Going home to unsuitable and unstable accommodation is a major risk factor for offending. It makes it much more difficult for young people to attend school, get a job, join a doctor’s practice, or benefit from programmes to address offending behaviour.
One in five of the young people seen by youth offending teams (YOTs) are assessed as being in housing need. The YJB has therefore put together an accommodation strategy, which addresses the issues around identifying or developing suitable accommodation for young people who offend.
In addition, various resettlement programmes are available to help young people get settled after they leave custody, when finding suitable accommodation can cause particular problems (and they might be refused the chance of early release if they have no address to go to).
Resettlement also needs to address all the other aspects of a young person’s life, and should be co-ordinated between a range of agencies, to ensure young people can get to the mainstream and specialist services they are entitled to, once they get back into the community. The process should start before a young person goes into custody, and continue after the end of their sentence.
The YJB works to:
- research and disseminate good practice in resettling young people, and to improve the quality of what is provided
- monitor the progress of the delivery of our publication, Youth Resettlement – A Framework for Action
- ensure, through our quality assurance procedure, that resettlement services work.