person into its care, it must adhere to the highest standards to protect and safeguard them and to enable them to flourish.

Finally, we believe that even where young people’s needs and concerns are known, the current system is inadequate. Disciplinary processes are used inappropriately to deal with issues of profound concern. Measures to monitor risk of self-harm are not sensitive or tailored to the needs of individuals and are not meaningful. Safeguarding procedures for young adults are virtually non-existent.

You can read the full submission here

The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) is an independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and
effective prison system. We do this by inquiring into the workings of the system; informing
prisoners, staff and the wider public; and by influencing Parliament, government and officials
towards reform.

The Prison Reform Trust’s main objectives are:

• Reducing unnecessary imprisonment and promoting community solutions to crime
• Improving treatment and conditions for prisoners and their families

PRT welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to this review and have chosen to respond only to those questions on which we have some expertise but also submit our response to the Ministry of Justice consultation Transforming management of young adults of custody as supplementary evidence to the Review team. As a member of the Transition to Adulthood Alliance (T2A) convened by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Prison Reform Trust is pleased to support T2As submission to this Review.

Overarching comments

Whilst PRT appreciate that the remit of this Review has been set externally, PRT wish to
reiterate that the exclusion of children from its parameters presents a missed opportunity,
not least because many of the young people aged 18-24 who have died in prison will spend
time in custody as children. PRT urge the Review team to ensure that the impact of transition
from youth to adult custodial estate is considered as part of it work.

PRT strongly recommend that the ambit of the Review is sufficiently wide to consider the
journey into custody taken by children and young people who have died. A focus on prison
alone will result in only a partial understanding of what happened to them and what needs to
change. As Fatally flawed’s analysis of the deaths of 98 children and young people who died
between 2003 and 2010 showed, they were some of the most disadvantaged in society and
had had significant interaction with public services and community agencies before their entry
to prison.

It is in everyone’s interests to learn the lessons from the deaths of children and young people in prison and prevent such tragedies wherever possible in the future

You can read the full PRT response here

OPPORTUNITY: Help develop guidance on young adults

Clinks is developing guidance for probation practitioners on working with young adults, on behalf of the Transitions to Adulthood Alliance. We are looking for projects to visit that exemplify good practice and creative, effective approaches to working with young adults on probation licence.

Visits will take place between September and November 2014 and will involve meeting frontline workers and service users, to find out what makes the service effective.

We are inviting statutory, voluntary or private sector services to submit an expression of interest form by Friday 15^th August 2014, and we will then select a small number of projects to visit.

For more information download the form here.