17.3 Intervention and Programs

YOUTH JUSTICE STANDARDS

Case and intervention plan to be reviewed with supervision every three months.

One month after conviction allocated worker should have completed an Asset, Court report, intervention plan and a home visit with the client.

Young persons sentenced to custody will have a multi-agency meeting held and a welfare plan will be completed involving all relevant services within one month of sentencing. A discharge plan will be completed prior to release and voluntary support offered for three months after release.

All contact with young person must be fully recorded along with all intervention plans on RIO in accordance with policy and guidelines.

RELATED CHAPTERS

Orders and Sentences Procedure

Assessment and Planning Procedure

Working with Young People Under Orders Procedure

Standards for Youth Justice Team

RELEVANT GUIDANCE

Overview of Orders

Vulnerability and Welfare Considerations
Planning for Interventions and Programs - Community
Planning for Interventions and Programmes - Custody
Release from Custody
Case Recording
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)

1. Vulnerability and Welfare Considerations

1.1

The Youth Justice Team has ongoing responsibilities for addressing children and young people who may be at risk of harm to themselves or from others and welfare issues as part of wider children's services, and should therefore ensure such issues are assessed. If the young person is assessed as being particularly at risk of harm to themselves or from others then the appropriate action to be taken should also be identified. For more information see Self Harming Procedure. If you think a young person may be at risk of Significant Harm follow the procedures outlined in the Isle of Man Safeguarding Board Procedures, Referrals Procedure.

2. Planning for Interventions and Programs - Community

Caption: section 2

2.1	Planning and delivering interventions in the community should be the focus of YJT work in relation to preventing offending by children and young people. YJTs and partner agencies should ensure that structures, processes and services are able to respond effectively to the risks and needs of young people. The role of allocated worker is essential in ensuring there is an overview of the work being undertaken with a child/young person that Asset assessments are updated and that services are co-ordinated effectively to address risks and needs.
2.2	Children and young people within the youth justice system can be subject to a range of orders and requirements, depending on the nature of their offending, their level of risk and other factors such as their age. The order or requirement that a young person is subject to, along with their level of risk, will determine which agencies will be involved, as well as the range and type of interventions appropriate for them.
2.3	A crucial element in planning and delivering interventions in the community is a structured, effective and defensible approach to managing the risks presented by children and young people. For more information see Assessment and Planning Procedure, Assessing Risk.
2.4	The YJT allocated worker should ensure that young people subject to community based orders are provided with details of the programme as part of the Intervention Plan. Where part of the Programme is not provided directly by allocated workers then they should ensure regular liaison with the provider to monitor progress and compliance.
2.5	Intervention plans should consider the following: Education, training (especially basic literacy and numeracy) and employment; Interventions to tackle offending behaviour; Reparation to victims or the community in conjunction with National Standard 7; Assistance in developing interpersonal skills; Family support.
2.6	In addition, programmes should include access to support for individual problems, for example homelessness, drug misuse or mental health problems.

3. Planning for Interventions and Programmes – Custody

Caption: section 3 table

3.1	For young people subject to a custodial sentence, intervention planning will be undertaken in a multi-agency meeting. The meeting should involve the relevant range of multi-agency professionals within the YJT, (e.g. for specialist assessments or interventions) and external agencies as required.
3.2	The allocated worker must pull together all elements of the plan across the custody and community components of the sentence to ensure that while the young person is in custody: Interventions delivered are suitable and effective and help prepare the young person for their return to the community; Community- based interventions, such as family or restorative justice work, are undertaken or in place for release and, where possible and appropriate, throughout the custodial episode; Arrangements for the resettlement of the young person are coordinated and completed prior to the final release review meeting.
3.3	The allocated worker must work with the young person and their family to help them make the links between the different interventions and strands of delivery, and ensure that the young person experiences the sentence as a single coherent whole.
3.4	Focus on planning and preparing the young person for release back into the community, while addressing areas of greatest risk and need. Resettlement planning must commence at the initial planning meeting. The allocated worker should ensure the following areas are specifically covered by discussions and reflected in the sentence plan: Education, Training and Employment To ensure that plans are in place for the young person to access suitable and sustainable education, training and employment opportunities on release into the community. Offending Behaviour Programmes To ensure that any intervention work required to address risk of re-offending and risk of serious harm is undertaken in custody prior to release, and that arrangements are in place to ensure continuity of this work on release into the community. Accommodation To ensure that the young person will have immediate access to suitable and sustainable accommodation when leaving custody. For looked after children and care leavers under the age of 18, this will be the responsibility of children’s services. Health and Mental Health Provision To ensure that the young person has their problems assessed and treated at the earliest opportunity and in the most appropriate manner, as well as ensuring ongoing provision of appropriate health services on transition into the community. This is particularly important in terms of mental health, substance misuse, learning disability and speech, language and communication needs and support. Engaging with Parents and Carers To ensure that the family of the young person receive timely and high quality support and information throughout the sentence, and is prepared and supported for the young person's return to the community, especially where they are returning to the family home. Financial Considerations To identify any benefits that the young person should be receiving and/or to identify how the young person will manage any debts that they may have in the community. Managing any risk issues in relation to victims to manage any risk of serious harm others and MAPPP issues. Other relevant issues including whether the young person should be assessed by children's services as a Child in Need under Section 23(4) of the Children and Young Persons Act 2001. (See Children's Services Threshold Criteria for Children with Complex Needs (Children in Need).)
3.5	The sentence plan must describe the contribution each agency involved with the young person will make in meeting the objectives and the timescales in which services will be delivered. These should be recorded as actions. As far as possible, named individuals will be responsible and accountable for the delivery of objectives within the plan.
3.6	Once the full range of objectives, targets and associated actions have been identified and agreed, the YJT manager must facilitate the discussion to prioritise and sequence the objectives and endorse the plan.
3.7	The allocated worker must ensure that the young person is encouraged and supported to play an active role in the process of sentence planning, and subsequent reviews so that they are committed to its objectives of preventing them from re-offending. They must be asked to sign a copy of the plan. The allocated worker must also ensure that in the meeting the young person is informed of the process by which they can view the plan following the meeting.
3.8	At this time, the Allocated worker should ensure that the young person is reminded of the advocacy services available to them in custody and the routes for complaint if they are unhappy or concerned about any aspects of their care, including their sentence planning.

Caption: youth justice standard

YOUTH JUSTICE STANDARD Young persons sentenced to custody will have a multi-agency meeting held and a welfare plan will be completed involving all relevant services within one month of sentencing. A discharge plan will be completed prior to release and voluntary support offered for three months after release.

4. Release from Custody

4.1

The young person released from custody must see their allocated worker on the day of their release (not a duty YJT member of staff) to ensure the effective transition from custody to the community. The allocated worker should ensure that:

The young person is fully aware of all the arrangements and is supported in following them through;
The young person has an opportunity to discuss any concerns they have regarding their transition into the community;
The young person is made aware of the support mechanisms available to them;
The young person is fully aware of the requirements of the community element of the order and the consequences of non-compliance;
The young person has been given details of their next appointment with their allocated worker.

5. Case Recording

5.1

Supervision sessions with the young person should be recorded in case planning notes with a record of each session detailing:

Objective of the session;
Ground covered during the session;
Attitude and response during the session;
Overall progress;
Any emerging safeguarding and public protection risks and issues;
Brief outline of the objectives of next supervision and any agreed preparation.

5.2

For more information about case recording, see Case Recording Procedure.

6. Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)

Caption: section 6 table

6.1	Young people who offend are eligible for MAPPA if they: Are convicted of sex offence/s; Are convicted of violent offence/s and have served 12 months in custody; Present a risk of serious harm to others and for whom a multi-agency approach is required to manage the risks.
6.2	If a young person meets the eligibility criteria (as listed above), the case must be referred to MAPPA. If a young person meets these criteria, MAPPA must be notified of the case, using the standard documentation forms.
6.3	If the YJT worker thinks that risk management is required, the additional MAPPA referral form should be completed to show why more active multi-agency involvement is required. A full assessment (including Asset - Core Profile, Asset - Risk of Serious Harm and specialist assessments) should accompany the referral.
6.4	The level of risk management required will be determined by MAPPA, taking account of information provided by the YJT worker.
	6.4.1	Ordinary Case Management Used in cases where the risks posed can be managed by the agency responsible for supervision/case management. This does not mean that other agencies will not be involved; only that it is not considered necessary to refer the case to a MAPPA meeting. Where young people meet the MAPPA eligibility criteria, this is normally appropriate for those assessed as low or medium risk on Asset - Risk of Serious Harm, and in some cases may also be appropriate for those assessed as high risk.
	6.4.2	Multi-Agency Public Protection Meeting Cases should be managed at this level where the young person is assessed as high risk on Asset - Risk of Serious Harm and the case requires active involvement and co-ordination of interventions from other agencies to manage the present risks of harm. This level may also be appropriate in cases which were previously at a higher level but the level of risk has now reduced and/or the complexity of the multi-agency management of risks has been brokered. The highest level will only be required for a very small number of children or young people who present a significant risk of serious harm to others and require significant MAPPA level co-ordination. The criteria for referring a case to this level MAPP meeting are where the young person: Is assessed using Asset - Risk of Serious Harm as high or very high risk of causing serious harm to others and where the risks have to be managed by a plan, requiring close co-operation at a senior level due to the complexity of the case or the unusual resource requirements required; or Although not assessed on Asset - Risk of Serious Harm as high or very high, the case is exceptional due to the level of media or public scrutiny and there is a need to ensure that public confidence in the youth justice system is maintained.

End