“I would want to see young people working in here, that’s what I want to see…” how peer support opportunities in youth offending services can support a Child First, trauma-informed, and reparative model of practice for youth justice

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore how peer support can support a combined Child First, trauma-informed and restorative approach for youth justice. While other scholars have identified clashes between these approaches, particularly between Child First and restorative approaches, a focus on reparative practice with peers has been under-explored as a more child-centred model for reparation-focused work. Design/methodology/approach We draw on qualitative data from interviews and surveys undertaken with young people and parents/caregivers in a London youth offending service (YOS). The data was part of a broader mixed-methods study in the YOS that used observational methods alongside surveys and interviews to evaluate the effectiveness of its model of practice. Peer support emerged as a theme. Findings Participants expressed the desire to see young people working and volunteering in the YOS and felt this would help make it a safe and non-threatening space. Young people who had completed their time with the YOS saw themselves as role models with the insight and skills to support others. These young people expressed a strong desire to work in the YOS and, in some cases, to develop long-term careers supporting young people. Originality/value Our research challenges the notion that young people who have been involved in crime struggle to empathise, providing rich examples of their empathic understanding for peers. Peer support opportunities could offer a reconceptualisation of restorative practice that is Child First and trauma-informed. Such opportunities would benefit both the young people being supported and those offering support, building a co-produced approach that is directly informed by the expressed needs and desires of the young people.

Desistance through participatory practice: involving children in decision-making processes in youth justice

“…Some youth justice services have either devised bespoke projects or partnered with third sector organisations -potentially viewed by children as more inclusive and less punitive than criminal justice agencies (see CYCJ, 2022) -to offer opportunities for children to undertake peer support, navigator roles or become peer advocates. As Thompson and Spacey (2023) note, this approach can encourage desistance through nurturing behavioural and attitude change. As a valuable pedagogical practice, it can enhance the self-efficacy of those undergoing court orders and those in mentor or helper roles.…”

“…Moreover, barriers to operationalising Child First or translating and applying desistance principles into practice include practitioners remaining wedded to the rhetoric of managing risk through a deficit-based lens. Resource constraints may hinder peer-support activities or apprenticeship schemes from being developed, there can be challenges acting in accordance with the principle of 'do no harm', and anxieties exist around managing safeguarding concerns (Creaney et al, 2023a(Creaney et al, , 2023bThompson and Spacey, 2023). Therefore, more focus on training courses and what they should entail is required for this type of approach to be effective.…”