Gill Horrobin, 01962 847091, [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 A decision was made early in 2004 to introduce a restorative justice (RJ) model of practice in children's residential care in Hampshire in order to reduce offending rates of children looked after (cla). This was in response to an increase in offending rates at that time (PAF C18 - Percentage of children aged 10 and over and looked after for at least 12 months given a final warning/reprimand or conviction in the year), with the knowledge that young people living in residential care were over-represented within the offending population.

1.2 RJ is a problem solving approach to crime which involves the parties themselves and the community generally in an active relationship with statutory agencies. It is a process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offence resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future. RJ places the needs of the victim/s at the centre. It recognises the need for victim empowerment and for them to have a voice in what essentially is their harm. Crime and conflict fractures relationships and harms community living and the use of restorative approaches provides an opportunity for the offender to recognise the harm that has been caused because of their choices and actions. It focuses on them taking responsibility for the incident, making reparation to victims and allows them to be reintegrated into the community.

1.3 RJ is not just for use when offences have been committed. Dealing with anti-social behaviour, combating disruptive behaviour in care homes and resolving workplace grievances and disciplinary matters are just a few examples of areas where the use of restorative approaches has been shown to be effective.

1.4 The introduction of RJ approaches within the residential sector aims primarily to reduce the level of call-outs to the police and subsequently reduce offending levels. However, of equal importance are other benefits that hopefully will result in residential care being a better place for young people to live and for staff to work. It is hoped that the introduction of conflict resolution, using restorative approaches will enable young people to move forward, having had experience of positive and constructive relationships with those around them.

1.5 This report provides an update on progress. It details outcomes following a comprehensive training strategy, the mechanisms put in place to maintain momentum and information on the work that has been carried out by the Performance Management Unit (PMU). Plans for future research of the impact of the strategy are also included.

1.6 The strategy to introduce restorative approaches in children's residential care supports aims 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the Corporate Strategy by:

1.6.1 Maximising life opportunities: through the delivery of high quality caring services which will benefit service users and the local communities.

1.6.2 Stewardship of the environment: by retaining those who work in the residential sector and attracting new staff to the profession.

1.6.3 Building strong and safe communities: by reducing incidents of conflict and crime within local communities, therefore promoting health and wellbeing.

1.6.4 Improving services: by empowering the children and young people who receive residential services in Hampshire and increasing their resilience.

1.6.5 Developing councillors and staff: by equipping them with appropriate additional skills to meet the needs of young people.

1.7 The strategy, whilst intending to focus specifically on enabling young people to make a positive contribution, will hopefully also impact on the other four outcomes identified in `Every Child Matters' (Children Act 2004), i.e. assist them to be healthy, particularly in promoting mental health, stay safe, achieve economic wellbeing and assisting them in enjoying their experiences and achieving accordingly.

2 The Training Strategy

2.1 Single Tender Approval had been sought and granted in order to commission the training services from an organisation with a proven track record in training RJ within the looked after children system.

2.2 A programme of training was put in place spanning May 2005 to March 2006. This included a multi-agency launch, three multi-agency awareness raising sessions and twenty one practitioner courses (3 days per course). The project has also involved Portsmouth City Council with Hampshire contracting training on their behalf.

2.3 The Hampshire launch took place in May 2005, targeting fifty senior representatives from eight different agencies. Feedback from the launch was very positive, particularly from the police and some senior magistrates.

2.4 Three awareness raising sessions, involving key stakeholders from a range of agencies (including Hampshire Children's Services) took place over the summer and autumn of 2005, targeting seventy five professionals. Feedback indicated an overwhelming `signing up' of the strategy.

2.5 The practitioner courses targeted all front line residential workers and Registered Managers across ten of Hampshire's residential units (Children with Disabilities units were not included within this strategy). In addition, service managers who line manage these units were also targeted, as were a number of Youth Offending Team (YOT) workers, the entire team for the Education of Children in Care, Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) workers and Youth Inclusion Support Panel (YISP) workers. In total, 336 practitioner places were commissioned.

2.6 The Registered Managers put in place a strategy for releasing staff which generally involved releasing half of their teams at a time. All 336 places were allocated (with some allocated as `mop up') prior to the training programme commencing in May 2005. The mandatory nature of the training has been emphasised on an ongoing basis and the commitment from the residential sector has been phenomenal.

2.7 Attendance at the practitioner training has been impressive, reaching over 90% and the evaluation forms received demonstrated some very positive feedback.

2.8 The training provider attended the working group following delivery of the programme and provided feedback. The programme was well received with a huge commitment having been demonstrated. Some staff struggled with some of the concepts, but for those concerned, additional support would be required back at the unit. This will be addressed within the strategy to maintain momentum (see Section 3).

3. Maintaining Momentum

3.1 Implementation of this strategy has required a huge investment by the Children's Services Department in terms of commitment to the strategy and the release of staff for the training. The funding has been granted from a range of sources and due to the cost of the strategy, a number of mechanisms are now required to be in place in order to ensure momentum is not lost, following the initial training.

3.2 Training is only the first phase of the strategy and the remainder of this section highlights additional work that is taking place to ensure RJ retains its high profile.

3.3 Recording

3.3.1 All policies and procedures within the residential units need to reflect RJ practices and the positive means of problem solving approaches. A number of revisions have already been made, one example of which is the Incident Report Form, which now includes a section on the use of RJ approaches, including written feedback from young people.

3.4 RJ Champions

3.4.1 Each unit has identified a lead member of staff to take responsibility for ensuring RJ remains high on the agenda. Workshops for RJ champions and Registered Managers will be scheduled on a regular basis and will provide a forum for sharing good practice and learning lessons from incidents that could have had a more positive outcome.

3.5 Ongoing Training

3.5.1 The three day practitioner course remains mandatory for all new staff and it will be included in the Training Directory.

3.5.2 The Working Group has considered what additional training is required to maintain momentum and have formulated proposals which have been shared and agreed with the training provider. A bespoke course is being designed, targeting Registered Managers and RJ Unit Champions. The aim of the additional training is to assist Registered Managers and RJ Champions to maintain and develop a restorative culture in their units. The training will take place in the late summer/early autumn.

3.6 Policy on Police Call-Outs

3.6.1 The police representative on the working group has been drafting a policy for use in the police force when residential units call for police assistance (excluding missing persons). It incorporates the use of RJ and serves as guidance on the process for action (detection of crime/recording etc). The policy is in final draft format and when approved, will be distributed throughout the police force and the residential units.

3.6.2 Training on police call-outs is required within all the residential teams, specifically including guidance on when it is/is not appropriate to call the police. This will take place imminently with some work already having taken place.

4. Research

4.1 The RJ project in Hampshire, as far as can be ascertained, is the largest project nationally within the looked after children system. An evaluation carried out in another Shire County earlier was small and involved very few young people, following a pilot project. It would appear that the use of RJ is far from being mainstreamed within the looked after children system, despite the fact that children in care are among the most vulnerable children in society and are vastly over-represented in the criminal justice system. The national offending rate for children looked after (aged over 10yrs) remains at 9%, two and a half times the general population rate, despite government targets to cut offending rates to 7% by September 2005 (see Hampshire's rates in paragraph 5.4). However, evaluating the impact of RJ is very difficult as there are so many variables that can be attributed to differences in behaviour. This is particularly so in group care, whereby the make-up of the resident group and individual's challenging needs can impact greatly on outcomes for all concerned.

4.2 The Performance Management Unit (PMU) has been represented on the RJ Working Group since it began. The aim of PMU's work was to identify a benchmarking data-set to be used for a future evaluation of RJ use in the looked after children units. The evaluation will be used to measure the impact of RJ on the C18 PAF indicator as well as any change in the culture of the residential units. Changes to measure will include the experience of young people living in the units, of staff working there and of people in the local community near the units.

4.3 Throughout the past year, PMU have been liaising with a number of research institutions to identify the most appropriate organisation to carry out Hampshire's research. A proposal is currently being considered by the working group.

5. Performance Against PAF C18

5.1 Early indications show that offending rates for children looked after (cla) are reducing. There are some statistics from the residential units that show a reduction in police call outs. In addition, there are some good practice examples of police being called to a unit, resulting in a restorative meeting and no prosecution. There is significant support from some of the local beat officers (specifically those who attended the awareness sessions). However, there is still a long way to go to instil RJ in practice.

5.2 The department is able to accurately report, month on month, statistics regarding outcomes in relation to offending rates of cla. It is also possible to differentiate between the rates of those in residential versus those in foster care. The RJ strategy deliberately targeted cla in residential care as they are over represented in the offending rates for cla. The monthly reporting system is therefore able to identify whether the rates of offending for those in residential care is reducing

5.3 In the spring of 2004, the Delivery and Improvement Statement (DIS) reported that 15.3% of cla were offending. This compares to an overall rate of 3.62% within the Wessex region (i.e. cla were 4 times more likely to offend than their peer group in the community). At the beginning of the financial year 2005/06, at the point of implementation of the RJ project, young people in residential care, despite the fact that they accounted for only 14% of the cla population, were responsible for 74% of the offending outcomes. Offending rates of cla at this time were 9.8% (cla 2.7 times more likely to offend).

5.4 Recent offending rates are included in the table below, with the middle column showing the number of cla who have committed an offence within the preceding 12 months:

Date	Number of CLA	Expressed as a %
August 05	59	8.58%
September 05	46	8.93%
October 05	44	8.56%
November 05	46	8.91%
December 05	39	7.63%
January 06	39	7.60%
February 06	40	7.62%
March 06	40	7.59%

If offending rates for children in the local police force area remain the same, cla are now twice as likely to offend compared to their peers in the community. Statistics show, for the end of March 2006, that those in the residential sector represent 40% of the offending population of cla, but are accountable for 46% of the crime. Whilst this remains on over-representation, it is an improvement from the position a year ago. However, the target group is particularly small. As can be seen from the table above, the decrease in offending comprises 19 children/young people

5.5 Whilst we cannot categorically state that the recent reduction in offending rates is directly related to the implementation of RJ, we do know that rates could be higher if some of the cases known about had progressed through the youth justice system without the use of an RJ approach.

6. Legal Implications

6.1 None

7. Financial implications

7.1 Additional funding will be required to fully progress the research identified in Section 4. However, a number of routes for funding are being progressed and it is anticipated that some additional grant allocation may be available over this and the next financial year.

8. Personnel implications

8.1 None

9. Impact assessment

9.1 A race and equality impact assessment has been carried out in relation to the implementation of the RJ strategy and no adverse impact has been identified. However, within the research, particular examination will be required to ensure that young people from minority groups are not over represented within the offending population and that they have the same access to the support systems brought about by the implementation of this strategy.

10. Crime Prevention Issues

10.1 None

11. Views of the Local County Councillor

11.1 Not applicable

Recommendations

1. That Members note the progress made to date.

2. That a further report is brought to this Committee in 2007/08 which details ongoing progress, including interim feedback regarding the research.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None