Suchergebnisse

This book explores the factors at the individual, institutional and systemic levels which contribute to children's home residents coming to the attention of the youth justice system, and the consequent implications for policy and practice. Perspectives are drawn from both young people and professionals in the care and youth justice systems.

By drawing upon the experiences and perspectives of children and young people who have offended whilst in residential care, as well as a number of professionals from the care and youth justice systems, this book aims to illuminate the pressing issue of why residents of children's homes come to the attention of the youth justice system, and the consequent implications for policy and practice. Putting aside the discourses of individual culpability and responsibility, this text focuses on the necessity of an holistic approach which recognises the contribution of values and identities formed prior to entering residential care, the importance of staff-resident and peer relationships, the institutional culture and environment, and the impact of overarching policy. Only through this approach can we make realistic progress in addressing youth justice involvement in a way which benefits the greatest number of children and young people.

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on and discusses the results of part of the author's PhD study. It focuses on professionals' perceptions of the factors that contribute to young people in residential children's homes coming to the attention of the criminal justice system, with consideration given to how such perceptions might impact on responses to the young people. As part of a case study of a particular local authority area, the author undertook semi‐structured interviews and a focus group with 31 professionals from the care and criminal justice systems. The implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.

1. Supporting children and young people at home -- 2. Who is in care and where do they live? -- 3. Living in foster care -- 4. Living in a children's home -- 5. Being adopted -- 6. Leaving care and the transition to adulthood -- 7. Being in care : a global experience -- 8. Promoting positive outcomes for children and young people in care -- 9. What future for looked after children and young people?

Abstract
The following article reports upon recent research, which explored the perceptions of professionals of the issues that affect the sexual and criminal exploitation of children in care, along with a discussion of the effectiveness of current responses to these issues and the challenges that professionals face. The study utilised focus groups and semi-structured interviews to gain the perspectives of thirty-six participants from across a range of agencies involved in children's social work and youth justice from an area in the north-west of England. The findings echoed previous research by suggesting that for a number of reasons connected to their 'looked-after' status and deficiencies within the care system, children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Although attempts are being made to develop co-ordinated responses to safeguarding, there is still a long way to go in terms of focusing on vulnerability instead of a prosecution-led approach when offending occurs as a result of exploitation. It is argued how in order to ensure that good, innovative practice becomes 'standard' practice; further legislation is required in tandem with a greater degree of education surrounding exploitation and the dynamics inherent in these offences.

Available open access digitally under CC BY-NC-ND licence. 'Desistance' - understanding how people move away from offending – has become a significant policy focus in recent years, with desistance thinking transplanted from the adult to the youth justice system in England and Wales. This book is the first to critique this approach to justice-involved children, many of whom are yet to fully develop an identity (criminal or otherwise) from which to 'desist'. Featuring voices from academia, policy and practice, this book explores practical approaches to desistance with children in the 'Child First' context. It gives new insights into how children can be supported to move away from offending and proposes reforms to make a meaningful difference to children's lives