COVID-19 and Youth Justice
The Youth Justice System’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The study, in partnership with the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ), aimed to understand the unprecedented implications that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the youth justice system and the vulnerable children it works with. Although COVID-19 had a societal effect on all young people, a disproportionate number of children in the youth justice system have complex needs, are from BAME backgrounds, have been excluded from school and have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences. So, it was expected that the impacts of COVID-19 would be worse for these groups.
The research team explored the impact of COVID on justice-involved children’s service provision, education, employment and wellbeing, how professionals have had to adapt to remote working, the effect of the delay of criminal trials and the safety of children in custodial settings. The research involved interviews and surveys of statutory partners, third sector organisations, senior national policy/decision-makers, and children with lived experiences. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19, findings and recommendations from the 18-month project were shared widely with practitioners and decision-makers to shape policy and practice.