Parents, Carers and Families
Prevention
Probably the best way to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour is by dealing with the risks known to cause youth offending, while making the most of those things known to reduce the chance of offending, at an early stage. Click to read more about the prevention programmes available.
See also the Government’s Respect website. Supporting prevention programmes and ensuring parents fulfil their responsibilities are central to the Respect Action Plan.
Parenting programmes and orders
If your child becomes involved with the youth justice system or attends a project such as a Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP) or Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP), you may be offered the opportunity to voluntarily attend a parenting programme by the local youth offending team (YOT), if you think it would be useful. However, if your local YOT thinks that you really need a parenting programme to help stop your child offending and that you may not attend voluntarily, they can ask for a Parenting Order, which will legally require your attendance.
Parenting programmes provide parents with an opportunity to improve their skills in dealing with the behaviour that puts their child at risk of offending. They provide parents/carers with one-to-one advice, as well as practical support in handling the behaviour of their child, setting appropriate boundaries and improving communication.
By improving the parenting skills of parents/carers, these programmes address one of the biggest risks associated with young people offending.