Reducing Reoffending
Intensive Fostering
The Intensive Fostering programme, funded by the YJB, is an alternative to custody for children and young people whose home life is felt to have contributed significantly to their offending behaviour.
Like other community penalties, Intensive Fostering aims to hold a young person to account for their crimes while ensuring they get the support they need within their community to address factors which may have contributed to their offending behaviour.
The programme provides highly intensive care for up to 12 months for each individual, as well as a comprehensive programme of support for their family. The scheme is based on the Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) model which has been used successfully with offenders in Oregon since the 1980s. This model is based on a system of points and levels which reward appropriate behaviour.
A support team is employed to work with:
- the child or the young person, in developing their social skills and changing their behaviours and attitudes
- the birth family, by offering a range of support, including family therapy, counselling and parenting skills
- the foster carer, by providing daily contact with a supervisor to discuss the young person’s behaviour patterns and ensure that any potential problems are identified before they become critical.
All Intensive Fostering carers are assessed, registered and trained by the local authority and require specialised in-depth training in the MTFC model as well as knowledge of offending behaviour, the legal framework and the work of YOTs. Carers should also receive training on understanding child/adolescent development, methods of communicating with young people, dealing with challenging behaviour, risk management and drug misuse.
The Intensive Fostering scheme is currently being piloted with foster care providers in Hampshire and Staffordshire. Placements of young people in homes began in early 2005.
Intensive Fostering emerged as part of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which makes a provision to include foster care as a requirement of a Supervision Order.