The Young Adults Project (YAP!) are hosting an event tomorrow (Thursday 21 April) bringing together professionals who work with children in care and care leavers. The event will allow these practitioners to network and develop partnership working in order to make services more responsive to the needs of young people in care.
The YAP! was initiated when Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader, identified young adults as a priority group in his Police and Crime Plan 2013-2017 for more support to be provided for young people within the criminal justice system.
In response, the YAP! was established by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Reducing Reoffending Board in October 2013, and is funded through the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Sir Clive Loader said:
"The Young Adults Project is a great initiative which enables us to understand the needs and requirements of young people in the criminal justice system.
"This event provides the opportunity for us to network with each other and to establish how we can work more collaboratively in order for us to provide the support that is required for young people in the care system and those who are transitioning to adulthood."
The purpose of tomorrow’s event is to:
- improve understanding of the issues and needs affecting looked after children and care leavers at risk of entering or already in the contact with the criminal justice system
- increase knowledge of legislation, policy and practice across children’s services and the youth/adult criminal justice system
- build stronger links between front-line professionals and agencies
- jointly assess and agree how practices can change to improve the experience and outcomes of looked after children and care leavers
Professionals attending will have the opportunity to listen to presentations from the Care Leavers Association, local services for looked after children and care leavers and experiences of young people from the care system.
Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland (DLNR) Community Rehabilitation Company’s (CRC) Strategic Partnership Manager, Grace Strong said:
"Young adults require an approach which takes into account their developing maturity and specific needs.
"We need to understand the developmental and social milestones associated with making a successful transition to adulthood and ensure our collective responses and interventions support young adults who offend to make a positive transition.
These milestones are also associated with leading a constructive and crime-free lifestyle so it is in all of our interests to challenge ourselves and ensure we are delivering evidence-based effective services for this group."
Posted on Monday 9th May 2016