Latest lessons in the resettlement of young people
22 March 2016
With so much currently going on in youth justice, it can be difficult to stay up-to-date with recent developments and the latest information. The Beyond Youth Custody team has brought together the most recent information on trends, policy developments and research findings in resettlement of young people, in a simple 15 page briefing published today.
This briefing:
- Considers trends in the general prison population and looks at how trends in the child custodial population continue to change over time, examining possible reasons for this. It then takes a closer look at the changing demographics of the child custodial population, including growing ethnic disproportionality and variances in the speed of decline in imprisonment for different age groups of young people.
- Summarises findings of several recently released publications including HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the Youth Justice Board’s joint report on young people’s perceptions of experiences in custody, T2A’s report into meeting the needs of young women in prison, a study into identifying and supporting traumatised young people in custody and an article on the parenting and custodial experiences of young offender fathers.
- Includes a particular focus on interim findings from the current Taylor Review of youth justice, drawing out some of the implications for resettlement of children. It also summarises recent commentary in youth justice and provides an analysis of the government’s current prison reform programme, including the ‘prison building revolution’ and changes to women’s custodial estate.
The update will be interesting to anyone who is working, researching or making decisions in the area of youth justice, with an interest in resettlement. It comments on recurring themes from previous updates including implications of the reducing custodial population for children and young adults, the importance of considering diversity for resettlement, and vulnerability and trauma in custody. It also advises that further shifts in justice policy may be needed to continue the reduction in the child custody population.
There is a particular focus on the findings of Charlie Taylor’s interim report on youth justice, and the likely implications for custody and resettlement. If you are interested in the current review of youth justice, go to pages 10-12 to find out what Charlie Taylor’s interim report has to say and the implications for resettlement.