Children as young as 13 released from custody without a safe place to live, Barnados study finds
Children as young as 13 are being released from custody without a safe place to live, forcing them into a cycle of homelessness and reoffending, research has shown.
Barnardo's has found that thousands of young people leave custody every year and end up sleeping on friends' sofas, sharing bed-and-breakfasts with drug addicts and alcoholics, or being evicted on to the streets.
In 2009-10, youth offender institutions referred 4,147 young people to the charity, all of whom said housing was among their top five concerns.
"Young people who offend are among the most vulnerable in society; a quarter have special educational needs and almost a fifth have depression, yet children as young as 13 are sent back to families who can't cope and end up without a safe place to live," said Anne Marie Carrie, Barnado's chief executive.
The charity's research, published on Monday in the report No Fixed Abode, has found that a young person caught in a cycle of homelessness and reoffending can cost the government £116,000 over three years. Suitable support, however, can deliver savings of £67,000 for each child.
Previous research has shown that stable accommodation can reduce the risk of youth reoffending by up to 20%.
"We don't say this lightly, we are all too aware of the cuts being made across the UK in an effort to fight the effects on the economic crisis we are in, but surely, if ever there is a case for return on investment, this is it," said Carrie.
The number of young people in the criminal justice system has fallen by 14% over the past five years. The number entering the youth justice system for the first time is the lowest for a decade.
But, said Carrie, youth reoffending rates, at 74%, remain "shockingly high". "The resettlement of young people when they leave custody remains an intractable problem," she said.
Barnardo's is calling for a cross-government action plan for all under 18-year-olds leaving custody, involving officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Education, and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The coalition has attempted to address the problem. Pilots led by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) are striving to find an answer.
Frances Done, chair of the YJB, said the report did not go far enough: "The problem is that while local authorities pay for resettlement, if they fail the cost of custody is picked up by central government."
"We are working on pilots that make local authorities responsible for the failure as well as the success of the options they offer young people leaving custody," she added. "The early signs are very encouraging."
The Ministry of Justice recently published Breaking the Cycle, which included commitments to improving resettlement. "The Ministry of Justice has outlined a range of proposals, which we are currently consulting on, to further incentivise local authorities to achieve reductions in youth offending," said a spokesperson.
"We already engage at central government level but the role of local authorities at local level is critical to ensure young offenders access the wider services and support they need on leaving custody, including accommodation."