Abstract
The ‘Child First’ guiding principle for practice in the Youth Justice System of England and Wales has a growing international evidence-base and is fully embedded in policy/strategy, yet remains underdeveloped in consistent, coherent practice across local agencies and areas. This raises the potential for a policy–strategy practice implementation gap. Focus-group consultations (n = 11) with professional stakeholder groups (community, custody, strategy, inspectorate, and research) explored perceptions of the practice challenges to understanding, implementing and supporting Child First. Qualitative analysis identified child-centrism, professional relationships and cognisance as pivotal features of the effective realisation of Child First in practice.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 5 |
Pages (from-to) | 204-230 |
Number of pages | 27 |
Journal | Youth Justice |
Early online date | 30 Aug 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 06 Aug 2024 |
Keywords
- child first
- child-centrism
- cognisance
- collaboration
- consultation
- implementation
- professional relationships
- strategy
- youth justice