The Role of the YOT Social Worker - Essay Example

 With the introduction of Restorative Justice into British society, the community has much divided in the opinion about the necessity and effectiveness of this system. The role of social worker and youth offending team has changed as well. Despite of all debates, restorative justice is a useful tool is decreasing the crime committed by young people through helping them to understand that they have to assume responsibility for every action. Of course, the crime among youth cannot be eliminated because not every young person is willing to change the lifestyle. However, the majority of young offenders commit crimes not because of their cruelty or genetics, but rather because they do not see another option to survive or feel societal pressure from peers and family. In this paper, I will examine the legal rights of young people, analyze the differences between police and social services functions and discuss the possible balance between the two institutions on the example of Jordan family. Legal Basis Under Children Act 1989, the child’s welfare should be the paramount consideration in the court. The welfare of the child should be considered in regards to the following checklist: a) the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child (considered in the light of his age and understanding) b) his physical, emotional and educational needs c) the likely effect on him of any change in circumstances d) his age, sex, background and any characteristics of his which the court considers relevant e) any harm which he has suffered or is at risk of suffering f) how capable each of his parents, and any other person in relation to whom the court considers the question to be relevant, is of meeting his needs (Workbook 2, p. 15) As it clear from the situation in Jordan family, the mother is not capable to satisfy the basic needs of her children who are left on their own and can decide what to do without asking the permission. Taking into account that the daughters are old enough to understand that their actions are wrong, the social worker’s help and assistance is vital – social worker should find the method to explain girls the wrongness of their actions . The son aged 8 is not capable to understand the seriousness of his participation in thefts and his physical, emotional and educational needs are not met. He is at risk of suffering harm and the intrusion of social worker might have effect on the child of any change in circumstances. Section 2(1)-(3) of Children Act 1989 states that both the father and mother of the child have parental responsibility for the child. In the case with Joanne, Claire and Sammy, their parents are not able to carry out their responsibility. First, Colin, the father, is in the prison, and, second, Sonia has mental disorders and is not capable of upbringing her children. [LRP C.1, C.2] As it is clear from the case, all of the three children have not attended the school, at least at the day they were caught stealing at the mall. Most likely, it is not the first time they do not go to school. Under section 36 of the Children Act 1989, every child of compulsory school age should be properly educated. Joanne, Claire and Sammy are neglecting this right and their parents are not controlling the attendance to school. It is a valid basis for social worker to get involved. The family is well known to childcare and mental teams; however, the mother has failed to comply with the directions given to her and is not willing to cooperate with the social services. Under the schedule 3 of the Act, her actions are classified as the offend. [LRP C.13] “A new duty on local authorities in England and Wales to ascertain a child’s wishes and give due consideration to them, before determining what (if any) services are to be provided under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989”. (Workbook 2, p. 18) Under section 17 of the Children Act 2004 local authorities have to produce young people’s plan which includes the range of services. Therefore, social worker is required to conduct the interview with Joanne and Claire in order to find out about their needs and wishes. Promoting the welfare of children requires the understanding of the support needed for individual children to reach their potential and the importance of children’s families in helping them to achieve this. Partnership with parents is one of the key components; however, in Joanne, Claire and Sammy are not able to receive the parental support and the social services have twice harder task in assuming the parental responsibilities. Under the Child safety order, in particular Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Children Act 2004, the supervisor should be assigned to the control and monitor the behavior of girls in order to prevent further offences. Under these acts, the supervisor should be assigned if: (a) The child has committed an act which have constituted the criminal offence (b) If the order is necessary to prevent the child from committing such acts or (c) The child’s behavior is causing an alarm [LRP C.26] Section 47 highlights the objective of minimizing distress both to the child and to the family who should be treated with respect. The social services department should explain the purpose of the investigation and outline possible outcomes for the child and family. Social workers ‘should be prepared to answer questions openly, unless to do so would affect the safety of the child. The way the investigation is handled will impact on the relationship between the family and social services, and may also affect the way the family view subsequent approaches from professionals from other agencies. (Workbook 2, p. 49) The presence of the local authority social worker in Jordan family is required under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the assistance of the social worker is in the interest of preventing (a) any repetition of the behavior that led to a CSO, an ASBO or a SOO being made; (b) the commission of any further offences by the child or young person; (c) the child continuing to fail to attend school. [LRP C.27] Parents of Joanne, Claire and Sammy are incapable to assume the responsibility for their children. In this case the court may make the care order or supervision order. The following points should be satisfied: (a) that the child concerned is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm; and (b) that the harm, or likelihood of harm, is attributable to – (i) the care given to the child, or likely to be given to him if the order were not made, not being what it would be reasonable to expect a parent to give him; or (ii) the child’s being beyond parental control. [LRP C. 31] It is important to note that the Act grants local authorities the right to gain the care order even when children have not yet been harmed. The harm (or likely harm) to the child must be attributable either to the parental care or to the child being beyond parental control. In considering whether the parental care is not what it would expect a ‘reasonable parent’ to give the child, the court has to look at that child’s needs and measure these against the level of parenting that can be offered. With regard to the second condition, whether a child is beyond parental control is a question of fact, and it does not necessarily indicate that reasonable parental care is absent. The child’s carers may simply be unable to prevent the child from causing significant harm to him or herself. Joanne has already caused harmed to herself and Claire is at risk of being harmed, therefore, the social worker should apply for the care order. A care order places a child in the care of the local authority, brings to an end any residence order previously made in respect of the child, and gives the local authority parental responsibility. Although this is shared with the parents, the local authority has the right to determine the extent to which the parents can exercise their parental responsibility. [Workbook 2, p. 75] The involvement of local authorities is vital for Jordan family especially taking into account that Claire has not received any warnings from YOT and Sammy is too little to understand the wrongness of his actions. Police Officer vs. Social Worker The role of the police officers is to investigate the crime, including the arrest, detention and questioning of offenders. The police is also responsible for developing and implementing the policies as part of their contribution to crime prevention. If the crime is committed by an adult person, the community could agree that the offender should be punished, but when the crime is committed by the person aged 10-17, the one might think that there are probably some underlying problems that need to be solved. This assumption is the basic idea of youth justice system. It is not enough to arrest the young offenders and punish them, the intervention is necessary to advance their welfare. The rights and interests of offenders, victims and society are taken into account. (Workbook 3, p.10) In the case with Jordan family, Claire and Joanne are offenders and victims at the same time. The key point is that early intervention when a child begins to behave anti-socially or disruptively in a ways which puts him or her at risk of offending is more effective than waiting until that child is old enough to be dealt with the adult justice system Joanne is influenced by the number of factors: family, school, use of leisure time and poor socio-economic environment. In particular, Joanne does not maintain parent/child relations, the parental supervision is poor, the educational attainment is low and there is negative peer pressure (Joanne is pregnant and the father of her child is the drug user). (Workbook 3, p. 40). There are two principles that apply in the youth justice system and have no similar principles in adult criminal justice. Every court in dealing with the young offender shall in proper case take steps for removing the child from undesirable surrounding and for securing that proper provision is made for his education and training. The aim of the youth justice is to prevent any offending by children aged 10-17. When the police has arrested Claire and Joanne, the local Youth Offending Team was contacted and as the result the responsibility for the offend is shifted to the social services. At this stage the police assumes responsibility for investigation, in particular, how and why the offend has been committed, what the causes of the offend and what should be punishment. (Workbook 3, p. 45) The social worker’s role is different – he has the responsibility to find out what has motivated the young offender to commit the crime. Next, the social worker should identify the strategy which will effectively prevent future offending and make sure that the child’s welfare is maintained. Thus, the program for Joanne and Claire should include the following components: restoration (apologizing to the victims and making amends for the harm they have done), reintegration (re-joining the legitimate society), responsibility (facing the consequences of the offending behavior and taking responsibility for further offending) (Workbook 3, p. 47). Discussion In the case with Joanne and Claire the local authorities and social worker should cooperate in helping the young offenders to start legitimate life. Their case is especially difficult because they do not have the support from parents. They maintain the regular contact with the father; however, this contact should be minimized because Colin has a negative influence on his children. He is the drug seller and it can be the case that Joanne has tried drugs for the first time at home. Further investigation might clarify the situation. Regarding the mother, she is also unable to provide for the basic welfare of her children and probably the best alternative would be to place the girls into special institutions until they reach adult age and would be able to provide for their own needs. Such replacement would make it possible for social workers to work more productively with girls and help them realize that crime is not the best alternative in life. Local authority is granted the right to exercise their parental responsibility is deciding where the child should live. This includes placing the child with her family, or outside the family. In taking this decision, the general provisions relating to children being placed in voluntary accommodation also apply to children being placed under a care order. (Workbook 2, p. 91) If the child is below age of 14 is prosecuted, the prosecution has to make sure that the child understands that what he has done is wrong. Claire is 14 and she was aware that her actions were wrong. Social worker has the responsibility to talk with Sammy who is only 8 and find out whether he realized that the actions he participated in are illegal and lead to the punishment. CDA 1998 has introduced the range of the new order dealing with the problem of anti-social behavior. Unlike care order, CDA allows local authorities to make anti-social behavior orders so that children involved in criminal behavior instead of being prosecuted could find themselves subjects of prohibition and if violated, they can be fined and even imprisoned. Joanne has already received her final warning and making of another ASBO will not influence her behavior, more serious measures should be taken to prevent further re-offending. ASBOs and CDA 1998 are not discriminative or oppressive in any form, the rights of children are not violated, even though the freedom of movement and actions is limited and controlled by the Youth Offending Team representatives. Close monitoring of Claire might have a positive impact on her further life and prevent the re-offending. If social services will gain the parenting order, the chances that Claire and Sammy will re-integrate into society are very high. The intervention of social services into Jordan family is compulsory. The law prohibits such intervention only if the social workers are able to cooperate with parents. Moreover, if children stay with mother, they will not be in safety and the chances of re-offending are large enough. The best strategy for social worker to choose in dealing with Joanne and Claire is through cooperation with local authorities, however, the assumption that children should not remain with the mother should be taken into consideration. Joanne is well-know to Youth Offending Team and the fact that the team members did not help her to assume the responsibility for her actions, the social worker should try to find out why Joanne and Claire are not willing to cooperate and develop the strategy to gain their interests. It seems that girls have not been properly instructed about their rights and responsibilities and the social worker should become their friend in the first place. Joanne and Claire had no adult to take example from and social worker can try to become one. Unfortunately, the Jordan family is not the only family example when the intervention of social workers is required. It the right anti-oppressive strategy is developed, both Joanne and Claire will get the chance not to repeat the life of their father and become valuable members of the society. References K269 Workbook 3 (2001) Social Care, Social Work and the Law (England and Wales) K269 Workbook 2 (2001) Social Care, Social Work and the Law (England and Wales) Read More