The Service – which is being piloted in Newham – is known as the Y2A Hub. It was developed to address the requirements of 18-25 year olds in the criminal justice system and their maturity needs.
The Hub comprises of a small, specialist team made up of psychologists, youth workers and a speech and language therapist. 2024 is the third year of delivery in Newham.
The Ministry of Justice carried out an evaluation over the course of two years, exploring its implementation across the borough. This included qualitative research, such as interviews with 60 practitioners and 35 young adults.
Researchers from the Government identified various areas of success, which they recommended other forensic services across the country implement:
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Co-location of services in a welcoming space
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Commitment of colleagues that are highly trained and motivated
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Flexibility around breach and enforcement
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Development of trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches
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Engagement of young adults
Other successes outlined in the report included identification of mental health, learning and neurodiversity needs, risk reduction and improvements to psychological wellbeing.
Laura West, the Clinical Lead for the Newham Y2A Hub, said: “The team have shown a strong commitment to engaging vulnerable young adults within the criminal justice system. This is alongside supporting colleagues to help young adults who often have little confidence in the system.
“The evaluation highlights the value of having specialist health provision ‘in-house’ alongside statutory and non-statutory agencies. In the future, we aim to expand our reach to other London boroughs.”
The full evaluation can be found on the Ministry of Justice’s website.