Accommodation
The Role of YOTs
YOTs need to work with housing authorities, social services, housing providers and voluntary groups. Many providers are unaware of the range of services and interventions provided by YOTs, so it is vital for YOTs to promote the benefits of the services they are able to offer.
The YJB’s Corporate and Business Plan 2006/07–2008/09 sets out an accommodation target for YOTs.
Performance indicator 12:
"Ensure that all YOTs have a named accommodation officer, and all young people subject to community interventions or on release from the secure estate have suitable accommodation to go to."
Here, the definition of ‘suitable accommodation’ is provided by the Children (Leaving Care) (England) Regulations 2001:
11(2) ...”suitable accommodation” means accommodation –
(a) Which so far as reasonably practicable is suitable for the child in the light of his needs, including his health needs and any needs arising from any disability;
(b) In respect of which the responsible authority has satisfied itself as to the character and suitability of the landlord or other provider; and
(c) In respect of which the responsible authority has so far as reasonably practicable taken into account the child’s –
(i) Wishes and feelings; and
(ii) Education, training and employment needs.
In order to deliver on this performance indicator and to resolve housing issues, YOTs need to recognise that they are not direct purchasers of social housing and as such should focus their efforts on working with local partners and influencing local housing policy at all levels. They will also need to develop local accommodation strategies based on a two-strand approach:
1. preventative work to minimise homelessness
2. enabling access to accommodation, and support to sustain accommodation.
YOTs can contribute in the following ways:
Knowledge of offending behaviour
Young people referred to housing projects by the YOT will already be in the youth justice system on account of their offending behaviour and YOT practitioners are in a good position to give to housing providers information that will enable them to manage and support those young people.
It is legitimate to question policies that restrict access for known offenders, where risks and needs may be managed from a position of awareness. Other young people accepted into housing projects may be involved in offending behaviour, but simply not yet have been caught. It is important to remind providers that referrals from YOTs are a managed risk and in many cases the young people involved will already be taking responsibility for their lives and their offending behaviour and be involved in a range of programmes designed to support them.
The Asset assessment tool provides a range of information on young people’s needs and circumstances, which can enable housing and support providers to link with YOTs, make appropriate allocations and tailor support needs.
Access to other services
The multi-disciplinary nature of YOTs means that they can offer young people access to a range of services to meet their wider needs, e.g. health, education training and employment, substance misuse and mentoring services. Access to these services can provide reassurance to accommodation providers that these wider support needs are being met, allowing them to focus on housing-related needs.
Supervision and surveillance requirements
These can help to address concerns about the risk of reoffending. Providers may not be familiar with either the range of interventions available or the degree of contact or support practitioners may be providing to meet supervision and surveillance requirements. Providers need to be made aware of programmes such as ISSP. The highly structured and supervised nature of ISSP can supplement housing-related support and bring stability for young people with chaotic lifestyles.
Preventing homelessness
YOTs undertake a range of work functions that directly or indirectly contribute to the prevention of homelessness, e.g. parenting programmes, mentoring, mediation, cognitive behaviour and life skills programmes. With the growing emphasis in housing on the prevention of homelessness, it is in the interests of housing departments to work with YOTs to tackle emerging housing issues early, to provide focused joined-up solutions and to avoid duplicating intervention work.
For example, a young person’s custody release date will be known, in many cases, on entry to custody, so early involvement of housing services means housing needs can be addressed in advance of release. This may enable mediation work to be done with the family to facilitate a return to the home environment. A planned approach will help to avoid potential problems on release.
Compatibility of services with community safety and crime reduction
Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act requires all local authority services to be compatible with community safety and crime reduction strategies. Given that there are proven links between homelessness and offending, it is important that local Supporting People teams and housing authorities ensure their services are compatible with those strategies and take into account the complex needs of offenders. The provision of suitable housing and support for young offenders should be part of this process and it is important that YOTs make sure this link it made.
An understanding of the criminal justice system
Most housing specialists do not have in-depth knowledge of the youth justice system. YOTs are well placed to provide advice and training on existing practice and forthcoming changes in criminal justice interventions, which can help housing providers to plan and deliver more appropriate and responsive services for young people in housing need, both at a practical level and within their local homelessness strategies and Supporting People programmes. YOTs need to explore joint training possibilities and opportunities.
Learning from youth justice interventions
The preventative agenda means housing providers are seeking innovative ideas to help people keep their home. Established youth justice intervention principles, such as restorative justice, could be applied to disputes between residents of housing schemes, or where a young person’s behaviour raises concerns and threatens to result in eviction or exclusion. The approach could be developed as an alternative to eviction or exclusion. Parenting programmes and mentoring schemes also have a place in preventing homelessness and YOTs should be willing to share their skills and experiences with housing providers to develop solutions to some of the issues.
Providing support
Few young offenders who need to live independently will be able to manage without a degree of support. Supporting People is the planning and funding framework for housing-related support services. Most services providing support will now be supplied through this programme.
However, where support is not available, or where a young person has additional needs, YOTs should create a support package from the resources at their disposal – for example, using mentoring, parenting programmes, mediation, etc. This can supplement the services provided by housing specialists and could persuade a provider that a young person will be able to maintain their housing.