Are care leavers just more criminal? You might think so when
you see them over-represented, year after year, in the criminal justice
statistics. Would it be fair to think like this? Of course not! In reality, the
situation is far from straightforward. This is certainly evident from current
concerns (such as those raised by the
House
of Commons Justice Committee) over the unnecessary criminalisation of
children in care for minor offences, their treatment in the youth justice
system and their effective abandonment by local authorities as care leavers in
the criminal justice system.
Last month the government’s
progress
report on the cross-departmental ‘Care Leaver Strategy’ was published to
coincide with
National
Care Leavers’ week. The document provides a progress report on the
original
strategy which was first published last year. The very publication of such
a strategy highlights that there is now some recognition in policy spheres that
a more joined-up commitment to care leaver issues is required. In my view, this
is absolutely crucial for care leavers who come into conflict with the law.
However, it is questionable whether much more than lip service is being paid to
the key issues by the policy makers who claim to be addressing the needs of
care leavers in the criminal justice system. Interestingly, the ‘Youth Justice’
section in the one-year progress report is noticeably one of the shortest
sections of the document at not much more than half a page.
In fact, the longest sections in the government’s progress
report are devoted to areas like education and employment. These are perhaps
more comfortable topics for ministers to get to grips with, unlike the area of
‘justice’ where the boundaries between ‘victims’ and ‘villains’ become murky
and blurred when care leavers are discussed. Whilst it has long been
established that there are a
disproportionate
number of young people who have been in care in prison, what is often neglected
is the
official
statistics that highlight that 62% of children and young people enter care
because of abuse or neglect – and a mere 2% because of their own behaviour.
What does this say about the state in its role as corporate parent?
Appendix A in the
progress
report outlines how various government departments have supposedly met or
are meeting their targets from one year ago. In relation to the commitments of
the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), these included appointing a National Care Leaver
Champion which has been done, with the post being occupied by the Governor of
HMP/YOI Swinfen Hall. A further MoJ commitment is as follows:
“MoJ will develop clear ways of
identifying care leavers in adult services both in custody and the community so
we can better ensure they receive the right support...It will be coupled with
guidance for practitioners who are completing assessment tools so that they
understand better who qualifies for care leaver status”.
According to Appendix A, this commitment has been “met”,
with
guidance
published by NOMS (2013) issued to staff in probation and prisons on ways
of identifying care leavers. However, whilst the very publication of such guidance
is a step forward, it is disappointing that the very first sentence notes that
this guidance
imposes no new requirements
(emphasis in the original). This is certainly not a ringing endorsement for
busy, often over-stretched practitioners to sit down and read it. The guidance
may well have been produced and disseminated as the care leaver strategy
progress report outlines, but the crucial question is has it actually been read,
let alone changed ways of working?
Furthermore, my research with
Patrick
Williams of Manchester Metropolitan University on a pilot programme for
care leavers on an intensive community order, and our recently published
report
for
The Care Leavers’ Association
shows that the issues are really not that simple. Some of the practitioners we
spoke with disclosed a lack of knowledge and understanding about care leaver
issues, as well as a fear of raising ‘care issues’ with young people – often
because of genuine concerns over labelling and stigma. As one key stakeholder
astutely observed in relation to the woeful neglect of care leavers in the
criminal justice system:
“It’s not
been high priority or any priority sometimes when it comes to policy and
direction and instruction and even assessment systems. It’s kind of like one of
the things that’s ignored. Who knows properly why? I think some of it is they
thought it wasn’t that important when actually it’s incredibly important. I
think some of it is possibly concern about how to do it. When do you ask? Are
they going to want to say? Should you be asking? Is it personal? How do you
record it?...I think there’s some genuine concern about labelling...”.
It is clear that the issues raised above are not peculiar to
our research site, but how can they begin to be addressed? As we argue in our
report, specialist support is required that goes beyond more generic
family-focused projects. The practitioners and care leavers that we interviewed
both emphasised the value of a user-led intervention – delivered by those who
have had experience of the care and criminal justice systems – and who had
specialist knowledge about the support that individuals might be entitled to
under the
Children
(Leaving Care) Act 2000.
A second multi-agency roundtable discussion on some of these
very issues will take place in Lancashire next spring which will be organised
in collaboration with The Care Leavers’ Association. The event is supported by
the
Lancaster
University FASS Enterprise Centre and aims to give practitioners from the
North West and beyond a chance to grapple with some of the challenges their
organisations may face with supporting care leavers in the criminal justice
system. A further objective is to identify potential solutions and action
points to take forwards, building on some of the good practice that already
occurs.
Whilst not wishing to undermine the good practice that does
exist, and can be found, in various pockets of the country, the simple truth is
that, in spite of the official rhetoric that creates an illusion of targets
met, not nearly enough progress has been made centrally in relation to
providing sustainable and consistent support to care leavers in the criminal
justice system. Far more political will and strategic will is required for this
to happen – in the UK as well as in other jurisdictions. Care leavers deserve
better than this.
This blog post was
originally published by the Lancaster University Law School. The views
presented are personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either
the Law School or the University.
