Centre for Mental Health

Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion:
A National Pilot Scheme

We have set up this national pilot to ensure that children and young people with mental health and other problems get the help they need as soon as they enter the youth justice system.

Six Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are taking part in this two-year pilot scheme. They are Halton and Warrington, Lewisham, Peterborough, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, South Tees and Wolverhampton.

The project started in 2007 and is funded by the Department of Health, the Centre for Mental Health and the Youth Justice Board. It will review the evidence of what work is most effective to address mental health needs.

How does the scheme work?

A worker is employed at each site to work closely with the police and screen under-18 year olds entering the system for a range of problems.

For those with less complex needs, the worker liaises with parents and helps young people in getting the necessary assistance. Where there are more complex needs, they have access to a specialist mental health worker who is able to rapidly assess the young person's needs and to refer them to other services.

Finally, (with consent) these workers will liaise with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, sentencers, solicitors, bail support workers and YOT staff to provide additional information.

For a visual guide to the pathway through these services, download the flowchart on the sites page. And see the case studies for examples of what these teams achieve.

What diversion means

'Diversion' means identifying young people who need help as early as possible and making sure that they get support as quickly as possible.

Diversion can mean diverting someone within the youth justice system or it can mean diverting people away from the system and towards mental health support where this is thought to be appropriate.

Diversion can happen at any point in the system, but it works best when it happens early. It can reduce re-offending and can prevent young people with mental health and other needs from drifting deeper into the system.

Evaluating the project

We have commissioned the University of Liverpool to evaluate the six schemes to see how well they work. They will examine youth justice and educational outcomes and will carry out an economic analysis.

They will publish a final report by the end of 2011 and we will use the results to inform policy and practice in health, youth justice and children's services across England.

Further information

For more information about this scheme, contact Lorraine Khan, National Programme Manager on 020 7827 8318 or Carly Tutty, Project Manager at the Department Of Health, on 020 7972 1302.