Youth Interventions: An Inspection of the Youth Justice Agency's Community Interventions

Publication: 05/09/24

Youth Interventions: An Inspection of the Youth Justice Agency's Community Interventions

The inspection report looked in detail at the work and approach of the Youth Justice Agency’s (YJA) Youth Justice Services Directorate in delivering interventions to children aged 10 to 17 years across Northern Ireland.

Many children referred to the Youth Justice Services Directorate have complex needs. They may have experienced trauma, lived in care, faced domestic abuse, be neurodiverse, or had disrupted education.  Effective intervention can change a child’s life, potentially preventing a criminal record and helping them achieve their potential.

This inspection praised the YJA for its effective work in engaging children involved in offending behaviour.
 

Inspectors found many highly skilled and experienced staff working within the Youth Justice Services Area Teams who demonstrated both motivation and understanding of what was required to help children, families, carers and victims.  This was reinforced by the feedback received from parents, carers, children and victims, who shared an overwhelmingly positive experience with staff.

The YJA staff approach in delivering both statutory and non-statutory interventions was child-centred and their method of working was solution focused, trauma informed and responsive to the offending related needs of the children they engaged with.

However, retention of the highly skilled and child-centred workforce was a challenge.   Differences in salary scales available to staff working in the YJA compared with similarly qualified staff, particularly social workers employed in the Health and Social Care Trusts, had contributed to this.   Strong leadership from the YJA in partnership with the Department of Justice is required to address this.
 

As part of their fieldwork Inspectors reviewed a sample of case files to examine the quality of youth interventions being provided, and the steps being taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the child and address risk of harm to others.

Improvements could be made by staff to evidence and document their work to support children’s needs to move away from offending behaviour, ensure their safety and manage risk of harm.

Inspectors have recommended that the YJA should develop effective and regular strategic scrutiny of the Youth Justice Services Directorate case work quality and workforce trends to support this improvement.
 

Inspectors saw the excellent relationships between YJA Area Teams and statutory partners, but the strategic engagement between the YJA and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) was a gap.  An improved understanding and planning for partnership work between the two organisations was needed.

The Strategic Framework for Youth Justice provided important direction, but the evidence-base for some proposals had not been demonstrated.  The YJA needs to be an integral part of a shared vision for youth justice in Northern Ireland.  The YJA, PSNI, and Department of Justice should agree and implement a plan ensuring meaningful collaboration and synergy across all relevant strategies, particularly those developed by the PSNI.
 

Effective youth interventions are crucial to addressing offending behaviour early and ensuring that a young person’s contact with the youth justice system ends there.

This report makes five strategic and five operational recommendations for improvement which, if delivered, will help the YJA work with partners to further enhance the important support and services it currently provides.