Youth offending inspections
There is a youth offending team or service (YOT/YOS) linked to every local authority in England and Wales, with some covering more than one area. They are made up of representatives from the police, probation service, social services, health, education, drugs and alcohol misuse and housing officers.
Each team assesses the needs of the young offenders in its area, focusing on the specific problems that make each young person offend as well as measuring the risk they pose to others. This enables the team to identify suitable programmes to address the young person’s needs with the aim of preventing further offending.
All 155 teams in England and Wales were inspected over a five-year period that started in 2003, and the inspection programme included the Healthcare Commission, a predecessor to Care Quality Commission.
From April 2009, a three-year programme of core case inspections in each service was launched by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation. In parallel with this programme a small number of thematic reviews are being conducted looking in detail at specific areas of work within criminal justice settings.
CQC is working closely with HMI Probation and other criminal justice inspectorates to assess the contribution of health partners to the Youth Offending service as a whole, and identify key contributions within the thematic reviews.
The role of health care services
Children and young people who offend usually have more health needs than those who do not. Nearly every young person who comes into contact with youth offending services has some need relating to their physical health, emotional health or substance misuse.
NHS services are required to provide staff to work within the local youth offending team to help meet these needs and to minimise the extent to which health problems may be contributing to a young person’s offending.
In June 2010 we published a report into the work of youth offending teams (YOTs) in tackling alcohol misuse by children and young people. This report "Message in a Bottle” builds on the findings from two previous reviews of healthcare involvement in YOTs.
- Message in a Bottle: A joint inspection of youth alcohol misuse and offending (2010)
- Actions Speak Louder : A second review of healthcare in the community for young people who offend (2009)
- Lets talk about it: A review of healthcare in the community for young people who offend (2006)
For more details on these programmes please contact children-services-inspection@cqc.org.uk
