Practice Guide 2024
Whether you are a practitioner, researcher or educator, you should be familiar with the latest policy and practice legislation in youth justice.
To assist with this, the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) produces an annual practice guide, called ‘Children and young people in conflict with the law: policy, practice and legislation’. This guide is aimed at practitioners and managers who work with children and young people who are at risk of, or come into conflict with, the law.
It is also valuable for academics, policymakers, educators, students and anyone else with an interest in youth and criminal justice. Seventeen sections cover a wide variety of themes including: Children’s Rights; Risk Management; Mental Health; Diversity; Restorative Justice; Adversity and Trauma; and Diversion from Prosecution.
The guide is renewed every year to ensure the information we are providing is relevant, meaningful and accurate. Our latest guide has been published in June 2024, on the eve of the implementation of both the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 and the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
To ensure that the information we are providing is relevant, accurate and meaningful, this guide is reviewed annually. Please get in touch at cycj@strath.ac.uk if you have any queries or wish to access a specific section.
Section 1: Background, Policy and Legislation
Section 2: Youth Justice in Scotland – The Roles and Responsibilities of Key Partners
Section 3: Child and Human Rights, Our Responsibilities
Section 5: Trauma and Adversity
Section 6: Speech, Language and Communication Needs in Youth Justice
Section 8: Mental Health and Neurodiversity
Section 10: Early and Effective Intervention
Section 11: Diversion from Prosecution
Section 12: Restorative Justice
Section 13: Supporting Children in the Court System
Section 14: Residential Child Care
Section 15: Managing Risk of Serious Harm
Section 16: Reintegration and Transitions
Section 17: Depriving Children of their Liberty and Alternative Measures