Paul Carberry: Smarter care in the community for kids helps turn young lives around

Paul Carberry is Action for Childrens Director for Scotland.

While the services in question are very different, they both show what can be achieved through smart justice approaches which place the individual at its heart. These services don’t just achieve better outcomes for the young person, but also for wider society and the public purse.

In Ayrshire, our Intensive Supervised Structured Care (ISSC) service provides support, care and a nurturing environment for young women who have experienced trauma, abuse, previous placement breakdown or are at risk of being placed in secure care. With a focus on emotional and mental well-being, support is provided to manage their emotions and the impact of negative childhood events. In close partnership with Police Scotland and social work, we work to keep young people within the community whilst ensuring we maximise the opportunities available to them.

Recognising that the project works to support those who “have some of the most complex needs within the care system”, the Care Inspectorate report goes on to highlight the efforts taken to reduce the level of risk while complimenting the detail in the multi-agency plans in place in order to support them to develop and mature.

The second project is our Serious Organised Crime Early Intervention Service in Glasgow. This service is the only project of its kind in Scotland, and indeed in the UK, which successfully diverts young people from involvement in serious organised crime.

A previous study by Glasgow City Council showed that 71 per cent of those who have used the service were kept out of secure care for at least six months during their involvement with the programme.

That figure includes a number who were previously deemed as being at high risk of entering such accommodation.

This new Research Scotland report highlights our ability to engage hard to reach young people as well as the wider family support. It recognises that we are on track to meet our ambitious targets – working with 240 young people over the next three years as well as with around 50 families, which is a real credit to our dedicated staff.

As part of the Scottish Government’s Serious Organised Crime Task Force, I am proud that it is an Action for Children project which is leading the way in diverting young people in Scotland away from a life in crime.

These two projects showcase the success of the alternatives to secure care and/or the prison estate for young people. The projects are key to our work with that vulnerable group within society.

These types of solutions not only achieve better outcomes, but in the long term they can save public money, as we know that young people will have a reduced risk of entering the criminal justice system or being placed in long-stay hospital care.

Each service plays an important and active role in supporting young people within their own community, turning lives around as well as having a long-term positive effect on their local community. As a society, it is these types of smart youth justice approaches that we should be investing in.

Action for Children Scotland works directly with more than 20,000 children, young people, parents and carers each year. With 87 services in Scotland, we are in communities where you live and work. We help transform the lives of thousands of children and young people each year and we’ve been doing so for 60 years.

Visit www.actionforchildren.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @actn4ChildrScot

Paul Carberry is Action for Children’s director for Scotland.