Case studies

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham made proactive calls to residents at summons stage for council tax arrears to see if they could set up a payment plan or needed support in February 2021. This increased the numbers of payment plans set up and residents appreciated the approach. 

A design team came together drawing from staff in CAMHS, education, the voluntary sector and Youth Offending Services from three local authorities. The team examined two local critical cases and identified a need for a primarily solution-focused emotional wellbeing support for children in the 8-13 age range.

Following the relaxation of lockdown restrictions in 2020, there was an increase in antisocial behaviour. The police were seeking criminal behaviour orders against five children.   With summer holidays approaching, the Youth Justice Service (YJS) wanted to put a rapid response in place to prevent further escalation and to address the community’s concerns.

The CAMHS team are implementing systemic, relationship therapy with additional behavioural and CBT programmes as appropriate. Similarly, they use the Assessment Intervention Moving on (AIMS) sexual offending programme with children as part of a wider offer, including systemic or family therapies addressing the complex family trauma.

SFSC is led by the Race Equality Foundation, and had an excellent reputation locally. In Southwark, the SFSC programme had been adapted during Covid-19 lockdown to offer online sessions which parents found very useful.

The Cwm Taf Youth Offending Service has embedded a Trauma and ACEs informed approach to working with children. It has an established prevention team that receives referrals from a number of agencies and services, including self referrals, for children aged 8-17 years. They take a developmental and relationship-based approach, responding to the needs of each individual child and family.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is a well-established and well evidenced approach for emotional and behavioural disorders. MST is an intensive family and community based intervention for young people aged 11-17 years.

Although Scotland had a minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) of just 8, since 2011 it has not been possible to prosecute children aged under 12 in a criminal court. 

Both Babergh and West Suffolk Councils have a strategic partnership with Abbeycroft Leisure to run outdoor activities and cooking sessions in local parks and green spaces during the pandemic.