Children and Young People in Custody (part 2): The Youth Secure Estate and Resettlement Contents

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5Resettlement and Reoffending

100.Resettlement is the process by which a child or young person re-enters the community upon release from custody. Charlie Taylor in his Review of the Youth Justice System in England and Wales states that “Effective resettlement when children are released from custody is essential if they are to continue their rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. This requires a coordinated approach from the secure establishment, education, health, housing, social care and youth offending services.”145

101.The resettlement of children from custody is the statutory responsibility of local authorities (through youth offending services), in partnership with the Youth Custody Service, police and health services.146 HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation state that “The YOT [Youth Offending Team] holds the responsibility for overall case management of custodial orders, and joint accountability with the secure estate for sentence planning and delivery. The YOT takes the primary responsibility for arranging services for, and on, release. This includes coordinating external health, education and children’s social care provision.”147

102.For the aggregated cohort for the year ending March 2018 (that is, children and young people who received a caution, a non-custodial sentence at court, or who were released from custody), some 38.4 per cent of just under 28,400 children and young people reoffended within 12 months. Those re-offenders committed more than 44,100 offences, an average of 4.05 per reoffender. This is the highest frequency rate seen in the last 10 years. Children and young people who received a caution had the lowest reoffending rate (26.6%), whereas reoffending remains highest among those released from custody--63.9 per cent. Among those whose index disposal was a custodial sentence, those given sentences of less than six months had the highest reoffending rate (77.4%).148 Problems with resettlement are often pointed to in concerns raised about these reoffending rates: the Children’s Commissioner, for example, is “ concerned about the resettlement of young people once they leave custody”.149

103.The Youth Justice Board note that resettlement and transition between services have been priority areas for the last two years; it introduced Constructive Resettlement in 2018, an approach defined by the YJB as “collaborative work with a child in custody and following release that builds upon their strengths, to help them shift their identity from pro-offending to pro-social. Within this approach, the clear overall role for agencies is to facilitate the child’s identity shift.”150 The YJB note that Constructive Resettlement builds upon the work of Beyond Youth Custody.151 Beyond Youth Custody identified five key characteristics of effective and sustainable resettlement, namely: that all work with children should be constructive, co-created, customised, consistent and co-ordinated.152 Helga Swidenbank told us:

“We have done some work with the YJB, which has a constructive resettlement approach. We have been working in alignment with the YJB to adopt the same approach so that there is continuity between what is going on in the community and what is going on in custody.”153

104.Despite the work done to develop an evidence base for resettlement work, some have noted that provision upon release is not adequate.154 Helen Berresford, Director of External Engagement, Nacro told the Committee that:

“I cannot overestimate how far we have to go to get the right resettlement support for people in the justice system. If somebody comes into custody, they should straightaway, from the minute they are sentenced, have their needs assessed. Build a plan with the child, and work with the YOT and custody staff to look at what they need over the course of their sentence, and what they need and what they want to achieve in life. Then put in place education and health support and all of those factors. All of that can be done; it is just that too often it is not at the minute.”155

105.Crest Advisory notes: “Effective resettlement when children are released from custody is essential if they are to continue their rehabilitation and reduce reoffending [ … .] the impact of deficiencies in the resettlement process is made abundantly clear by the stubbornly high reoffending rates for children in the youth justice system and is further evidenced in the recent Inspectorate report.”156

106.HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation conducted a joint thematic inspection into youth resettlement which looked at the operational work done by staff in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) and external agencies to help children being released from custody to resettle back into their communities. The report concludes that: “a lot of hard work is done by staff in YOIs, YOTs and external agencies. However, too much of it is ineffective and so does not deliver good resettlement outcomes for children”.157 The two inspectorates told us:

“We identified significant gaps in meeting children’s resettlement needs both in custody and once they had been released into the community. Resettlement work was not prioritised in YOIs and there was little consideration of how interventions in custody would contribute to children’s behaviours and lifestyles on release. Upon release into the community, of the 50 children:

• only six of the 37 that we considered needed input from children’s social care services received that help;
• only 44% of those who needed specialist support for their substance misuse problems received it;
• only 11 went into education or training immediately after release;
• over 60% had an identified health need in custody but there was evidence in only 26% of cases that the Youth Offending Team (YOT) provided support or intervention for these needs after release; and
• in a number of cases, neither the child nor the YOT knew their release address until very late in the sentence, which frustrated efforts to put in place the above support services.”158

107.The Ministry of Justice note that “A key objective of the youth justice system is to reduce children’s reoffending. However, despite best efforts, the levels of reoffending by children who have been in custody remain too high.”159 MoJ added that “although we anticipate that the reform programme will lead to better outcomes for children and reduced rates of reoffending, we know we need to do more to improve resettlement support for children both while they are in custody and when they return to the community.”160 The Ministry also committed to act on the Inspectorates’ recommendations made in their Youth Resettlement report.161

Purposeful activity and education

108.Children may not always be able to access support needed while they are in custody, such as education and purposeful activity. A lack of access to appropriate support services may have a detrimental effect on their resettlement from custody. HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation told us:

“We found that children were generally fitted into the interventions that were available in custody, including in relation to education, training and employment. Children were routinely referred to interventions without enough consideration being given to whether they would benefit from or engage with them. Although there were some notable exceptions, we generally did not see future education or training needs and opportunities being taken into account and there was little evidence of YOI staff considering what children might be able to achieve on release.”162

109.Crest Advisory added:

“In spite of the high levels of educational needs, the time spent in education or outside of cells provided in custodial institutions has not shown any significant improvement, and remains woefully low compared to the mandated hours. In 2011/12, children in YOIs were on average receiving 11.4 hours of education per week, of the mandated 15 hours. The ‘core day’ in YOIs was subsequently increased to 30 hours per week, however in 2016, on average children in YOIs were found to receive 15 hours of education per week.”

110.The Youth Justice Board also thought that “Education, Training and Employment (ETE) is an issue, with inadequate provision in custody and a lack of continuity upon release.”163 The Standing Committee for Youth Justice said: “our members report that education that is provided [in custody] is very basic and insufficient for needs. It is the first thing to suffer when there are keep apart protocols and staff shortages.”164 Nacro note that “In order for young people to be able to concentrate on education, the environment must be safe, and urgent action needs to be taken to tackle increasing violence and self-harm. There should always be sufficient resources and staff to ensure that the entitlement to education is not compromised due to issues relating to security or the regime.”

111.The Ministry of Justice acknowledge that “there are many reasons why time in education may be disrupted, such as staffing levels, violence or regime disruption and work is underway to tackle these. To tackle this, the number of frontline staff has been increased by 313 (36%) since the start of the youth custody reform programme (December 2016 to June 2019).”165 The Ministry further note that the “YCS is also working with their education providers to increase the flexibility of the core day and curriculum to allow for more space, time and resources to provide young people with the activities that are tailored to their needs and offer the most positive engagement with education.”166 The Youth Justice Board “are working with YCS to improve the position and recognise that closer links are required between community and custody. Integration of children into mainstream ETE provision is vitally important”.167

112.The Committee asked the Minister of State for Justice what the Government was doing to ensure the resettlement needs of children are being met on their release from the secure estate. Lucy Frazer told us of “the New Futures Network, which was set up to be a link between prisons and employers to ensure that, when people come out of prison, they get jobs.”168 Helga Swidenbank also told us substantial work was being by the MOJ and governors with local directors of children’s services to help children move from custody into the community.

113.It is essential that children have access to appropriate Employment, Training and Education services when they leave custody, not least to reduce the risk and the rate of reoffending. The Ministry of Justice, Youth Custody Service and Youth Justice Board should continue to work together to ensure that all children and young people have adequate access to education and purposeful activity while in custody and that meaningful opportunities continue through into the community.

Collaboration and release planning

114.A number of different agencies and organisations may work with a child in custody: for example, one child may be supported by education, healthcare, Youth Offending Team, social services etc. HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation note that “the main vehicle for planning, coordinating and monitoring resettlement work is the casework planning process, which includes and initial planning meeting that should be held within 10 days of sentence”.169

115.The quality of collaboration between different agencies involved in the resettlement of a child may also raise difficulties. The Inspectorates in their joint evidence submission note that planning meetings within YOIs generally took place on time and were well attended, but that each agency (e.g. education, healthcare etc.) carried out its own procedures, independently of each other. It is, therefore, possible for children to be subject to a number of uncoordinated plans.170 The Inspectorates also said that “information sharing is hindered by the number of different databases utilised within YOIs and also between different agencies.”171

116.Some Youth Offending Teams submitted evidence to the Committee on their experience of collaboration. Blackpool Youth Offending Team noted: “Collaboration is problematic. The distance and lack of practical protocols between the various providers are significant issues. In my experience YOT’s need to take more responsibility for their young people whilst they are serving sentences, but the guidelines do not clarify responsibility and the day to day demands on the custodial staff can impact upon end to end planning.”172 Sandwell Youth Offending Team said collaboration “is often approached in a genuine spirit of cooperation but individual practitioners end up in disagreement sometimes because of structural factors.”173

117.G4S said in relation to the establishments they run, that “At a local level effective partnership working arrangements are in place. Legislation could more effectively align the work and information sharing arrangements at a strategic level.”174 G4S added that despite good collaboration there were times where external agencies are unable to provide the necessary support in a timely manner, for example suitable accommodation, education etc.175 The Children and Young People Secure Estate Managed Clinical Advisory Group said that “Sometimes collaboration works effectively, but it still requires people from one organisation to push others to collaborate with them.”176 The Youth Justice Board said that “Collaboration between services needs to improve and the YJB’s How to Make Resettlement Constructive provides a framework in which this can happen. We believe further improvements could be made to collaboration between services to improve outcomes on release.”177

118.The Ministry of Justice in response set out work done to address the findings of HMIP’s youth resettlement work: “Actions include the YCS releasing officers to focus on resettlement and reviewing how YOIs can promote effective resettlement work across all agencies and departments that work or have responsibilities in this area.”178

119.Collaboration between agencies is imperative if children’s resettlement needs are to be met during their time in custody and followed through to the community. We recognise that the quality and ease of collaboration between agencies may vary between establishments and areas, but it is sub-optimal that children may be subjected to a number of different, uncoordinated resettlement plans. The Ministry of Justice and Youth Custody Service should set out what work is being done to reduce duplication and ensure that children have a single coordinated resettlement plan.

Release Planning

120.Each year, hundreds of children will be released from custody into the community.179 Many have multiple and various needs which require continued monitoring post-release. HMI Prisons and HMI Probation found that “In too many cases, children were not being effectively prepared to re-enter their communities and start to live productive and safe law-abiding lives. The services that they needed on release were often not in place to help them resettle, and the risks that they posed were not always sufficiently managed in their early days in the community.”180 The Inspectorates found that planning started at the pre-release meeting, only 10 days before release, too late to be effective.181

121.Accommodation on release is a particular problem. HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation found 60 per cent of children returned to live with families on release, but for some remaining children, neither the child nor the YOT knew where they would be released to until late in the sentence, and sometimes after the final pre-release planning meeting. Some did not know even what area they would be living in. The Inspectorates recommended a national accommodation strategy for children released from custody and a national network of community-based accommodation for children who pose the highest risk of harm to the public.182

122.The Association of Youth Offending Team Managers acknowledged the difficulties of housing children who were not returning to family homes: “this impacts on the ability to organise school and college placements or employment/training opportunities.”183 The Children and Young People Secure Estate Managed Clinical Advisory Group said children and young people “sometimes only know where they are going the day they leave or at best the evening before. Without a confirmed address in a local area, forward arrangements can’t be made for continuity of care. “184 G4S and Ofsted made similar points.185 186

123.Joshua Kilembeka, a young adviser with personal experience of the criminal justice system, described specific cases:

“On getting released from custody, for a lot of young people there is no structured plan. I have had numerous young people come to me saying they have not found accommodation. There is no accommodation in place, so they are left homeless when they come out, with nowhere to go. I think that three months before they are released there should be a structured plan with their key worker and YOT worker or probation officer, so that when they come out it is easier to get back into the community.”187

124.Jhanzab Khan, another young adviser, told us his own experience:

“When I was released from prison, I faced many things, such as homelessness and mental health issues. All of those complex needs need to be paid attention to while [people] are inside prison so that they can be prepared for when they are released.”188

125.Lucy Frazer QC MP, Minister of State for Justice, told the Committee that “MOJ, DFE and MHCLG officials have established a children’s working group to ensure that children have homes to go to as well.” She said that the Ministry was also working on ensuring those leaving institutions had jobs, too, and acknowledged that work needed to be done earlier with those who would leave secure accommodation to ensure a successful transition into the community.189

126.It is apparent that accommodation is a significant problem for some children being release from custody. It is unacceptable that a child should not know until the day of their release where they will live the day after. We agree with the recommendation made by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation that the Ministry of Justice must develop a national accommodation strategy for children released from custody. We acknowledge the commitment made by the Minister of State to return to the Committee to report on progress made in these areas.

Transition to adult offending services

127.Children who turn 18 in custody may be transferred to adult custody. Transfer is not automatic or mandatory for those who will serve little time in custody beyond their 18th birthday. It should “take into account the views of young people and what work needs to be undertaken to meet the aims of the sentence, to address likelihood of reoffending and risk of harm to others, and to manage vulnerability.”190 The Youth Justice Board do not support automatically transitioning an individual to the adult estate on their 18th birthday.191 Around 350 (15–20%) young people in youth custody will go into the adult estate.192

128.Transition can, of course, be difficult. Dr Kate Gooch, University of Bath, for example, described how: “Moving from the ‘young people’s estate’ to the ‘young adult’s estate’ is the equivalent of ‘falling off a cliff edge’ in terms of the differences in resource, youth offending team compared with probation/CRC contact, educational provision, and staff contact.”193

129.Some services may no longer be available for those who turn 18 in custody, and Laurie Hunte, Criminal Justice Programme Manager, Barrow Cadbury Trust, suggested development into maturity should be taken into account: “There is a very big difference between the youth custodial estate and the adult estate, and I include youth offending institutions in that. […] It is very often the case that as soon as you turn 18 you move into the adult estate, but if there are good reasons, especially if there is a health or educational need, or if they are going through a court case, there is a good case for keeping the young person in the child system.”194

130.Operational practicalities also need to be dealt with, as G4S commented:

“Policies are in place, but there are barriers to effective transition. YCS placements and HMPPS Population Management Unit do not work effectively together to assist the under 18 estate in securing placements for young people, at a minimum 4 weeks prior to transition. The over 18 estate is also not mandated in respect of transition planning, as such engagement by the over 18 estate with institutions transitioning young people is not consistent and, in some cases, poor. A more cohesive approach is required ensuring that transition planning meetings with receiving prisons are completed in all cases and that young people have the opportunity to talk to staff from the receiving prisons.”195

131.Similar issues arise when young offenders move to adult probation services on leaving custody.196 The Prisons and the Probation Inspectorates found good practice in their joint thematic report into Youth Resettlement but “were not always assured that it was in the best interests of the child to transfer them to adult services and did not see any evidence of records being kept about the decision making process (as required by national guidance).”197 Young Advisers on Criminal Justice gave us practical examples of what faces a young person making the transition into adult supervision. Joshua Kilembeka said: “a lot of young people are not ready to transition from the YOT to probation. There should be a meeting between the YOT and the probation officer to see how the young person will move forward to the probation service. Young people tell me that they are not getting as much help from the probation service as they would get from the YOT team.”198 Nadine Smith focused on the point about maturity in both custodial and non-custodial contexts: “Between the ages of 18 and 25, people do not stop maturing. […] Just because I turn 18, my whole mindset does not change at midnight on my 18th birthday and, all of a sudden, I am an adult, and I can now take on a load of new things that I am being forced into with probation and the adult estate.”199

132.Work is being done at governmental level on these transitions. The Ministry of Justice told us “The YCS and HM Prison and Probation Service are working together on improving transition planning. This includes ongoing work on the ‘transition from youth to adult custody’ policy framework to ensure a clear process is established that meets the needs of children moving into the adult estate.”200 Lucy Frazer added: “We are doing a number of things to make sure that the transition is easier. We want to ensure that the question as to their transition—where they should go and how they should be integrated—is assessed at a much earlier stage in their sentence, so that they are ready and go to the right place, and the right place is ready to receive them and understands them. At the moment, we are talking to stakeholders about what that transition should look like.”201

133.We welcome the work being done to improve transition planning, and we note that work is under way in the Ministry of Justice on how best to manage transition into adult custodial settings for those who turn 18. While cut-off points between youth and adult justice are necessary, we acknowledge concerns, not least from Young Advisers with practical experience, that the simple change from being 17 to 18 may not denote full maturity in some young people who are in custody, and that the transition may prove to be what the Chief Inspector of Probation calls a ‘cliff edge’ for those individuals.

134.While some transition planning may take place before a young person leaves the youth estate, we are not convinced that the adult estate is sufficiently equipped to support all those who make that move. We recommend that the Ministry of Justice mandate appropriate transition planning in the over-18 estate for those coming from youth estate to ensure that those who do so do not find themselves on a ‘cliff edge’. We recommend that the Ministry of Justice set out when the ‘transition from youth to adult custody’ policy framework will be published and how it will be implemented across the youth and the adult estates. The Ministry should also update us on the practical steps being taken in the interim to ensure that those young people who do make that transition receive the support they need and avoid any drop-off in service provision and support.