Purpose

This study aims to present the findings from an ongoing evaluation of a partnership project between a youth justice service and an independent charity that supports the involvement of children with lived experience of youth justice services in work with other young people who have offended and with policy makers and service providers.

Design/methodology/approach

The research involved the secondary analysis of project records and 15 semi-structured interviews with youth justice managers and practitioners and the charity’s staff as well as representatives from external organisations with whom it has worked. The analysis focuses on the nature of activities undertaken, the “theory of change” driving these activities, the perceived benefits of the work as well as some of the challenges involved.

Findings

The findings suggest positive outcomes for children in terms of increased engagement and participation, improvements in confidence and self-esteem and the development of personal, social, health and educational skills. The project represents a compelling example of what child-first diversion looks like in practice.

Originality/value

The article adds to existing knowledge of the benefits and challenges of involving children with recent experience of the youth justice system in service delivery and in co-production work with policy makers and service providers. It also offers insights into recent changes in youth justice policy in England and Wales, in particular the commitment to treating children as children first.

中文翻译：

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“如果我有一个我”：让有生活经验的儿童参与青年司法服务的好处和挑战

目的

本研究旨在介绍对青年司法服务机构与独立慈善机构之间的合作项目进行持续评估的结果，该慈善机构支持具有青年司法服务生活经验的儿童与其他冒犯过的年轻人以及政策制定者一起工作和服务提供商。

设计/方法/途径

该研究涉及对项目记录的二次分析，以及对青年司法管理人员和从业人员、慈善机构的工作人员以及与其合作的外部组织的代表进行的 15 次半结构化访谈。分析侧重于所开展活动的性质、推动这些活动的“变革理论”、工作的可感知收益以及所涉及的一些挑战。

发现

调查结果表明，在提高参与度和参与度、提高自信和自尊以及发展个人、社交、健康和教育技能方面，儿童会取得积极成果。该项目代表了一个令人信服的例子，说明了儿童优先转移在实践中的样子。

原创性/价值

这篇文章增加了现有的知识，即让具有青年司法系统近期经验的儿童参与服务提供以及与政策制定者和服务提供者的共同生产工作的好处和挑战。它还提供了对英格兰和威尔士青少年司法政策最近变化的见解，特别是对儿童优先对待儿童的承诺。