Do you agree with us that it’s time for a re-set in how policymakers and services respond to young people at risk of extra-familial harm? This is an issue that has been preoccupying Carlene Firmin, Kristine Langhoff and me for some time now. As you know, through the four years of the Innovate Project, we’ve produced a whole raft of journal articles considering how innovation might improve experiences and outcomes for young people at risk beyond the family home (access them for free here).
But we still felt we had more to say. Despite innovation and a widespread commitment to practice improvement, we could see that professionals often struggled still to meet young people’s welfare needs, provide safety and respect their rights, particularly when the young person who needed support or safeguarding was simultaneously involved in offending or anti-social behaviours.
Professionals’ struggles are often attributed to individual failings but our Innovate Project research showed that challenges often arise because of how our systems are organised and the underpinning philosophies and discourses that govern public policy and practice guidance. We realised that we wanted to speak back directly to the systems and system leaders who control and direct practice, often constraining what practitioners and services really want to do.
These musings led to our paper published in December, ‘A line in the sand: moving from surface improvement to foundational shifts to develop effective responses to extra-familial risks and harms’. In it we argue that a bold new direction is needed in adolescent safeguarding, child welfare and youth justice. At a time when further, and significant changes to child protection guidelines are anticipated for extra-familial risks and harms, we recommend policymakers look beyond service improvement and commit to reform system foundations to effectively safeguard young people abused beyond their homes.
Fired up by the receptive response to the paper, we’re holding an open, free webinar to invite professionals, policymakers and sector leaders to explore with us key ways in which systems can and should be disrupted and re-envisioned. Join us to move the debate forward and be part of transforming practice approaches with young people!
The webinar is Thursday 27th March 11-12.30 UK time on Zoom. Book here.
You can read ‘A Line in the Sand’ for free here and access our other Innovate Project resources and publications here. Let us know what you think – and do come along to the webinar if you can!