Young People in Focus

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Supporting the Transition to Adulthood (T2A)
of Young People in the Criminal Justice System

Background
Young People in Focus was funded for three years (2008-2011) to carry out work as part of the Barrow Cadbury Trust’s (BCT) Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance. The Alliance is a broad coalition of organisations and individuals working to improve the opportunities and life chances of young people in their transition to adulthood, who are involved in the criminal justice system. The project is building on the recommendations of the Barrow Cadbury Trust’s report Lost in Transition (2005).

Young People in Focus’ role was to help increase knowledge and understanding of issues related to the transition to adulthood and also to identify examples of promising practice in this field. The project:

• Carried out research and created new publications:
     - Young Adults Today - Key Data on 16-25 year-olds:
       Transitions, disadvantage and Crime
     - Made to Measure - bespoke services for young adults:      Examples of Promising Practice
     - Fact Files (2011) on substance misuse and education,      employment and training
• Disseminated the information in a wide range of ways including contributing to T2A learning events.

Young Adults Today (2009): This publication is based upon Young People in Focus’ respected Key Data on Adolescence (published every two years and now in its sixth edition). It is an accessible digest of facts and figures about young adults (16-25) that distils, for the first time, a range of information on topics such as health and wellbeing; employment, education and training; family life and crime. The data helps explain the poorly understood recent changes in society that have contributed to making the transition to adulthood so significant for disadvantaged young people.

Made to Measure – bespoke services for young adults: Examples of Promising Practice (2010): This publication features case studies of projects that have tailored their services to the young adult age group. It distils the key learning from these projects in a way that others can use to develop their own work. It also includes a directory of services operating in this field. YPF’s website also includes a microsite that presents this information in an easily accessible way.

Project staff
Kevin Lowe , Project Manager and Kerry Devitt, Associate Researcher

April 2011