At the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ), we know that many children and young people with experience of the justice systems have a desire to express their views, to be listened to and – perhaps most importantly – to be heard. By doing so, we want to be able to make changes to the various systems which impact on the lives of those who come into conflict with the law.
In recognition of the importance of the issue, participation and engagement is now a distinct workstream in itself, through which CYCJ aims to make participation the norm throughout the youth justice sector, and to support organisations to develop their practice. Not only will this aspect of our work influence and shape our partners’ work, it will also influence both the research and the policy and practice elements of CYCJ’s work.
This strategy should be read in conjunction with CYCJ’s five year strategy, Practice & Policy Strategy and Research Strategy as they are all interlinked.