yot management board guidance - gov uk · yot management board guidance - wales page 4 of 28 1....

YOT management board guidance

Guidance on effective youth offending team governance in Wales

YOT Management Board Guidance - Wales

Page 1 of 28

Contents

Foreword 3

1. Introduction 4

2. Background 5

3. Roles and functions of a YOT management board 8

4. Youth offending teams 10

5. Partnership funding of YOTs 12

6. Membership 13

7. The young person’s voice 16

8. Chairing the management board 18

9. The YOT manager 20

10. Expectations of board members 22

Annex 1: Induction and training 25

Annex 2: Youth justice services 26


Page 2 of 28

© Youth Justice Board for England and Wales 2015

The material featured in this document is subject to copyright protection under UK Copyright Law unless otherwise indicated. Any person or organisation wishing to use YJB materials or products for commercial purposes must apply in writing to the YJB at [email protected] for a specific licence to be granted.


Page 3 of 28

Foreword

The Welsh Government and the Youth Justice Board share a vision and a commitment to improve services for children and young people from Wales who are in, or at risk of entering, the youth justice system. We have set out our joint strategic vision in ‘Children and Young People First’; and work in partnership to ensure agencies and services work together to give children and young people the services they need in order to prevent them from offending or reoffending.

The landscape of youth justice in Wales has changed significantly since the first multi-agency youth offending teams (YOTs) were established in 2000. The number of first time entrants into the youth justice system continues to fall, and the number of children and young people in custody are the lowest ever recorded. However, many of those children and young people remaining in the youth justice system now present greater, more complex needs; and demonstrate more persistent patterns of offending.

There have also been changes in the way that young people are dealt with by the courts; in legislation; in the way that some YOTs are configured; and in the governance structures of local police forces.

These factors make it essential to issue new guidance for YOT Management Boards in Wales which outlines their leadership role in the governance of YOTs; together with the roles and responsibilities of statutory and wider partners, in reducing offending and helping children and young people lead safe and crime free lives.

The quality of the leadership and governance from a YOT management board directly impacts on the outcomes for young people in the youth justice system. The board should have, at the heart of its work, the vision of our joint youth justice strategy ‘Children and Young People First’, to maintain and build upon the successful multi-agency approach to continue supporting some of our country’s most vulnerable children and young people.

We commend this guidance to you in pursuit of our joint vision for youth justice in Wales.

Leighton Andrews AM Rt.Hon. Lord McNally

Minister for Public Services Chairman

Welsh Government Youth Justice Board


Page 4 of 28

1. Introduction

The management board provides the key role in the leadership, strategic direction and governance of a youth offending team (YOT). The quality of this directly impacts on the outcomes for young people in the youth justice system and the services they receive. The aim of this guidance is to enable YOT management boards in Wales to review their governance and the roles and responsibilities of statutory partners to provide improved services for young people involved in the youth justice system.

In compiling this guidance, the Youth Justice Board’s Division in Wales (YJB Cymru) and the Welsh Government engaged with key stakeholders and partners to identify what is already working well in YOT management boards in Wales. Together we conducted a number of focus groups with statutory partners throughout Wales and sought wider views through an online survey.

As well as representing the views and experiences of board members and YOTs throughout Wales, consideration was also given to the extensive evidence collected by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation by the YJB.

Through our engagement process, YJB Cymru and the Welsh Government have produced guidance that reflects the challenges faced by YOT management boards and gives practical examples to help better support young people within the youth justice system to move away from offending.

The youth justice provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to establish YOTs were first implemented through guidance in the Inter-departmental Circular on Establishing Youth Offending Teams (Home Office, 1998). In 2004, this guidance was updated by Sustaining the Success (YJB, 2004)1 and in 2013, Modern Youth Offending Partnerships a guidance document for English YOTs was published.

This guidance updates these previous documents to cover changes in legislation, policy, practice and, most importantly, progress and learning from fifteen years of experience of youth justice delivery in Wales.

In addition, for the first time, this guidance invites YOT management boards to consider how the voice of young people is heard in their work. The Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011 imposes a duty to ensure due regard to the rights and obligations set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC is an international agreement that gives all children and young people under the age of 18 years old their own set of rights, expressed in 41 articles.

1 http://yjbpublications.justice.gov.uk/en-gb/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=196&eP=


Page 5 of 28

2. Background

The success of the youth justice system is founded on organisations working in partnership. Some of these focus on the needs of children and young people (under the age of 18) in the youth justice system by looking after their welfare; services such as health, social services, education and housing. These policy areas are devolved to the National Assembly for Wales. Others, which are non-devolved such as police and the courts, focus on enforcing the law to hold young people to account for their offences.

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) is an executive non-departmental public body. It oversees the youth justice system in England and Wales. It works to prevent offending and reoffending by children and young people, and ensures custody for them is safe, secure, and addresses the causes of their offending behaviour.

As the youth justice system in Wales is provided by both devolved and non-devolved services, the Welsh Government and the YJB work together to ensure it works effectively. A key part of the way we work together is through the Wales Youth Justice Advisory Panel. This is jointly chaired by the Welsh Government and the YJB. Its primary purpose is to help us implement policy which prevents offending and reoffending by children and young people in Wales and to support the implementation of our joint youth justice strategy, Children and Young People First. This guidance builds on the core principles which have underpinned this joint approach.

The landscape of youth justice in Wales has changed significantly since the first multi-agency YOT’s were established. YOTs in Wales are still heavily engaged in targeted youth crime prevention and they now work in partnership with the police to divert young people who have been arrested for the first time or for less serious offences to restorative justice interventions such as Bureau and Triage. This means that there has been a significant decrease in the number of young people dealt with by the courts. In this sense, YOTs are dealing with a higher proportion of cases which have more complex needs. These young people are often more prolific and escalate their way very quickly through community sentences and into custody. The vulnerabilities of this group were evidenced in a project undertaken by the YJB to profile children who are prolific offenders (25+ offences). This showed 79% had been involved with, or had


Page 6 of 28

been referred to social services, 81% had no qualifications, 57% had contact with/or referrals to mental health services and 38% were identified as having special educational needs.

While maintaining the trends in reductions of first time entrants and those sentenced to custody remains a priority, greater focus now needs to be given to the group of young people left in the system whose reoffending is high. Despite these changes, the legislative requirements placed upon the local authority and named partners to form a YOT remain unaltered.

The view from the inspectorate Since 2002, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation has undertaken three YOT inspection programmes:

Youth Offending Team Inspections

Core Case Inspections

the current Inspection of Youth Offending Work.

All have three have highlighted the importance of effective governance for YOTs.

HMI Probation stated in their report “Partners in crime” 2014

“In our experience, governance makes a difference to the quality of YOT practice. We occasionally see reasonable performance, despite a poorly performing board, but we do not see excellent practice unless we also see high quality governance, leadership and partnership.”2

HMI Probation identified that critical elements of high quality boards include:

1. The board looks at the bigger picture with a clear vision, ambition, goals or targets.

2. There is consistency of board membership; especially the role of the chair.

3. Board members have a clear understanding of their individual and collective role, and that of the YJB.

4. There is a regular evaluation of partner contributions to reduce offending.

5. There is effective administration and organisation of board business.

6. The views of service users are routinely used to inform and improve services.

7. All agencies are represented well on the board at sufficient seniority to make decisions without referring back to their organisation.

8. There are regular monthly or bi-monthly meetings.

2 https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspections/partners-in-crime-findings-from-inspections-on-youth-offending-team-partnerships/#.VPbalKPp_XQ


Page 7 of 28

9. There are strong, productive and trusted relationships; with members willing to challenge each other.

10. There is strategic analysis of need to determine a commissioning strategy which goes beyond criminal justice objectives

11. There is powerful interdependency between the board and other strategic partnerships and a multi-agency, problem solving approach.


Page 8 of 28

3. Roles and functions of a YOT management board

The strength of the YOT management board’s leadership, strategic direction and governance directly impacts on the outcomes for young people in the youth justice system and the services they receive. The management board holds the YOT to account to ensure that it achieves the primary aim of the youth justice system, as set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998; to prevent offending by children and young people.

Key responsibilities encompass the following:

1. Providing direction and governance to the YOT.

2. Monitoring measurable objectives linked to key performance indicators, including the National Standards for Youth Justice.

3. Ensuring the YOT tailors its services to the needs of local young people and that they have an opportunity to shape the services and interventions they receive.

4. Holding accountable the YOT and partner agencies for their contribution to performance against the Wales Youth Justice Indicators and other local measures.

5. Assisting the local authority chief executive in their duty to formulate and implement the statutory annual youth justice plan. This plan sets out how youth justice services in the area are to be composed, provided and funded; how the YOT will operate and what functions it will carry out.

6. Engaging and utilise the benefits of multi-agency delivery.

Other specific responsibilities include:

1. Taking responsibility for ensuring that the actions undertaken by the YOT protect the safety and welfare and promote the wellbeing of children and young people, the staff who work with them and members of the public. Management boards have a key role in safeguarding and should have strong links to the local safeguarding board. Local safeguarding boards are the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, with the purpose of holding each other to account and ensuring that safeguarding children remains high on the agenda across the partnership area.

2. Taking a lead role in scrutinising the YOT’s response to Community Safeguarding and Public Protection Incidents. When a safeguarding or public protection incident occurs, the YOT must inform the YJB and undertake a review of learning, causes and key areas of improvement. The management board is responsible for monitoring all actions and learning for the YOT and for sharing learning with local partners; including local safeguarding boards.


Page 9 of 28

3. Providing oversight and being accountable for the operation of Reintegration and Resettlement Panels (RRPs). RRPs are local multi-agency panels responsible for ensuring young people serving all youth justice sentences are provided with a plan for help and support to lead crime-free lives that persists beyond the end of their sentence; and that the interventions in the plan are delivered. RRPs and management boards should have open and clear lines of information sharing and accountability. The board is responsible for addressing and solving the difficulties that the YOT and its partners face when planning and delivering reintegration and resettlement support. 3

The board should have at the heart of its work the vision of the all Wales youth justice strategy “Children and young people first” and focus on the five priorities identified in the strategy:

Priority 1: A well-designed partnership approach

Priority 2: Early Intervention, Prevention and Diversion

Priority 3: Reducing Reoffending

Priority 4: Effective use of Custody

Priority 5: Resettlement and Reintegration at the end of a sentence

3 Further guidance on the role of management boards in the governance and oversight of RRPs will be published by the YJB in forthcoming RRP Operational Guidance.


Page 10 of 28

4. Youth offending teams

Youth offending teams (YOT) were established by the Crime & Disorder Act (1998) with the statutory duty to:

prevent offending and re-offending by young people and,

provide ‘youth justice services’ via multi-agency YOT teams

The Act requires every local authority area to establish a YOT with co-operation of police, health and probation. Each YOT is to have at least one social worker, one police officer, one probation officer, one health worker and one education worker.

Guidance on YOTs called for each of the five agencies to second staff and provide cash contributions and contributions in kind such as office accommodation, access to information management services, personnel and financial advice.

While the term youth offending team is set out in legislation, many YOTs in Wales have adopted names to reflect the particular services they provide. Some go by youth offending services, a number are referred to as youth justice services and some have also chosen to reflect the increasing role that they play in the prevention of offending in their local areas by rebranding themselves as youth offending and prevention services.

Whatever a YOT is called, it must be recognisable as such and provide the main supervisory elements of statutory youth justice services:

1. Assessment of young people who have offended and management of risk and safeguarding issues.

2. Supervision of young people who have been remanded to custody and those requiring support in the community, as directed by the court.

3. Provision of pre-court interventions that divert young people away from the youth justice system such as Bureau and Triage.

4. Statutory supervision of young people who have been given court orders which are to be managed in the community, including the provision of a lay youth panel to discharge the responsibilities of Referral Orders.

5. Sentence planning for young people in custody and their supervision on release.

6. Planning for reintegration beyond the end of a sentence.

YOTs must be made up of nominated and seconded staff from the statutory partners. Providing dedicated staff with knowledge of their host agencies to the YOT is a statutory requirement, helps to support the ethos of a multi-agency team and is preferable to a statutory partner providing ‘cash equivalent’ funding where there are local difficulties.


Page 11 of 28

Over time, the services provided by YOTs have expanded considerably and additional non-statutory specialist and support staff roles have often been created to address local need. This is to be encouraged and maintained.


Page 12 of 28

5. Partnership funding of YOTs

In terms of partnership funding statutory partners are required to fund services to the extent required in their local area and to ensure that the YOT is adequately resourced. Statutory partners should be actively identifying additional resources where possible to extend the range of services available to target areas of identified need.

The YJB provides funding to support the development of good practice. This is typically about a third of all funding to YOTs in Wales. The Welsh Government provide additional funding through the “Youth Crime Prevention Fund”, which is distributed to YOTs and community safety partnerships across regional footprints to fund initiatives and projects to reduce and prevent anti-social behaviour, offending and reoffending.

Further funding comes from others who work with the YOT to support young people in, or at risk of entering, the youth justice system, such as Police and Crime Commissioners, and grants that might be available to them locally to provide services fund projects and specialist staff members.


Page 13 of 28

6. Membership

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 s 39 (1) requires the co-operation of the named statutory partners to form a YOT. Section 38 (1, 2) identifies the statutory partners and places upon them a duty to co-operate in order to secure youth justice services appropriate to their area. These are:

the local authority – Local Education Authority and Social Services

police

the probation service

health

There is a variety of examples of additional members in Wales that are contributing to effective local partnership working. These additional “non-statutory” members have been recruited onto boards as a result of an identified local need. They include:

Careers Wales There are a number of examples throughout Wales where senior representatives from Careers Wales sit on management boards to improve education, training and employment prospects for young people post statutory school age. This type of partnership working also has benefits for young people in transition from school as well as forming resettlement arrangements for young people leaving custody or ending community supervision.

Housing providers The value of having housing representation on the board has been in addressing the challenge of finding suitable accommodation for young people who have offended; especially those leaving custody. There are many examples of partnership working at a board level that have been a success in some areas. In others, where there is a lack of engagement from housing at board level, it has been more difficult for YOTs to address many of the barriers to finding suitable accommodation for young people.

Community Safety Partnerships Representation from senior managers within community safety partnerships facilitates a joined up approach to targeted prevention and antisocial behaviour which reduces the number of young people entering the youth justice system.


Page 14 of 28

Voluntary sector representatives

There are many examples throughout Wales of third sector organisations being represented on YOT management boards. This can improve partnership work between the statutory services and those voluntary sector organisations that provide support and services to young people in their local area. Voluntary work with young people in the youth justice system is an effective way of engaging them in behaviour change and has been particularly effective work beyond the end of a sentence to encourage reintegration.

Elected council members Where appropriate, elected councillors have provided support to YOTs and partners at a local and national level; advocating on behalf of services and young people. With YOTs and their partners coming under increasing pressure to deliver improved outcomes and services to young people with reducing budgets, an elected members promoting the work of the YOT can be useful in a number of ways; securing support from local and national government and improving public confidence in the work of the YOT.

Magistrates and other court personnel Partnership work between courts and YOTs exits in a variety of forums. In some areas there will be specific arrangements dedicated to partnership work between courts and the YOTs (magistrates meetings etc.) in others representations from courts sit on the local management boards.

Victim representation Organisations or charities that provide support to volunteers have been utilised effectively in a selection of boards across Wales. The role was vital to bring a focus onto victim’s needs. Given that so many of the organisations on the board are focused on providing services and interventions to young people who offend there is a risk we can be guilty of focusing solely on the needs of the young person. To have a representative on the board advocating for victims can ensure board members do not lose sight of the fact that behind every offence committed is a victim. Without their presence on the board there is a danger that this focus could be lost and with it potential opportunities to work with victims to secure better outcomes for them and young people.

Finance officers Some management boards involve the local authority finance officer with responsibility for the YOT budget. Often the responsible officer only attends the board when significant finance issues were being discussed or during discussions around the formulation of the statutory Youth Justice Plan.


Page 15 of 28

Police and crime commissioners

The recent introduction of police and crime commissioners has required YOTs to consider how they accommodate significant strategic change. There is a reciprocal duty for police and crime commissioners and youth justice services to co-operate in providing an efficient and effective criminal justice system for the police area. The addition of a senior representative from the commissioner’s office can provide support, expertise and further resources to supporting YOTs in their objectives.

Families First Families First is a family advocacy group, committed to supporting parents and children in the family unit. Partnership work with Families First varies across Wales. Examples include; the secondment of Families First parenting workers directly into YOTs, providing support to parents and families with children involved in statutory or prevention services and providing exit strategies and ongoing support for parents after support from youth justice services ends.

Local secure accommodation providers Partnership work across community and secure accommodation providers improves resettlement outcomes for young people. Representation at board level from secure accommodation providers is not something that is currently common practice across Wales. With only one under-18 young offender institution (YOI) and one secure children’s home (SCH) in Wales and with some young people - especially in North Wales - placed in English establishments, it would be unrealistic to expect secure representation at every management board in Wales. However, representation from the secure estate would have clear benefits for YOTs with a secure establishment in their area. Alternatively, boards could consider inviting a senior manager from one of the secure establishments their young people are commonly placed in on an annual basis to discuss developments in their provision and opportunities for improving partnership work.


Page 16 of 28

7. The young person’s voice

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention for Rights of the Child (Respect for the views of the child) states that:

Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.

There are real and practical benefits to listening to children and young people’s views and experiences of their time in the youth justice system. Evidence suggests that young people who are involved in the planning and structuring of their interventions are more likely to engage in services and that positive gains are made in relation to behaviour, respect and confidence. Very often services have identified areas for improvement after they have sought the views of those young people engaged in the services.

YOTs are often proactive in consulting with young people through day to day contact and established practitioner relationships. Young people will share their views on a daily basis. To give opportunities for strategic members at a board level to hear the voice of young people is more of a challenge. To expect a young person to attend board meetings and advocate for their peers, although aspirational, may not be immediately practical. This, for many services, may not be a situation that their young people would be comfortable with, even with support and training. Moreover, the UNCRC recognises that the level of a child’s participation in decisions must be appropriate to their level of maturity and development. Boards should, however, consider how young people will be represented at board level. Some examples of how this can be achieved include:

1. Young people being consulted on a regular basis by the YOT, using surveys or tools designed specifically to collect information on young people’s experiences in the youth justice system with information collated and fed back to the board. In addition, it would be beneficial to hold group discussions or workshops for more meaningful engagement.

2. Case studies and views of young people being presented to the board by practitioners

3. In some areas youth councils and young people’s participation groups or external groups, have been used to advocate for young people involved in youth justice services.

4. Board members being given opportunities to attend projects and groups at the YOT and meet young people.

5. A specialist young person’s advocate being on the board; this could be a young person themselves or a professional from an external group or charity advocating on behalf of young people, such as local authority Children’s Rights Units.


Page 17 of 28

6. It is important to remember to feedback in line with Children and Young People’s Participation Standards for Wales on what happens next and how their ideas will be used, updating on any outcomes. This will help to create a positive experience and one that young people are more likely to want to engage with again.

This is an area with huge potential and obvious benefits to YOTs and the young people they work with. Management boards should give consideration to how they empower young people to have a voice in the work of the YOT and the board in the most appropriate manner, given the resources available to them. As with all aspects of the work of the board, this should not remain static and the board should strive to continue to develop this area.

“Board members should value the voice of the young person and retain them at the centre of all decision making.” (comment from management board member)


Page 18 of 28

8. Chairing the management board

The management board is chaired or appointed by the local authority chief executive, who has the statutory responsibility to establish and maintain the YOT. The chair may be drawn from any of the members but if this is not the chief executive, it is generally one of the statutory partners.

In addition to the attributes and responsibilities expected of all board members, the following additional factors have been identified:

Leadership The chair should provide leadership and direction to the board and work alongside the YOT manager to produce a structured agenda that presents board members with opportunities to conduct their role in providing governance to the YOT. This should include regular contact with the YOT manager outside meetings and ensuring all members are able to contribute to discussions, have their views heard and collectively own decisions.

Scrutiny The chair has a scrutiny role and should provide robust challenge of the evidence brought before the board, both quantitative and qualitative. Where boards work well the chair of the board works with the YOT manager to identify potential areas for performance improvement and understands the role partners should play in developing strategies to address these areas. Performance of the YOT is not the sole responsibility of the YOT manager and the chair should foster a culture of collective responsibility by the board for this. They should also conduct regular reviews of the board and its own performance. These reviews can be conducted internally by using self-evaluation tools, through peer review or in partnership with the YJB.

Efficiency The chair should manage the agenda of the meeting effectively; allowing an opportunity for all board members to contribute to the themes of the meeting while moving through agenda items in a timely fashion, giving appropriate consideration to each item. Directing debate and driving the board towards a decision without discouraging members from sharing their views in future meetings is the hallmark of a good chair. The chair should identify cross cutting themes, avoid areas of duplication and ensure joined up working within the context of the broader strategic framework.


Page 19 of 28

Accountability

There need to be strong links with other strategic partnerships and appropriate two way reporting mechanisms with identified partners and operational subgroups. Many YOTs in Wales operate across local authorities which provides a number of challenges in terms of governance. In these circumstances chairs need to be especially aware of the specific governance and reporting structures that are in place across each of their authorities to ensure effective partnership working.


Page 20 of 28

9. The YOT manager

YOT managers hold responsibility for the delivery of services provided by the YOT and have an important role in supporting the board in their duties. A YOT manager can facilitate board members to conduct their roles and empower them to make informed strategic decisions. YOT managers should provide the following.

Induction A thorough induction process for board members is vital in ensuring that board members have a sufficient understanding of the work of the YOT and its links with their own organisations and other partners on the board. The YOT manager should support the board by providing this as well as opportunities for members to understand practice through presentations, case studies, project updates and visits to the YOT and its projects.4

Information They should provide board members with information, such as performance against the Wales Youth Justice Indicators, analysis of reoffending, practice challenges, information on Community Safeguarding and Public Protection Incidents. In addition, they should consult with members which information they find the most useful. This will allow board members to provide scrutiny to YOT performance and to address any issues. The YOT manager should welcome and promote 'challenging' questions as part of the board’s scrutiny role.

Supply board members with relevant information on the link between the YOT and the wider youth justice system between meetings. This could be in the form of project updates, newsletters, the YJBulletin, inspection reports or the WYJAP Briefing.

The YOT manager, through consultation with board members, has a role in deciding which information will be relevant to them and their roles. Members of the board, due to the strategic nature of the position they hold within their organisations will sit on many scrutiny and governance groups across a number of organisations. Ensuring they are provided with only the most relevant information will allow board members to direct their attention and resources to the most important issues in support of the YOT.

Support The YOT manager should provide the meeting with a clear and structured agenda that is sent to board members with relevant documents attached. These documents should be received by board members at least a week before the

4 Please see Annex 1 for examples of what could be included in an induction.


Page 21 of 28

scheduled meeting to allow members an opportunity to read the information and prepare any responses that may be appropriate. The YOT manager should ensure that board members have the opportunity to contribute to the agenda and allow opportunities for regular updates from partners.

Challenge The YOT manager should bring partnership issues that cannot be resolved at a practice level to the attention of the board for resolution. Most issues that practitioners face working across partnerships are best resolved at the practice level by those staff providing the services to young people; practitioners will have the relevant understanding and of the work and also the relationships on the ground to resolve most issues. However where an operational solution cannot be found, the YOT manager should make the board aware and look to achieve resolution at the strategic level with their management board.


Page 22 of 28

10. Expectations of board members

Board members should have a set of shared values and principles. In order for board members to be effective, open and accountable in its approach and decision making, board members should undertake to and operate in accordance with the Nolan Committee’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life’, namely:

selflessness

integrity

objectivity

accountability

openness

honesty

leadership.

In addition, there are a number of specific expectations, skills and experience that board members require to conduct their role effectively:

Knowledge Board members should have a sound knowledge of the work of the YOT and youth justice system as a whole. This knowledge should be developed through an induction process before beginning their role on the board and maintained through the regular information and support supplied by the YOT manager.

Accountability Many board members take up their membership on the board as part of their role within their home organisation, some are invited onto the board as partnerships with the YOT develop. No matter how members are recruited onto a board they should be a senior and strategic lead from partner organisations.

Members should be in a position to represent and make decisions on behalf the whole of their designated organisation; be it health, education, housing, social services, police or probation. They should be able to directly influence change within the whole of their organisation to benefit partnership work with the YOT.

Consistency Regular attendance is vital in ensuring a consistency of approach and a level of understanding for each organisation represented on the board. Where members are unable to attend, delegates should be of an appropriate level and be


Page 23 of 28

suitably prepared for the meeting. Replacement delegates should be agreed in advance with the chair of the board and YOT manager.

Responsibility sits with board member to provide timely notice in the event that they are to be replaced on the board by another member of their home organisation. The chair and the YOT manager should have sufficient notice as to provide an induction for any incoming member. It is also expected that the outgoing board member will provide a thorough hand over to their replacement.

Advocacy

Board members should be advocates for the YOT and promote positively the work of the service and the board. They should ensure that strong lines of communication with other strategic partnerships and agencies are maintained. All members of the board have a responsibility to communicate the work of the YOT and to feed in views from their sector/agency at each meeting.

It is important that board members feel they are a representative of the YOT and understand the impact they have on service delivery. Board members should be aware of the successes of the YOT. High quality work should be recognised and celebrated at all levels of the partnership. Members should also take responsibility for areas of practice that are less developed and identify potential strategies for improvement.

Participation Board members are expected to actively contribute to the work of the board including reviewing strategies, policies and procedures, participating in consultations and the delivery of specific actions. A self-assessment of board work should take place on a regular basis, taking account of wider factors such as recent thematic inspection reports, new legislation and policy developments.

Challenge Where necessary, board members should provide the role of a critical friend to the YOT and challenge where improvements should be sought; offering support and advice on how to implement changes. This role of providing constructive challenge should also extend to challenging other partners on the board and the role they are providing in reducing offending and reoffending.

Support Members should ensure that youth justice services are adequately resourced, this includes actively identifying additional funding sources where possible both for innovative work and to sustain effective practice/projects.

….. it will be essential that those asked to serve on the steering group have the authority and skills to negotiate with the other services on matters concerning the youth offending team (including resource allocation) without having to refer back continually to their chief officer, though they will need to account properly to their own agency for their decisions.


Page 24 of 28

(Inter-departmental Circular, paragraph 35)


Page 25 of 28

Annex 1: Induction and training

As identified earlier in the guidance board members should have the opportunity to build on their existing knowledge when they take up their role on the board with specialist knowledge of the work of the YOT they represent and also the wider youth justice system. Some examples of what an induction for board members should include are:

1. Role of the YOT and a summary of the past and current performance of the YOT and the youth justice system as a whole. This should include the structure and makeup of the YOT with an organisational chart and details of all key personnel. The induction should also focus on the way the YOT is funded. The YOT budget should be explained and it made clear what are local authority contributions and those from partners, Welsh Government and YJB, etc.

2. Key legislation, strategies and policy information in relation to youth justice and other relevant areas. i.e. Crime and Disorder Act, Welsh Government/YJB joint strategy (Children and Young people First).

3. Explanation of YJB and local performance data. How it works and how it is used and why it is important.

4. Visits to YOT offices, courts, projects and prevention services. This can allow board members can meet key workers and young people and better understand the work of the YOT.

5. Boards to undertake training that includes UNCRC, Participation and the 7 Children and Young People’s Participation Standards for Wales

6. Any induction should also include a “job description” highlighting roles, responsibilities and expectations of members.

7. The accountability framework for YOTs. This should include reporting mechanisms to YJB and Welsh Government, National standards and Full Joint Inspection Framework and where governance fits into these frameworks.

8. A personal pledge as to what an individual will contribute to the board

9. A calendar of all meetings and key dates for performance planning and reporting periods for the coming year.

10. Boards could explore the possibility of external accredited training programmes for board members.


Page 26 of 28

Annex 2: Youth justice services

The list below sets out the youth justice services required by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 s 38 (4), as amended by subsequent legislation up to October 2013; the list is presented by subparagraph:

(a) The provision of persons to act as appropriate adults to safeguard the interests of children and young persons detained or questioned by police officers;

(aa) the provision of assistance to persons determining whether youth cautions should be given under section 66ZA below;

(b) The assessment of children and young persons, and the provision for them of rehabilitation programmes, for the purposes of section 66ZB (2) or (3) Below;

(ba)the provision of assistance to persons determining whether youth conditional cautions (within the meaning of Chapter 1 of Part 4) should be given and which conditions to attach to such cautions;

(bb)the supervision and rehabilitation of persons to whom such cautions are given;

(c) the provision of support for children and young persons remanded or committed on bail while awaiting trial or sentence;

(d) the placement in local authority accommodation of children and young persons remanded to such accommodation under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 s 91 (3);

(e) the provision of reports or other information required by courts in criminal proceedings against children and young persons;

(ee)the performance by youth offending teams and members of youth offending teams of functions under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 s 25 to 27;

(f) the provision of persons to act as responsible officers in relation to individual support orders, parenting orders, child safety orders and reparation orders;

(fa) the provision of persons to act as responsible officers in relation to youth rehabilitation orders (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008);

(fb) the supervision of children and young persons sentenced to a youth rehabilitation order under that Part which includes a supervision requirement (within the meaning of that Part);

(h) the supervision of children and young persons sentenced to a detention and training order (including an order under the Armed Forces Act 2006 s 211);

(i) the post-release supervision of children and young persons under section 31 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (“the 1997 Act”) or by virtue of conditions imposed under of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 s 250;


Page 27 of 28

(j) the performance of functions under subsection (1) of section 102 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 below by such persons as may be authorised by the Secretary of State under that subsection;

(k) the implementation of referral orders within the meaning of the Powers of

Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.

yot management board guidance - gov uk · yot management board guidance - wales page 4 of 28 1....

Documents