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Youth offending team
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About the service
We aim to prevent offending by children and young people in Kirklees and provide support to those who are in contact with the criminal justice system.
The Trust works alongside Kirklees Council to provide the service and employs a learning disability nurse to work directly with the team. To ensure that the needs of young people with learning disabilities are met a learning disability nurse ensures the service takes into account the needs of the person in court and throughout their court order.
The learning disability nurse also acts as an advocate to support, educate and advise all parts of the criminal justice system as to the needs of people with learning disabilities.
They also liaise with general and specialist services to ensure support is available to the person and their carers both during and at the end of their court order.
Why would someone choose the service?
People do not choose to come to this service, however, we do have young people and carers who continue to keep in touch with us because of the support they have received.
Staff you may meet
- There are many people who work behind the scenes to keep services running and you may meet them in hospital or community settings. They include porters, cleaners, plumbers, electricians, decorators receptionists and secretaries who all work to make sure healthcare settings are kept clean, tidy and safe.
- Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients. Increasingly, care is given in the community, with mental health nurses visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.
- Social workers help, support and protect people who are facing difficulties in their lives. They help people to take positive steps to overcome problems and improve their lives. This could involve assessing and reviewing a service user’s situation, building relationships with service users and their families and agreeing what practical support someone needs.
Why a professional should choose the service
A commissioner would choose this service because it has the needs of the individual at its heart. The service offers value for money by utilising the skills of the nurse to ensure the right assessment is undertaken by the right practitioner in a timely way.
This ensures that costs are reduced and the person has an accurate assessment of their ability to engage and is given appropriate support for their court appearance and throughout their court order.
Support offered
We offer a range of support to individuals accessing our service, including:
- Screening and assessment to ensure any unidentified needs are acknowledged and considered within the criminal justice framework. This then feeds into the pre-sentence report and any subsequent court order
- Delivery of interventions that are tailored to ensure the young person is able to engage and understand the programme of work
- Work with the victim liaison officer to ensure victim work is delivered appropriately to the level of need
- Attend court to support the young person and advise the magistrates as to any specific requirements
- Commission or request specific assessments, for example forensic, psychological or psychiatric when the evidence would suggest that the person would be unable to participate in the criminal justice process
Outcomes
Through our support we hope to ensure that the individual:
- Does not offend again
- Has understanding of the victim’s views
- Repairs the harm caused through restorative approaches, mediation and reparation activities
- The delivery of their order reflects the person’s needs whilst ensuring they understand the process and intervention
Referrals accepted from:
Courts, Youth Offending Team
Referral criteria:
To be eligible for referral to our service the person must have been in contact with the criminal justice system.