Blog
Our blog welcomes postings from people who are involved and interested in youth custody issues. Views expressed here are not necessarily those of Beyond Youth Custody.
How Noel sees it
Noel Williams reflects on his role as BYC Ambassador and shares his top tips for young people and decision makers in youth justice
Tagged with the theme: Participatory approaches
Constructive approaches – putting children first in the Youth Justice System
Sean Creaney and Stephen Case write about constructive approaches to youth justice.
Tagged with the theme: Engaging young people
Five steps to good resettlement
For a recent piece in Children and Young People Now, Pippa talks about five key ways the voluntary sector is helping the resettlement of young people.
Tagged with the theme: Engaging young people
Childhood trauma and offending
For a recent piece in Children and Young People Now, Pippa talks about how improving awareness of childhood trauma can help youth justice practitioners rehabilitate young offenders
Tagged with the theme: Trauma
A trauma-informed approach to working with young people
Future 4 Me offers specialist support to young people leaving custody and leaving care, many of who have experienced trauma. Fran highlights the importance of staff training, multi-agency working and adopting a flexible approach in order to build positive relationships and engage with young people
Tagged with the theme: Trauma
Working together to tackle reoffending
Pippa talks about how cross boundary and departmental working, effective co-ordination of services and involvement of the family can facilitate the personalised care that is needed to reverse the current debilitating trends of high reoffending rates of young people leaving custody
Tagged with the theme: Family
“Families provide hope… that thread of continuity that everything’s going to be OK, that they’ll get through it”
Pact is a national charity which provides practical and emotional support to prisoners, their children and their families. Jo Mulcahy spoke to us about the importance of family ties and the benefits of the resettlement conferencing that Pact introduced for young people in custody in 2012. This is an edited version of that interview
Tagged with the theme: Family
“The only thing that supported me through my whole experience is the support from the people around me”
Simon talks about his experience of how family support, facilitated by the secure unit, helped him turn his life around
Tagged with the theme: Family
A tailored model of rehabilitation for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, Muslim offenders
Dr Christine Hough, lecturer and researcher at the University of Central Lancashire shares initial findings from her evaluation of a model for the rehabilitation of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Muslim offenders
Tagged with the theme: Diversity
Rehabilitation or ‘abilitation’?
Ian uses his experience to ask questions about how young people – many who have never been in a position to sustain an independent and productive place in society – can resettle or rehabilitate back into the community. He suggests a way forward where agencies work alongside those in conflict with the law and help them engage with things that make them feel a part of society
How to tailor the resettlement process to meet the needs of gang-involved young people
Joel Dawes talks about some of the complexities involved in the resettlement of gang-involved young people and the rewards of seeing an entrenched gang member decide to ‘go straight’
Tagged with the theme: Gangs
Excited and scared at the same time
As part of our research into how young people cope with the transition from being released from custody to community, we heard from Young Advisors from the U R Boss Project.
Tagged with the theme: Transition to community
It can feel like you are being set up to fail
As part of our research into how young people cope with the transition from being released from custody to community, we heard from Young Advisors from the U R Boss Project.
Tagged with the theme: Transition to community
From being inside to life on the outside
“I will have a different mentality when I’m released.” Our research team gathers views from young women in prison on the challenges they face
Tagged with the theme: Young women and girls
What helps young women when leaving custody?
How one project is supporting young women to make positive improvements in their lives
Tagged with the theme: Young women and girls
A week in the life of a Youth in Focus Project Manager
Andrea takes us through a typical week at the project
Tagged with the theme: Young women and girls
Young and gifted: how the ADAPT model mentors young people and reduces reoffending
Julia Pennington, Operations Manager, Offender Services, Salford Foundation, describes the approach that ADAPT has to building relationships with young people and the qualities of effective staff.
Tagged with the theme: Engaging young people
Which key factors will help children leaving custody? A magistrate’s view
Any magistrate who sits in the youth court will tell you that they only use custody as a last resort. This really is true. Some say it is a myth. It isn’t. We do not want to put a child or young person in custody. We do everything in our power to avoid it if at all possible. Incidentally, a major requirement for the avoidance of custody is for magistrates to have confidence in non-custodial sentencing alternatives.
Four reforms that would dramatically improve youth resettlement
The SCYJ, a coalition of 30 voluntary sector organisations championing youth justice reform, recently submitted its response to the Transforming Youth Custody Green Paper. Below SCYJ staff member Jake Mcleod discusses its submission, with a particular focus on its proposal to improve youth custody resettlement.