| 1.1 |
Hillingdon YOS recognises that parental support in the delivery of interventions to young people can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of those interventions. It seeks to work in partnership with parents, promoting their participation in the planning and delivery of YOS services for their children. |
| 1.2 |
Parental involvement in the process is also a key theme in the Effective Practice and Quality Assurance framework for Youth Offending Services and the National Standards for Youth Justice Services (2004). |
| 1.3 |
YOS practice is based on the principle that parents of YOS clients have both rights and responsibilities with respect to their children and these are interdependent, although they may vary with age and circumstance. |
| 1.4 |
Parents have the right to know;
- What agencies are working with their children and why
- What information is being shared
- What interventions are being delivered and how
- How regularly their child is to be seen
- Whether or not they have been attending their appointments
- What impact the work is having.
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| 1.5 |
Similarly parents are responsible for ensuring;
- That their child keeps all appointments
- That their child accesses any specialist support made available in order to meet their needs.
- That their child understands the consequences of their behaviour
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| 2.1 |
There will be occasions where the child or young person is not living with a parent. At the beginning of an intervention there will need to be a decision made with the parents and carers as to what information is passed to who and when. As general rule of thumb the adult with Parental Responsibility should be kept informed of all activities, unless that adult is prohibited from having any information about the child, as a result of child protection concerns. |
| 2.2 |
Where a young person does not live with their parents but with other relatives or carers through private arrangements it may be appropriate for the resident carer to be given the day to day information and the parent to be given periodic updates. |
| 2.3 |
Where a young person is Looked After by the local authority, the carer, be it foster carer or residential unit, will need to be involved in the day to day information exchange, as will the allocated social worker. Again it may be more suitable for the parent to be given periodic updates. |
| 2.4 |
Some older young people may be estranged from their parents and living in independent accommodation in which case it may not be appropriate to liaise closely with the parents. |
| 4.1 |
Parents are a key part of any assessment process. This includes assessments for Final Warnings, Bail Support programmes, PSRs (pre-sentence reports), Referral Orders and other YOS court ordered intervention where there has been no preceding report or assessment. |
| 4.2 |
Parents should be invited to the first assessment interview where the purpose of the assessment and the process will be explained. Parents should be given a copy of the document ‘A Young Person and Carers Guide to Confidentiality and Information Sharing’. |
| 4.3 |
It is recognised that it may be appropriate at some stage to interview the young person on their own and parents may be asked to leave for part of the interview or the young person asked to return on their own on a separate occasion, depending on their age. |
| 4.4 |
As part of the process the assessing officer will consider if the parents/carers, require any additional support. All parents/carers will be offered the Parenting Information Pack available from the parenting worker. |
| 4.5 |
Following the assessment the parent/carer and the young person should be notified of the conclusions reached and what interventions are likely to be proposed or implemented as a result. They may wish to discuss these conclusions and they should have the opportunity to do so. The Asset may be shared where there is no confidential information provided by a third party. Where a report is being prepared the parent/carer should have the opportunity to read it before it is presented and be provided with a copy (NS 7.8) unless there are any child protection implications. |
| 5.1 |
Intervention Plans are prepared for all interventions and parents/carers should be part of the planning process and receive a copy of the intervention plan (NS 8.9). Parents/carers should be offered the information pack developed for them by the parenting worker, which includes advice and information on local resources. |
| 5.2 |
Copies of all appointment letters and appointment schedules will be sent to the parents/carers. |
| 5.3 |
As part of the intervention plan referrals may be made to other specialist staff within the YOS for an initial assessment followed by a specific intervention, for example the primary mental health worker and the substance misuse worker. Where the young person is particularly young or felt to be immature the parent may be asked to attend the specialist assessment. |
| 5.4 |
Following the specialist assessments feedback will be given to the parent by the individual specialist with respect to the outcome and any proposed action. The worker will clarify for the parent any specific confidentiality and boundary issues pertinent to the piece of work. |
| 5.5 |
At the end of a specialist intervention the specialist will contact the parent/career and advise them that their work is at an end, although the main intervention plan may still be active. |
| 5.6 |
Throughout an intervention programme and at the least every three months, the intervention plan will be reviewed with the young person and the parent/carer (NS 8.11). |
| 5.7 |
Parents will be expected to attend referral panel review meetings. |
| 5.8 |
Towards the end of an intervention, where all the outstanding work is completed (as in a final Warning), or the order is due to expire the worker will meet with the young person and carer to review the intervention, the work undertaken and the young person’s achievements. |
