Youth Justice Practitioner – AR

Your Main Priorities

• Work as part of a multi-agency youth justice team providing a seamless service which identifies and addresses the risk factors associated with offending behaviour and promotes the rehabilitation and social inclusion of young people within their families, schools and local communities.
• Create and maintain strong working relationships with young people who are subject to Statutory Orders and Out of Court disposals, their families, victims of crime, professionals and other team members to ensure effective and efficient communication.
• Be alert to the requirement to manage the risks posed by young people, to others and to themselves, and to work within agreed risk management plans.
• Ensure the service has maintained, accurate and complete records on all required systems both internally and externally.
• Set up, attend and proactively contribute to all relevant meetings such as initial and planning meetings, conferences and forums.
• Create and report on a variety of statistical information as required.
• Monitor and evaluate processes and stages of the youth offending services to ensure quality and successful outcomes that reduce the risks that young people present to others and themselves.
• Undertake the duties of the other specialists to ensure continuation of services during staff absence and variable workloads.

Key duties

• Undertake detailed holistic assessments using recognised youth justice assessment tools.
• Establish strong working relationships with young people within the youth service, providing them with support and encouragement to undertake positive activities and make good choices.
• Offer support and guidance to young people who have specific safety and wellbeing issues such as substance misuse or mental health, making timely referrals where necessary.
• Facilitate and deliver offending behaviour programmes to young people either on a one to one or group work basis.
• Work within the framework and procedures relating to resettlement to support young people.
• Establish close links with secure estate providers, maintain contact with young people serving a custodial sentence, contribute to sentence-planning and rehabilitation programmes and engage them prior to release.
• Liaise and provide information to court to assist and support proceedings and enable bail arrangements to be in place for young people.
• Devise and implement targeted bespoke intervention programmes for young people according to their assessed risk.
• Provide intense practical support to young people including practical assistance with accommodation, entry into education, training or employment, family/care support, finance/budgeting and constructive use of leisure.
• Establish close working relationships with the families and carers of young people, adopting the whole family approach to enhance their capacity to provide effective care and control; including making home visits.
• Ensure identified victims and perpetrators are assessed for suitability of restorative justice interventions.
• Deliver a flexible, supportive and convenient service to victims which should include home visits where appropriate and transport and escort to venues for restorative justice interventions.
• Ensure that the voices of victims are heard at panels and other appropriate venues either by assisting them to attend directly or through relaying via victim impact statements.
• Establish close links with the voluntary and statutory agencies within the borough, develop an awareness of the range of facilities available to young people and their families and provide advice and support in accessing those services.
• Undertake any other appropriate duties and responsibilities as directed by the Advanced Practitioner.