Drugs and young offenders : guidance for drug action teams and youth offending teams / Drugs Prevention Advisory Service, Standing Conference on Drug Abuse.

  • Great Britain. Drugs Prevention Advisory Service
Date:
[1999?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Drugs and young offenders : guidance for drug action teams and youth offending teams / Drugs Prevention Advisory Service, Standing Conference on Drug Abuse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    4.13 The Health Advisory Service report Children and Young People and the SCODA/Children’s Legal Centre guidance provide further detail on how to use the tier infrastructure strategically, and for training needs and provision related to the tiers. INVOLVING PARENTS AND CARERS 4.14 Support and education for parents, and parental consultation and involvement in all interventions made with children, are key elements of good practice in working with young people. The parents of young offenders have the same general needs as other parents in the wider community. These include the need for factual drugs information, parenting skills, an understanding of youth culture, and reassurance that problems can be overcome. 4.15 In addition, the parents of young people involved with drugs and offending have specific needs as a consequence of the situation in which they find themselves. The Drugs Prevention Initiative experience suggests that: @ parents do not always understand the procedures, processes or outcomes of the youth justice system and/or drug interventions, and may be confused; @ they may not be provided with necessary information, @ they may have differing perceptions of the agencies involved (social services/probation) and their respective roles; @ they may not be aware of the interventions available and who is responsible for overseeing them. 4.16 Support, either individually or in group settings, has been shown to be effective with parents of young offenders. The benefits to parents have been that they are able to disclose their own particular concerns in safe environments and receive guidance or support on strategies that assist in overcoming difficulties. Many young people who are involved with drugs have significant family problems, and the behaviour or attitudes of their parents can have a bearing on their behaviour. In particular, parental abuse or neglect and/or parental drug misuse are themselves highly important risk factors relevant to the development of drug problems among their children. Failure to address such issues as and where they arise is likely to lead to short-term or temporary solutions. This may raise questions for workers about the extent to which they can or should involve themselves in family issues, including the extent to which they can work with parents and the siblings of the young offenders with whom they are working. The Drugs Prevention Initiative experience suggests that it is critically important in most, if not all, cases to liaise with or work directly with
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