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At Resettlement UK we know that there are many young people in Prison Service custody, who, on their day of release, return to wholly unsatisfactory conditions that do little to help them get back on track. Desperately in need of specialist support services, they have little hope of walking away from their pre-custody lifestyles, and achieving their aspirations is only a pipe dream. Confronted with both the true scale and nature of the challenges that face a young custody leaver, and the recidivism rate that still stands at around 78%, one might ask whether all that should be done, is being done to support their post-custodial transition to adulthood.

Following Mr Justice Munby's ground breaking Children Act judgment in 2002, the first ever Child Protection & Safeguards Review of the Young Peoples Estate took place. The final report spoke of the challenge of applying the Children Act both to young people in custody, and those returning to the community. The Review Team agreed that the service delivery model for young people leaving care being developed under the Department of Health's Quality Protects programme, was probably the most appropriate example of the high level of support services required by most custody leavers. It was felt that without those services, the young people would struggle to access suitable opportunities through which to achieve improved long-term outcomes.

Acknowledging the limitations of finite resources, and the fact that these 'children' are not the typical children that local authorities would expect to undertake section 17 needs assessments for (primarily because of their age), the review recommended that young people in custody should be viewed as having reached:

"...a certain threshold of need - equivalent to children in need under s.17 [Children Act 1989] or equivalent to Care Leavers - where SSDs at least have duties to assess and advise, and where appropriate, take responsibility to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to provide adequate and planned services and support for these vulnerable young people particularly on release to the community".  

That recommendation was drafted nearly 8-years ago! On the 14th November 2007, Ed Balls in his role as Secretary of State was invited to speak at the YJB's Annual Convention. A new joint unit had just been created bring youth justice policy together under one roof: DCSF & MoJ. Proper integration of schools, children's services and youth offending teams was top priority, and 'Resettlement' was on the agenda at last. Picking up on the 2003 Safeguards Review recommendation, Secretary of State Balls is quoted as saying, "One question we should ask is whether young people who leave custody have the same kind of support as children leaving care".

Here we have a clear indication of a deeper understanding as to the true scale and nature of the resettlement needs of young people. It is time to take the next steps. 

Jeremy