Guidance

Youth justice service governance and leadership

Published 10 December 2021

Applies to England and Wales

1. Foreword by Claudia Sturt, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board

In 2013, we published ‘Modern Youth Offending Partnerships: guidance on effective youth offending team governance in England’. Following that, in 2015 we published guidance on ‘Effective Youth Offending Team Governance in Wales’. Since their publication, the statutory basis and objectives of Management Boards and partnerships have stayed the same, but the landscape of justice services for children has evolved considerably.

One of many changes was the revision of the national ‘Standards for Children in the Justice System’. We did this to assist with changes to legislation and assessment, but also to recognise the maturity of justice services for children and their freedom and flexibility to innovate. In line with this, we launched the Youth Justice Resource Hub to give those working in the field better access to information and tools including practice examples. Also, following significant input from the sector, we are set to publish revised case management guidance in early 2022.

However, perhaps the most significant development over this period has been the progress towards putting children at the heart of what we do and focusing on better outcomes for them. We call this Child First; and this is the approach that the evidence tells us is most effective at preventing offending by children.

To complement this, throughout this guidance we now refer to ‘youth justice services’ rather than the statutory definition of youth offending team. This is to acknowledge the evolution of services in all their guises and to move away from the stigmatising language of ‘offending’.

We have incorporated these developments into this latest revision, which is for both England and Wales. We hope it will inform the strategic oversight of your service and the rigour of your youth justice plans.

When you design your plans, we also encourage that you use the toolkits available on the Youth Justice Application Framework. This will help you to understand the profile of children who offend, and to address violence and criminal exploitation in your local area. This includes ensuring that every effort is made to tackle the over-representation of children from ethnic minorities and those who are looked after.

Youth justice management boards and partnerships have an important role in ensuring that Child First, trauma informed principles and other child focused approaches are embedded strategically and operationally. Our evidence tells us that children want to be involved in this process. As such, in the guidance we suggest that you ensure their voices and experiences are heard and understood. Children want to be part of the solution and not the problem, which is inspiring given the specific challenges they often face.

Finally, I will end with a plea. Your position is unique. You can bring together partners, cement relationships and push through improvement to the system. I ask that you use this guidance to ensure that your youth justice plans do this to the greatest effect, for both the benefit of children and society as a whole.

2. Introduction

This document provides guidance to inform and supplement the statutory requirements for the delivery of services by local youth offending teams, referred to in this document as youth justice services (YJS) ^{[footnote 1]} and their management arrangements. It is intended to enable local authorities, including education and social care; and statutory partners in health, police and probation to fulfil their statutory duties effectively. It is also relevant to non-statutory partners such as housing, the voluntary sector and elected members who contribute to the delivery and oversight of youth justice services, and who may be part of the YJS management board. Whilst local services have freedom and flexibility on the use of this guidance, they are accountable for the quality of service they provide and for delivery against the standards for children in the youth justice system.

While many aspects of justice services for children and related policy have changed over time, the statutory basis and objectives of YJS management boards and partnerships have not altered.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 sets out the minimum statutory requirements for YJSs. This guidance re-states these requirements, with updates from subsequent legislation and guidance provided by the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB). The guidance also draws upon the aggregated findings from HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) inspections of YJSs which set out the characteristics of good governance.

Additional historical detail on youth justice provisions developed following the 1998 Act can be found in Appendix 1.

3. Statutory requirements, arrangements and structures

This section of the guidance summarises the requirements set out by legislation and guidance. The statutory aim of the youth justice system is to prevent children from offending (section 37 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).

3.1 Good governance

YJS management boards have evolved in several different ways. Some have retained their original structures, others have merged with other local strategic boards and/or become known by a different name. For the purpose of this document, the term ‘YJS management board’ applies to all such variations.

The YJB expects local management boards to take responsibility for all aspects of YJS governance; to lead strategically across relevant partners and to ensure a high-quality service is provided to all children.

Management board members should consider the following in terms of their knowledge of the YJS and their role in its oversight:

• Does the YJS have a clear vision for the service and how it can deliver a high-quality, personalised and responsive service to all children?
• Are the outcomes described in the standards for children in the youth justice system being achieved?
• Are there any gaps in knowledge about the YJS, how it operates and the needs of the children with whom it is working?
• How can the YJS partnership arrangements actively support effective service delivery? Are there any problems which need to be addressed?
• Are there any resource issues which may impact on service delivery?
• How can your individual role (as a management board member) be developed to enhance the effectiveness of the board? What training and support do you need?
• How satisfied are you that the YJS can demonstrate that it works effectively to support desistance and positive outcomes for children?
• Do you understand the characteristics of children coming into the local justice system, and any disparity in groups from the local population?
• Have any HMIP inspection findings, including thematic inspections, been addressed?

Management boards should also consider what they must do to ensure they understand the YJS and its roles, responsibilities and functioning. This includes:

• through management reports prepared for board meetings
• inviting different representatives from the YJS to talk about their work e.g. restorative approaches, reparation, trauma-informed practice, resettlement and transitions and other aspects of working with children
• inviting board members to meet informally with staff to explain their work
• case studies and presentations from children who have experienced the service
• use of data to understand the local cohort
• regular development days for board members

3.2 Inspection expectatations

HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) in its annual report on the inspection of youth justice services in 2018-2019 provides commentary on ‘what good looks like’ and what characterises an ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Inadequate’ YJS in the governance and leadership domain. YJSs and their management boards can use this to inform and support their approaches to leadership and governance.

Outstanding YJS	Inadequate YJS
Focus from strategic leaders is clear and well understood	Lack of a clear vision and strategy with little focus on service delivery
Combined leadership through strategic leaders and operational managers	Management board is ineffective – lack of understanding of board member roles
Board members clear on their roles and advocate for the YJS	Board members do not advocate for YJS in own services so barriers remain
Board understanding of the profile and level of need of children and their families and a commitment from the partnership to give access to the right services	Board does not have a good understanding of the needs of children and so cannot assess whether they have access to the right services
Strategic links to other forums which leads to prioritisation of youth justice issues such as child criminal exploitation	Inadequate mechanisms to assess quality of services and lack of sight across issues such as safety and wellbeing and public protection
Ongoing support after the intervention has ended	Attendance at boards not consistent and representation not at right level
Highly motivated staff and effective management that operationalise the strategy and youth justice plan	Too much focus on national KPIs rather than local data
Leaders that listen to staff and staff that are empowered to improve their work	Staff not asked for views
Learning and collaboration	Management has no clear plan as to how to deliver vision and strategy
	Not enough done to tackle poor delivery

Similarly, detailed information can be found on strengths and weaknesses in other elements of the leadership and governance domain. More information on what HMIP is looking for is contained in its youth standards framework.

3.3 Statutory partners and functions

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

• the local authority (this should include children’s social care and education)
• the police
• the probation service
• health (See Appendix 3 for further information on health representation)

The YJS includes staff seconded from or employed by these agencies. To support the YJS, additional partners may also be recruited to provide specific services and support to children.

There may be one or more YJS in each local authority area, or a YJS covering a number of local authorities (commonly two or three), for example, where a combination of local authorities is agreed in respect of the operating boundaries of health, police or probation, or smaller authorities combine to provide a jointly constituted team. The Act does not prescribe how services are delivered, but sets out two principal statutory functions for YJSs in Section 39 (7), to:

• co-ordinate the provision of youth justice services for all those in the local authority area who need them
• carry out such functions assigned in the youth justice plan which has been formulated by the local authority after consultation with relevant bodies

By providing the youth justice services outlined at Section 38 (4) of the Act, the local authority, together with its partners, also addresses its duty under paragraph 7(b) of Schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989, to take reasonable steps to encourage children within the area not to commit offences. This statutory duty is also contained in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Both Acts require local authorities to prevent children from offending and to promote their welfare.

The YJS has a statutory duty to co-operate with other agencies: see Appendix 4, and whilst not detailed in statute, the YJS also has a role in:

• working with children to meet their needs and protect the public from harm
• child/family welfare within a safeguarding context
• ensuring out of court disposals and court sentences are delivered effectively
• addressing the needs of victims and ensuring that children who offend are, where appropriate, able to participate in restorative approaches in line with the Victim Code of Practice
• analysing and addressing disparities in the cohort of children coming through the system; identifying those with protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act and addressing areas of over representation
• developing partnership working with other agencies to support children in the youth justice system

3.4 Finance and resources

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 not only places a duty upon the statutory partners to co-operate in securing appropriate youth justice services, it also creates a power to enable partners to fund youth justice services (section 38 (3)(a) and (b)), by:

• making payments directly, or
• contributing to a fund, established and maintained by the local authority, or as agreed by the local authority or the organisation hosting the YJS, out of which payments may be made

Subsection 4 lists the justice services YJSs must provide and makes provision for the amendment of this by the Secretary of State. The list of services, as amended by subsequent legislation, is provided at Appendix 5.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 does not direct what level of funding is necessary to support the staff and services required by the YJS. The percentage of statutory partner contributions is not defined and has varied over time. It will depend on the level of contribution from each agency; the numbers of children being worked with; and their particular needs.

The YJB administers the ‘core’ grant, to local authorities to be used for the purposes set out in legislation of providing youth justice services. The YJB may also from time to time provide grants to YJSs for specific purposes, which will be subject to their own specific terms and conditions of payment.

YJSs may also receive funding from Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the Welsh Government and other national or local initiatives. The local authority often provides a large proportion of the funding; however, all statutory partners are expected to fund or provide in-kind contributions to ensure the YJS can deliver its core functions effectively. Contributions from partners are negotiated around what is required to support seconded staff and other posts and activities necessary for the functioning of the YJS. This includes supporting the retention of a designated YJS manager and administrative staff, plus contributions to the accommodation of all co-located staff. The management board should ensure the YJS is fully funded to enable it to carry out its various functions and be made aware of any deficits or difficulties which arise in this respect.

Historically, YJSs have a pooled budget, which combines the contributions of the partners and other sources into a single fund. The YJS manager is generally the budget holder who manages it on behalf of the management board and local partnership arrangements. Pooled budgets are used to hold additional funding from partners to fund any of the services listed in Appendix 5 or as identified locally and agreed by the statutory partners.

3.5 The YJS management board

The primary duty of the YJS management board is to ensure appropriate youth justice services are in place within the local authority area. There are different local arrangements that will ensure appropriate governance and oversight of youth justice services. This will be most effective where there is a clearly identifiable management board with responsibility for:

• leadership and oversight of justice services for children
• contributing to local multi-agency strategies and work with local and national criminal justice organisations
• safeguarding children who receive youth justice services

Management boards that effectively discharge these responsibilities are likely to ensure an integrated approach to crime prevention and supporting victims of crime.

The role of the YJS management board is to:

• have oversight and strategic leadership of the YJS, including developing a clear local vision and strategic links with other local statutory agencies
• ensure the service operates according to Child First principles
• determine how the YJS is composed and funded, how it operates and what functions it carries out
• oversee the appointment of a YJS manager (see Appendix 6 for more information on the role)
• understand the performance of the YJS and the needs of children in the justice system and any challenges to service delivery; and oversee and respond appropriately to the YJS’s performance; and encourage innovation
• engaging with incorporating the views of children to deliver a high quality, individualised and responsive service for all
• determine how appropriate youth justice services are to be provided and funded; and oversee the YJS budget
• oversee the formulation and implementation of the Youth Justice Plan taking note of national guidance on underlying principles such as Child First, and encouraging the use of toolkits to develop specific areas of work/actions plans to address issues such as disproportionality
• have strategic oversight of the standards for children in the youth justice system (2019) and be satisfied that appropriate systems and policies are in place to achieve positive outcomes for children
• ensure that any action plans which comprise part of the annual Youth Justice Plan or audits of performance are carried out
• recognise the significance of the role of governance in inspections and participate in HMIP inspections of the YJS and any related follow-up activity, actively consider HMIP findings, establish a plan to address any failings identified and then monitor activity to deliver improvements
• escalate challenges with partner organisations appropriately particularly if children are not receiving the services or provision, they require

The management board should develop terms of reference so that the membership is clear about its role and function and how the board will operate. The terms of reference should be periodically reviewed. The following example is on the Youth Justice Resource Hub include: YJS Management Board Induction Pack and Terms of Reference - Neath and Port Talbot Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service (April 2021).

3.6 Chairing and membership

The local authority chief executive has a statutory responsibility for the establishment of YJSs and should be routinely engaged in overview of the service.

The chair of the management board is appointed by the local authority chief executive following consultation with partners. Any of the partners may chair; and in some cases, an independent chair is appointed. It is also good practice for a deputy chair to be identified.

The chair should:

• be consistent
• be of a sufficient level of seniority and have the independence to challenge and hold strategic partners to account
• have a good understanding of their role and knowledge of youth justice
• be well engaged with the YJS and have sufficient understanding of their work
• maintain a close working relationship with the YJS manager, but also hold them to account. It is important for there to be independence between the chair and the YJS manager to ensure that board processes can be effectively used if there are concerns about accountability
• provide confident leadership to the board
• provide leadership to integrate the efforts of the youth justice partnership with other crime prevention and safeguarding agencies

All statutory funding partners must be represented on the YJS management board, i.e. the local authority (this should include children’s social care and education), police, probation and health and should be of an appropriate level of seniority to make strategic decisions, and to prevent delays in committing both staffing and financial resources. On occasions where the senior representative is not able to attend, it is good practice for each statutory member to nominate a deputy who can attend in their absence, to ensure a consistent representation from the same organisation and to maintain an organisational presence at the board.

Lack of strategic representatives from any of the statutory organisations can impact on the effectiveness of the board and the quality of provision available to children. Sporadic attendance, sufficient seniority and lack of representation are issues that the management board should address and escalate through appropriate routes.

Management board members should receive an induction into the role, with an up-to-date induction pack containing key information about the YJS, its function, key documentation and pen pictures of other board members. Some examples of this are as follows:

YJS Management Board Induction Pack and Terms of Reference - Neath and Port Talbot Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service (April 2021)

Briefing on Inspection of Youth Justice Services and the Role of the Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service Management Board - Neath Port and Talbot YJEIS (April 2021)

Newsletter for Management Board - Neath Port and Talbot Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service (April 2021)

Management board members should be provided with information and training when important changes take place within youth justice or their locality which will impact on how the YJS operates and delivers its services. Induction should include the requirements of attendance at the board ensuring there is a commitment to regularly attend, to scrutinise, check and challenge information which is presented and contribute to oversight of the YJS and its functions. It is good practice to hold annual board development/training sessions.

Membership is not limited to the statutory partners and the board may benefit from including a wider membership. Additional partners who are often represented on YJS management boards include:

• youth court magistrates
• court legal advisers
• community safety representatives
• youth support service representatives
• local secure establishments
• housing providers
• education, training and careers providers
• voluntary sector representatives
• elected councillors
• representative from the office of the PCC
• representative from the Violence Reduction Unit/Prevention Unit
• representative from victim services
• children – to ensure their voices and experiences are heard and understood in a way that is meaningful and not tokenistic

The management board partnership should reflect the most appropriate local arrangement for maximum effectiveness. The composition of the management board may change over time to ensure the governance and leadership of the YJS is able to take a forward-looking approach to delivering better services for children. membership should periodically be revisited (it is good practice to do this annually) as part of a regular review of terms of reference.

Board members should be active in their attendance and participation. They should recognise the contribution their own agency makes to the YJS and advocate the work of the YJS in their own broader roles. Their responsibilities include:

• setting the strategic direction for key services
• ensuring that trauma informed principles; Child First and other child focused approaches are embedded strategically and operationally
• steering delivery and satisfying themselves about achieving the outcomes set out in the standards for children in the youth justice system (2019)
• overseeing and driving up the performance of the whole justice system for children locally, through analysis of data and cases, with board members contributing data from their own agency as appropriate
• taking action to address any system wide performance concerns including over representation of specific groups of children; and when children are not receiving timely access to provision e.g. on resettlement and throughout transition processes
• providing and committing sufficient resources, not only through seconding staff from statutory partners, but also by ensuring their contributions are sufficient to cover IT costs, suitable office accommodation and space to work with children etc
• championing the provision of effective, child centred services for children within their own partner agencies and those agencies they work with
• supporting the YJS manager to address local difficulties and challenges by holding other members to account
• helping to resolve delivery issues within their organisation which affect the performance of the YJS or the services children are receiving
• ensuring maximum value for money

3.7 Information to be provided to the management board

The YJS manager should prepare and provide the management board with information about the operation of the YJS to enable it to scrutinise activity effectively ^{[footnote 2]}. The content of the reporting should be agreed with the management board. Some examples are offered below and could include:

• quarterly performance data on reducing the number of first-time entrants to the system, reducing reoffending and reducing the use of custody, improving resettlement and transitions outcomes (and comparison with YJS families as well as examining national averages)
• locally agreed performance data and indicators (for example caseload size, the profile and needs of the youth justice and out of court cohorts, demographics, disproportionality, numbers of children held in police custody, remand and custodial episodes, children requiring resettlement support and transitions to probation and other adult services)
• information on significant incidents/events involving children known to the YJS (including serious incidents)
• information about partnership working and its impact on service delivery e.g. activity undertaken by seconded workers and the interface with children’s services regarding safety and well-being
• information on the characteristics and desistance needs of the cohort of children the YJS is working with, including the impact of any particular problems such as mental health on offending behaviours
• staffing, resourcing and funding issues (including sickness levels, capacity issues and staff training and development plans)
• development of local initiatives/projects
• information on evidence based effective practice from other areas
• risks and challenges (including impacts on YJS funding; risk log and associated action plan)
• information on local or national initiatives or changes in legislation which will impact on how services are delivered; provide updates on national issues/strategies as they develop
• updates from HMIP thematic inspections and publications
• helping to resolve delivery issues within their organisation which affect the performance of the YJS
• information on the provision of effective services for children within their own partner agencies and those agencies they work with
• update from the operational manager (or equivalent) on issues and challenges facing the service (soft intelligence not provided in the performance data)
• the voice of the child/feedback from children on their experiences
• workforce development needs

Examples on the Youth Justice Resource Hub include:

Partner Proforma for Management Board - Neath Port Talbot Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service (April 2021)

Safeguarding Report for Management Board – Neath Port and Talbot Youth Justice and Early Intervention Service (April 2021)

Local authorities and their partners should also provide up-dates and early warnings to the board to prevent key decisions being made by one partner without proper consideration on the impact on the way the YJS functions. This could include:

• changes to legislation impacting on the work of the YJS
• local developments in their organisations that are relevant to the work of the YJS and the delivery of youth justice services
• plans to alter their financial contributions to the YJS
• plans to restructure or re-locate that would impact on the YJS, or local authority plans to restructure the YJS
• plans to change the role of the YJS manager

3.8 Strategic links for the management board

The ability of the YJS to provide effective services relies on the support of partner agencies; the commitment of resources and funding; and links to local partnerships and activities which are seeking to improve outcomes for children and ensure their welfare and well-being. YJSs need to be able to respond to local and national initiatives which indicate changes in patterns of offending behaviour and the needs of children in the youth justice system in their locality (e.g. the emergence of ‘county lines’ activity and concerns about child exploitation); levels of serious violence and its causes; and the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences.

The YJS management board should effectively support and enable the YJS to meet its objectives, to deliver a personalised, individualised service to children. This is primarily done through the review of management information; contribution to the development of the annual Youth Justice plan; monitoring the quality and effectiveness of the work; and fulfilling the board’s responsibilities under the standards for children in the youth justice system (2019).

It is important that YJSs have good working relationships at strategic and operational levels with other local government departments and with partners. This applies whatever the governance arrangements are locally.

Many senior officers sitting on YJS management boards often have similar roles on other boards, for example:

• Community Safety Partnerships
• Children and Families Trusts
• Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (England) or Safeguarding Children Boards (Wales)
• Police and Crime Commissioners groups
• Local Criminal Justice Boards
• Health and Wellbeing Boards
• Multi-Agency Public Protection boards
• Integrated Offender Management arrangements
• Violence Reduction/Prevention Unit
• Local Authority Scrutiny Panels

This provides the YJS management board with key strategic links to both specific and overarching initiatives, and an influence in cross agency work.

Management board members can also play their part in improving the quality of justice provision for children by contributing at a national level for example:

• to the development of specific guidance by national bodies such as the Probation Service, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Local Government Association and Welsh Local Government Association etc.
• in Wales, implementing and contributing to the development of the Youth Justice Blueprint for Wales
• supporting the active involvement of YJS managers in relevant professional bodies
• engaging in the YJB’s Youth Justice Peer Review process and encouraging the YJS manager to contribute to the national Youth Justice Sector-led Improvement Programme

3.9 Youth Justice Plan

Section 40 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 sets out responsibilities in relation to the production of an annual Youth Justice Plan. Local authorities have a duty, after consultation with partner agencies, to formulate and implement a Youth Justice Plan setting out:

• how justice services for children in their area are to be provided and funded
• how the YJS will be composed and funded, how it will operate, and what functions it will carry out

The YJB provides guidance on the content of the Plan which can alter annually. The Plan is a precondition of the youth justice grant and, as such, must be signed off by the chair of the management board before it is submitted to the YJB and be publicly accessible. The Plan is the YJS and management board’s main statement of purpose and sets out its proposals to achieve positive outcomes for children.

It will generally cover the following:

• introduction, vision and strategy
• governance, leadership and partnership arrangements
• resources, value for money and performance
• challenges, risks and issues
• a business and improvement plan for the YJS

Example: Children and Young People`s Youth Justice Plan

Although signed off by the chair, the management board should govern and own the process of preparing and implementing the Plan, and consider the local, regional and national context in which the YJS is operating. It should address how the Plan is co-ordinated with other local plans including those of wider partnerships, such as local authority planning – particularly the Children’s and Young People’s Plan; the Police and Crime Plan; Violence Reduction/Prevention Unit; Community Safety; Local Criminal Justice Board; and Public Health Plans. It is important that the Youth Justice Plan demonstrates not only what the YJS will deliver as a service, but how strategic links with other supporting initiatives will be developed and maintained.

Youth Justice Plans are public documents and require political scrutiny and approval. Local arrangements vary on how this is achieved, but Youth Justice Plans may be considered at full council meetings or scrutiny committees, underlining the importance of the issues to elected members. Seeking elected member endorsement is an important factor in maintaining informed dialogue on youth offending matters with the community.

3.10 Standards for children in the youth justice system

The YJB has several statutory functions which include formulating the standards for children in the youth justice system and reporting to the Secretary of State on the operation of the system. The standards are set by the Secretary of State on the advice of the YJB.

The standards provide a framework for practice; and define the minimum expectations for all agencies which provide statutory services to ensure good quality services are provided to children which assist them to achieve positive outcomes. The standards cover provision of services in relation to:

• out-of-court work
• at court
• in the community
• in the secure estate
• resettlement and transitions

Each standard has two sections: one relating to strategic activity and specific policies and the other to operational activity. The YJB requires that standards are periodically self-audited by YJSs to provide information on the operation of the system at a local and national level. The management board should require audits to be regularly updated and to participate in the process to be assured of the quality of service delivery and development.

Management boards should be satisfied that systems and policies are in place specific to, and supportive of children in the justice system. The management board have a key function in quality assurance of service delivery and its role in relation to the standards include:

• participating in any strategic audits of the standards (potentially by identifying a lead board member for each standard)
• reviewing the findings of any strategic and operational audits of the standards
• agreeing any action plan arising from the audits

Audits of the standards must be signed off by the chair of the management board, with the expectation that all board members will be conversant with the findings, any action the YJS intends to take as a result and will support the YJS to successfully achieve those actions.

3.11 Child First

The YJB expects that YJSs and their management boards will treat children in the justice system as children and to reflect how they do this in their Youth Justice Plan. This means that they will:

• Prioritise the best interests of children and recognise their particular needs, capacities, rights and potential. All work will be child-focused, developmentally informed, acknowledge structural barriers and meet responsibilities towards children
• Promote children’s individual strengths and capacities to develop their pro-social identity for sustainable desistance, leading to safer communities and fewer victims. All work will be constructive and future-focused, built on supportive relationships that empower children to fulfil their potential and make positive contributions to society
• Encourage children’s active participation, engagement and wider social inclusion. All work will be a meaningful collaboration with children and their carers
• Promote a childhood removed from the justice system, using pre-emptive prevention, diversion and minimal intervention. All work will minimise criminogenic stigma from contact with the system

A checklist to help you put this into practice is available on the Youth Justice Resource Hub.

4. HM Inspectorate of Probation

HM Inspectorate of Probation inspects core YJS activity and also conducts thematic inspections. The core inspection framework is divided into three domains:

• organisational delivery
• court disposals
• out-of-court disposals

The organisational element of the inspection has a specific focus for management boards as it focuses on:

• governance and leadership (vision and effective partnership support)
• staffing (resources, skills and quality of work)
• the availability of partnerships and services (a clear understanding of the needs of the youth justice cohort and the availability of resources to meet that need)
• information and facilities provided by the YJS (policies and procedures are in place and IT systems meet the needs of staff and children).

The governance element of core YJS inspections now constitutes a third of the inspection criteria. As such, the role and function of the management board in supporting the YJS to achieve its objectives is now more prominent in inspection activity.

The HMIP inspection criteria for youth justice is available online.

Management boards should be familiar with the requirements and expectations in terms of governance and leadership.

5. The role of the YJB in supporting effective governance

The YJB and the Ministry of Justice have a shared aim to secure improvements in the justice system for children. The statutory aim of the justice system for children, in which the YJB has a unique leadership role, is to prevent offending by children. The YJB plays a national leadership role in support of YJS partnerships through influencing government departments and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders in local government (England), the Welsh Government, devolved administrations, elected mayors, health services, policing, children’s services, the judiciary and others to encourage and promote a strong focus on recognising and responding to children involved in the justice system as children.

To enable the YJB to undertake its statutory functions related to oversight and evidence-based practice, a Performance Oversight Board (POB) meets on a quarterly basis. The POB has oversight of performance across the justice system for children, and collates and responds to national, regional and local performance based on data, inspection results, and intelligence from various sources. Where necessary, it takes decisions for formal escalation of concerns.

The YJB is committed to the identification and dissemination of evidence-based practice. It is empowered to make grants to YJSs, with the approval of the Secretary of State, in support of this by Section 41 (5)(g) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. In this role, the YJB undertakes national change or improvement programmes. Additionally, the YJB encourages local services to develop evaluation of their practice and the efficacy of specific interventions, while also providing opportunities for local services to promote and share innovative/promising practice.

6. Appendix 1: history

The provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to establish YJSs were first implemented through guidance in the Inter-departmental Circular on Establishing Youth Offending Teams ^{[footnote 3]}. This guidance was updated by Sustaining the Success ^{[footnote 4]} and Modern youth offending partnerships: guidance on effective youth offending team governance in England, YOT management board guidance: guidance on effective youth offending team governance in Wales. This guidance further updates the previous versions to cover changes in legislation, policy, practice and progress and learning from experience of delivery in England and Wales.

Since the introduction of YJSs, the UK government has continued to legislate to improve and refine criminal justice policy relating to children. There was an extension of prevention and diversion activities, resulting in significant and sustained reductions in the number of children entering the youth justice system. At the same time, the numbers of children being remanded or sentenced to custody have significantly dropped. However, there have been new challenges in the form of the pandemic, ‘county lines’ activity, concerns about various forms of child exploitation and serious violence, but also a greater understanding of trauma and its impact on children.

During their lifetime, YJSs have seen periods of major service development and expansion, and periods where emphasis has been placed on efficiency and service integration. They have also witnessed major reforms within other criminal justice agencies and across social care and other significant public policy areas.

Despite this, the legislative requirements placed upon local authorities and their partners to form a YJS remain unaltered and should be upheld by YJS partnerships. Indeed, several parliamentary reviews have confirmed the strength of the YJS model of delivery.

7. Appendix 2: the role and composition of the YJS

Section 39 (5) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 states that YJSs must include at least one of each of the following:

• an officer of a local probation board or an officer of a provider of probation services
• where the local authority is in England, a person with experience of social work in relation to children, nominated by the director of children’s services (who has, in turn, been appointed by the local authority under Section 18 of the Children Act 2004)
• where in Wales a social worker of the local authority
• a police officer
• a person nominated by an integrated care board (ICBs) or a local health board, any part of whose area lies within the local authority’s area
• a person with experience in education, nominated by the director of children’s services (who has, in turn, been appointed by the local authority under Section 18 of the Children Act 2004).
• where the local authority is in Wales, a person nominated by the chief education officer appointed by the local authority under section 532 of the Education Act 1996

However, membership of the YJS is not limited to these representatives and could include specialist workers commissioned to provide specific services such as substance misuse workers, youth workers, community safety officers, gang workers, speech and language therapists, parenting officers, psychologists or careers adviser. YJSs should also have adequate administrative support and identified staff or individuals who are able to produce management information and submit returns on performance to the YJB and others.

8. Appendix 3: health partners

The health landscape is complex, local configurations differ and there are differences between England and Wales (as health is a devolved responsibility). YJS boards will wish to invite the most relevant health partners to join the board, either as a permanent member or to ensure there is a strategic link. The options are:

8.1 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) (NHS England)

ICBs are partnerships that bring together commissioners of NHS services, local authorities and other local partners across a geographical area to collectively plan health and care services to meet the needs of their population.

Following the implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022 on 1 July 2022, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were abolished and their functions assumed by ICBs.

YJS management boards should engage with ICBs at the earliest opportunity to ensure the needs of children in or at risk of entering the youth justice system are understood and included in ICB planning, and that appropriate representation at the board is maintained.

8.2 Regional health and justice teams (NHS England)

These teams are responsible for commissioning liaison and diversion services (for people of all ages), healthcare into custodial establishments, Secure Stairs and the Framework for Integrated Care – community vanguards. Regional health and justice commissioners may have numerous YJSs in their area, however, as they commission key services used by children in and at risk of entry into the justice system, they are important partners and strategic links should be formed.

8.3 Local health board (NHS Wales)

The YJS management board must have a senior representative from the local health board (e.g. Head of CAMHS) covering the locality the YJS is based in. Local health boards are responsible for planning and delivering NHS services in their areas.

8.4 Providers (England and Wales)

The YJS management board will also find it useful to form strategic links directly with commissioned providers of services, such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), liaison and diversion services, Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (FCAMHS) (England), the Forensic Adolescent Consultation Treatment Service (FACTS) (Wales) and substance misuse services. These are important partnership relationships which will result in services which are better tailored to meet the needs of children in and at risk of entering the justice system.

9. Appendix 4: duty to co-operate

YJSs have a duty to co-operate with several other agencies and bodies, for example:

• Under Section 325 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, YJSs are one of the named ‘duty to co-operate’ bodies within Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)
• Under Section 10 (4) of the Children Act 2004, YJSs have a duty to cooperate with children’s services in making arrangements to improve the well-being of children in the local authority’s area. This duty is set out in the Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/90) (England) and in part 7 (Safeguarding) of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 in the establishment and operation of Multi Agency Safeguarding Arrangements (England) and Safeguarding Children’s Boards (Wales).

Police and Crime Commissioners have a duty to co-operate with other organisations ‘so as to provide an efficient and effective criminal justice system for the police area’. (Section 10 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011). YJSs are included in this duty to co-operate.

YJSs are also obliged to meet levels of service agreed nationally that bind all criminal justice agencies, for example levels of service set out in the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime.

10. Appendix 5: youth justice services

The list below sets out the youth justice services required by Section 38 (4) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, 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 section 91(3) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012; (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 sections 25 to 27 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003; (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); (g) the supervision of children and young persons sentenced to a detention and training order (including an order under section 211 of the Armed Forces Act 2006); (h) 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 section 250 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003; (i) 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; (j) the implementation of referral orders within the meaning of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.

11. Appendix 6: YJS managers

Although the detail of the role is not described in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, there should be a clearly identifiable YJS manager/head of service. The YJS manager holds responsibility for co-ordinating local youth justice services, determining its composition and structure and managing of the operation of the YJS according to the Youth Justice Plan. This includes:

• managing staff and resources
• allocating work and ensuring staff have the necessary skills and experience to carry out their roles
• determining the structure of the team and how functions are organised and delivered
• liaising closely with the police and courts
• liaising with children’s services, education and health services
• driving performance by ensuring that work is quality assured, standards are met and children are effectively supported
• developing and maintaining partner relationships

The scope of the YJS manager role is dependent upon the size of the locality the YJS is covering, its demographics and the resources available to the statutory partners and from other sources in the YJS area.

While there is no specific requirement concerning the grade of the YJS manager, it is a strategic role needing to be sufficiently senior to act effectively across its partnership area with all relevant agencies. They should be managed by an officer of sufficient seniority within their agency/local authority and have clear access to the chief executive (or executives in multi authority YJSs).

HMIP inspections and YJB support and improvement activity have both identified weak YJS leadership and management as a significant contributory factor in deteriorating performance or practice deficit. This points to a continuing need for the YJS manager to maintain high-level strategic influence and to be fully supported in their role by the management board.

The YJS manager should ensure the YJS leadership team has an appropriate range of skills and experience to effectively support service delivery. The leadership team should be proactive in providing an effective link between the work of the YJS and the management board.

1. The statutory definition of a local youth justice service (see appendix two) is contained in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. In statute these are known as youth offending teams. However, as services have evolved, they have become known by different names. For the purposes of this guidance we use the term youth justice services (YJSs). ↩

2. The YJB advises that local authorities provide YJSs with a dedicated data analyst role to prepare performance data for the YJB, other funders and the management board. They should be familiar with the YJS Counting Rules and the nature of youth justice data and be able to produce analysis reports on performance, trends and the profile of the cohort. ↩

3. Home Office (1998) Inter-departmental Circular on Establishing Youth Offending Teams London: Home Office ↩

4. Sustaining the Success London: YJB ↩