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Family Policy Digest
The Family Policy Digest lets you know about key events and publications over the last month across Government, the voluntary sector and the research community. It enables you to track the progress of legislation and debate on family policy.
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Digest articles that match keyword/s 'anti-social behaviour'
Found 35 results.
Child health and wellbeing (6)
Anti-social and other problem behaviours among young children: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
E Bowen, J Heron and C Steer; Home Office
This study surveyed children aged 8½ and 10½. The majority of children in the sample (70 per cent) did not report involvement in any anti-social or other problem behaviours. From the sample of children said to be at high risk of involvement in anti-social and other problem behaviours (all children who were born into families experiencing at least three family adversities during the mother's pregnancy), 88 per cent were defined as being resilient because they reported involvement in no or only one type of anti-social and other problem behaviours up to the age of 8½. Girls were more likely to be resilient than boys. The characteristics associated with resilience amongst the boys were: school enjoyment; demonstrating high levels of pro-social behaviour and having mothers with high levels of parenting skills.
The report is available from the Home Office website.
July 2008
Hoodie or goodie?
Victim Support
This report shows that young people are often both victims of crime and offenders. Causes of victims becoming offenders could include carrying out retaliation on the offender, or against others in a displaced show of strength or emotion. Victims might also make friends with offenders to seek protection, which could then lead to them committing offences themselves. Offenders can also often become victims of violence. This is because they are at risk of retaliation and are also unlikely to be protected by adults in authority.
Factors that reduce the risk that victims of violence will turn to offending include: having good family relationships; having a positive attitude towards school; taking part in structured activities with adult supervision; and having positive attitudes towards the police.
The report is available from the Victim Support website.
October 2007Government response to the Public Accounts Committee report on tackling anti-social behaviour
The Home Office response to the 44th report of the Public Accounts Committee states that the Department accepts the Committee's conclusion on a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of different measures. It will shortly commission a study to explore practitioners' approaches to using different interventions and to provide practical information about what works best in which circumstances. Other recommendations from the Committee's report included a need to refer to family intervention projects and other early intervention schemes.
The report containing the government responses to this and other committee reports can be downloaded from the Public Accounts Committee website.
October 2007Guidance on Acceptable Behaviour Contracts published
The Home Office has published guidance on the use of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs). These are frequently, although not always, used for under-18s. The guidance is advisory rather than replacing local arrangements already in place, and contains examples of good practice.
The guidance can be downloaded from the Home Office website.
August 2007Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour
Public Accounts Committee
This report by the Public Accounts Committee criticises the lack of any national evaluation of the effectiveness of the different anti-social behaviour interventions. It also draws attention to the extremely low take up of some measures such as Individual Support Orders, and recommends that before introducing new measures the Home Office should take stock of those already on the statute book and evaluate which are effective.
The report is available on the Public Accounts Committee website.
July 2007Child development checks proposed to avoid criminality
The review, 'Building on progress: Security, Crime and Justice', is part of a series of policy reviews by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. One of the measures proposed is universal checks throughout a child's development to help service providers to identify those most at risk of offending, for example at the transition to secondary school.
The report can be downloaded from the Number 10 website.
March 2007 Family services (13)
Family Intervention Projects - a classic case of policy-based evidence
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
In this briefing, the Centre discusses critically the attitude of the New Labour government to the academic evaluations of Family Intervention Projects (FIPs). It argues that the claimed success rate of FIPs, which offered intensive support to families to combat anti-social behaviour, was only based on a small sample of families who were "the most compliant". It suggests that the government failed to take seriously the clear messages that evaluators were offering about the efficacy of FIPs and the impact the policy was having on families with significant mental health problems and other social vulnerabilities. Instead, it argues, the government had already decided on the policy and distorted the evidence base provided by successive evaluations in press briefings and other public pronouncements to justify an ongoing expansion of the FIP programme.
The report can be downloaded from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies website.
June 2010ASB Family Intervention Projects - Monitoring and Evaluation
Department for Children, Schools and Families
Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) work with the most challenging families and tackle issues such as antisocial behaviour, youth crime, school absenteeism, drug and alcohol addiction, domestic violence, poor mental health and inter-generational disadvantage. This report provides an evaluation of the FIPs and is the first report to include information on families who have been followed up 9 to 14 months after they exited from a FIP intervention. Key findings from the research found that families at the end of a FIP showed:
- 64 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour
- 58 per cent reduction in truancy, exclusion and bad behaviour among children and young people
- 70 per cent reduction in drug and substance misuse
- 53 per cent reduction in alcoholism.
Follow up research showed that these improvements continued after the intervention ended.
The report can be downloaded from the DCSF website.
March 2010Anti-social Behaviour Family Intervention Projects - Monitoring and Evaluation
National Centre for Social Research; Department for Children, Schools and Families
This research provides information on the families referred to Anti-Social Behaviour Family Intervention Projects (FIP), including the outcomes for the families following the intervention, the referral agencies and the support and the challenge provided. The report presents information about the families that have been involved in a FIP intervention up until March 31st 2009, including outcomes following intervention.
The report can be downloaded from the DCSF website.
November 2009Family Intervention Projects: An evaluation of their design, set-up and early outcomes
C White, M Warrener, A Reeves and I La Valle; Department for Children, Schools and Families
Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) work with families with high levels of anti-social behaviour who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless because of this. FIP staff spent on average just under eight hours a week supporting a family, with work commonly including anger management; one-to-one parenting support; addressing educational problems; and organising activities for parents and children. In addition a number of statutory and voluntary services provided support.
For 90 families who completed the intervention, staff reported that anti-social behaviour and criminal activities had declined considerably, as had the risk of families being evicted. The outcomes for children and young people were also reported to have improved.
The report is available from the DCSF website.
July 2008Make me a criminal: preventing youth crime
J Margo; Institute for Public Policy Research
This report makes the case for a more therapeutic and family-based approach to youth offending. It highlights the need for improvements in socialising norms of behaviour at a universal level; in targeting at-risk groups, and in dealing with young offenders. The report's recommendations are wide-ranging.
The report is available on the IPPR website.
February 2008The longer-term outcomes associated with families who had worked with Intensive Family Support Projects
Department for Communities and Local Government
This review on the outcomes from Intensive Family Support Projects (IFSPs) found that for 20 of the 28 families interviewed, no significant further complaints about anti-social behaviour had been received. For these families the risk of homelessness had been significantly reduced and the family home appeared secure. Twelve of these 20 families felt that the outcome had been very successful, with the other difficulties they faced significantly reduced. For the remaining eight families the IFSP interventions had little impact on anti-social behaviour.
Ongoing problems faced by families included mental illness, family violence, concerns about safety in the community, and dealing with children with pressing educational, social and behavioural needs.
The report is available from the DCLG website.
January 2008Multisystemic Therapy pilot project
The Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department of Health have announced a £17.5m pilot project of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), a family and community-based treatment programme for young people with complex clinical, social, and educational problems, such as violence, drug abuse and school expulsion. It supports young people who are at risk of developing early personality disorder, chronic offending and perhaps anti-social behaviour, and who may be at risk of going into care, to remain with their families in the community.
The ten newly funded sites will build on two existing pilot schemes in England and will be part of a national research programme to further evaluate the effectiveness of MST in the country.
Multisystemic Therapy is delivered over a period of three to six months, in homes, neighbourhoods, schools and communities by professionals who may come from a range of disciplines such as psychology, social work and family therapy with small caseloads. Young people will be referred from youth offending teams and children's services.
More information is available from the DCSF website.
November 2007Consultation: Draft guidance to local authorities and registered social landlords on the use of parenting orders and parenting contracts
This consultation seeks views on the draft guidance on the use of parenting orders and contracts by Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords in respect of anti-social behaviour.
The consultation is available on the DCSF website and the deadline for responses is 15 February 2008.
November 2007Youth Inclusion and Support Panels: Preventing Crime and Antisocial Behaviour
J Walker et al; Department for Children, Schools and Families
Youth Inclusion and Support Panels (YISPs) are designed to
identify and support young people aged 8–13 who are at high risk of offending and antisocial behaviour. The involvement of children and families is voluntary. This report evaluating YISPs concludes that the intervention is promising. Over a third of parents had noticed large improvements. It was believed that many of the children could have been identified earlier as they were mainly at the upper end of the age range and many parents stated that the problems had been going on for several years.
The report can be downloaded from the DCSF website.
September 2007Interventions for children at risk of developing antisocial personality disorder
D Utting, H Monteiro and D Ghate; Policy Research Bureau
This selective review examines the available evidence for interventions with children and young people with conduct problems and their families, with specific reference to two parenting programmes, The Incredible Years and Triple P, to the Nurse-Family Partnership home visiting programme, and to three programmes for families and carers of high-need children and adolescents: Multi-systemic Therapy (MST), Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care and Functional Family Therapy.
All of the six programmes were shown to have considerable effectiveness in achieving positive outcomes with children and their families in both the short and medium term (6-months to two years). In addition, the Nurse-Family Partnership programme showed reductions in adolescent offending and anti-social behaviour at 15-year follow-up and MST demonstrated positive results in reducing adult offending in a 13-year follow-up study. Shared features of effective programmes are discussed.
The report can be downloaded from the Policy Research Bureau website.
April 200753 Family Intervention Projects announced
The Home Office has announced that Family Intervention Projects will be set up in 53 local authorities in England, as proposed in last year's Respect Action Plan.
The projects are expected to deal with around 1,500 families a year with multiple problems including anti-social behaviour.
Most projects provide an outreach service for families who are responsible for anti-social behaviour in their home, and who are at risk of being evicted. Services can also be provided in units managed by the family intervention project but dispersed in the community.
More details are available from the Home Office website.
April 2007Local Authorities sign up to be Respect Areas
The Government is establishing a first wave of 40 Respect Areas which have signed up to:
- Family Intervention Projects;
- More Parenting Classes;
- Face the People sessions where the police, local authorities and others can be accountable to their local public;
- Using the full range of tools and powers available to tackle anti-social behaviour;
- Using the Respect Housing Standard to prevent and deal with any problems in social housing.
The Department for Education and Skills has also backed this by investing a further £6 million for parenting classes in the 40 areas in 2007/2008. No London boroughs are included as yet, but a further announcement on these will be made soon.
More information is available from the Respect website.
January 2007Use of anti-social behaviour powers
In November 2006 the Respect Task Force surveyed crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs) and community safety partnerships (CSPs) in England and Wales to understand the use of tools and powers to tackle anti-social behaviour in local areas over the past three years.
These latest statistics show significant increases in the powers being used by local councils and police to clamp down on anti-social behaviour. In 2005/06, 7,500 acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) or agreements (ABAs) were issued, compared to 6.901 in the previous year; 2,268 parenting contracts agreed, up from 1,106; and 471 parenting orders issued, up from 413.
More details are available from the Respect website.
January 2007 General (4)
Queen's speech May 2010
The first Queen's speech under the new Coalition government included an Academies Bill to give more schools in England, including primaries, the freedom to become academies allowing them to opt out of local authority control. It will also make it easier for parents and other groups to set up "free schools". The Education and Children Bill is intended to give schools greater freedom over the curriculum and give teachers greater powers to deal with bad behaviour. It will also set up the "pupil premium" to help disadvantaged children.
More information is available from the Number 10 website.
May 2010The Queen's speech
The 2009 Queen's speech included a Children, Schools and Families Bill which includes setting up a home education registration system and a review of the publication of family court proceedings; the Crime and Security Bill which will require assessments on parents of children aged 10-15 years who are considered for anti-social behaviour orders and will introduce 'Go orders' allowing police to bar perpetrators of domestic violence from their homes; and the Child Poverty Bill carried over from last year.
More information is available from the Number 10 website.
November 2009Changes to government structures relating to young people and families
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has established a new Youth Taskforce to replace the Respect Taskforce, with a wider remit to improve outcomes for children and young people. The new taskforce will be headed by Anne Weinstock.
A new director general, Lesley Longstone, has been appointed to run the Young People Directorate. A strengthened Families Group is also being established, working alongside the Youth Directorate and Taskforce. Led by Peter Wanless, it will develop the cross-government strategy on families. Louise Casey, who previously headed up the Respect Taskforce, will lead a cross-departmental review on how best to engage communities in the fight against crime.
The Secretary of State also confirmed that the Department for Children, Schools and Families would provide on-going funding of up to £18 million over the next three years to sustain the recently established network of 53 Family Intervention Projects.
More information is available from the DCSF website.
October 2007New guidance for Parental Compensation Orders
Ten local authorities are taking part in a pilot scheme for Parental Compensation Orders, which require parents to pay compensation to a person affected by the taking, loss or damage of property by a child under ten. New guidance has been issued by the Home Office about the technical aspects of PCOs.
The guidance can be downloaded from the Home Office website.
October 2006 Poverty and social exclusion (1)
Welfare Reform Bill receives Royal Assent
The Welfare Reform Bill received Royal Assent on 3 May 2007.
Part One of the Act makes provision for the Employment and Support Allowance which would replace incapacity benefit and income support on grounds of incapacity. Entitlement for the new benefit would be by satisfying either a National Insurance contribution test (similar to incapacity benefit) or an income test (similar to income support) and by being assessed to be limited in capability for work.
For all except an exempt group, the Act provides for a person's benefit to be cut if they do not take part in certain activities, ranging from work-focused health assessments and work-focused interviews to work-related activity. Details of the sanctions would be dealt with in regulations.
Part Two of the Act deals with housing benefit and council tax, containing measures to facilitate the extension of local housing allowance, currently being tested in 18 Local Authority areas, across the deregulated private rented sector. The Act also provides for a reduction in housing benefit where a person has been evicted on grounds of anti-social behaviour and then refuses to co-operate with support that is offered to him with a view to improving his behaviour.
May 2007 Young people (11)
Time for a Fresh Start
The Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour
The Commission's report focuses on the use of restorative justice – requiring young offenders to face up to the harm they have caused their victims and to make amends and places this at the heart of wide-ranging reform proposals. The Commission, which conducted an in-depth study of alternatives to the existing response to youth crime in England and Wales, concludes that restorative meetings known as 'youth conferencing' are the way to deliver better justice for the victims of crime, while cutting reoffending rates and reducing the number of young people who end up in prison. The report estimates the public service costs of dealing with youth crime and antisocial behaviour as more than £4 billion a year. It also argues that many millions of pounds are being wasted each year on custody for the under-18s. The Commission sets a target for the current use of custody to be halved to fewer than a thousand young offenders at any one time without adding to crime rates and compromising public safety. And it urges a significant reinvestment of resources in early intervention to tackle seriously antisocial behaviour among children, prevent later offending and save more money for the taxpayer.
The report can be downloaded from the Commission's website.
July 2010Youth crime action plan - Update
Department for Children, Schools and Families
The Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP) targets the small minority of young people who commit crime and use violence. It was launched in 2008, backed by £100m of additional funding, and is intended to offer a comprehensive approach across enforcement, support and challenge for young people and families, and prevention. This update outlines the progress and achievements of the Youth Crime Action Plan since 2008 and provides case studies of where YCAP work has been brought together. It also provides next steps to take the YCAP forward.
The update can be downloaded from the DCSF website.
April 2010Dying to belong: An in-depth review of street gangs in Britain
Centre for Social Justice
This report on gang culture in Britain covers:
- The immediate response to prevent violence and break up gangs
- Medium-term proposals for building trust and positive relations between the police and young people
- A long-term approach to prevent future generations of young people from becoming gang-involved.
The report can be downloaded from the Centre for Social Justice website.
February 2009Effective early interventions for youth at risk of future poor outcomes: A rapid evidence assessment
J Thomas et al; Department for Children, Schools and Families
The first part of this project identified which risks and protective factors are associated with poor outcomes for young people identified by the Targeted Youth Support initiative. These factors related to the young person's family, school, community, peers and individual factors. The second part identified what services and interventions work to reduce these poor outcomes. The report draws together messages arising across the outcomes for young people, and takes an initial look at multiprovider interventions.
The report is available from the DCSF website.
Youth Crime Action Plan
Home Office
This strategy is accompanied by £100 million extra funding for measures including:
- expanding provision of youth centres and other activities at times when young people are likely to offend, including Friday and Saturday nights;
- making permanent exclusion from school an automatic trigger to a comprehensive assessment of needs;
- allowing judges and magistrates to name greater numbers of guilty 16 and 17 year olds.
- increasing the proportion of ASBOs accompanied by a parenting order;
- improving the engagement of parents in the youth justice system including requiring them to come to court;
- expanding Family Intervention Projects to 20,000 families;
- a new duty on local authorities to fund and commission education of young offenders in custody;
- developing a more comprehensive package of support for young people leaving custody;
- additional funding to continue Intensive Fostering in existing pilot areas, as an alternative to custody; and
- expansion of Family Nurse Partnerships;
The report is available from the Home Office website.
July 2008Statistics on ASBOs and other measures released
Statistics recently issued by the Home Office showed that the total number of ASBOs issued in England and Wales fell from 4123 in 2005 to 2706 in 2006. Between June 2000 and December 2006, 61 per cent of ASBOS issued to 10-17 year olds were breached compared to 43 per cent of adults' ASBOs. Of those 10-17 year olds convicted of breaching their ASBO, 32 per cent were given a custodial sentence. However,the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, welcomed the increase in use of other interventions such as acceptable behaviour contracts, parenting contracts and parenting orders. She announced a new 'Action Squad' to advise police and local agencies on the use of these interventions.
More information is available from the Home Office website, as well as the statistics.
May 2008Youth Taskforce Action Plan
The Youth Taskforce was established in October to continue the work of the Respect programme in tackling antisocial behaviour. Over the next three years, £218.5 million will be spent on the measures in the Youth Taskforce Action Plan. These include:
- an expansion of Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinders which provide support for parents of children aged 8-13
- fast tracking almost £23m through the Youth Capital Fund to provide improved facilities in the most deprived areas
- 20 Intensive Intervention Projects for young people, based on Family Intervention Projects.
- training over 3,000 frontline practitioners by April 2009 and each year after that on tackling anti-social behaviour and improving services for young people
The Government also wishes to encourage more use of Individual Support Orders. These can be attached to an ASBO on a young person and contain positive obligations designed to tackle the underlying causes of a young person's behaviour. To promote this approach, 52 local areas have been asked to bid for Challenge and Support projects where all ASBOs will be accompanied with an ISO or appropriate support.
The Action Plan can be downloaded from the Every Child Matters website
March 2008The use and impact of dispersal orders: Sticking plasters and wake-up calls
A Crawford and S Lister; Joseph Rowntree Foundation
This report investigates police use of dispersal orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. It finds that these are most commonly used in relation to groups of young people. In many localities, dispersal orders shifted problems to other places, and were described as 'sticking plasters', providing localised respite but failing to address the wider causes of perceived anti-social behaviour. They could also antagonise and alienate young people. However, when allied with long-term problem-solving responses they could be a useful tool.
A summary of the research is available on the JRF website.
October 2007Anti-Social Behaviour Orders statistics
New and updated figures on the number of ASBOs issued up to the end of 2005 show that a total of 9,853 have now been issued. Of these, 810 were issued between October and December 2005. Of these, 41 per cent were given to 10-17 year olds. The Home Office also set out the number of ASBOs that had been breached up to the end of 2005. ASBOs given to young people had a breach rate of 57 per cent.
More information is available from the Home Office website.
December 2006Anti-Social Behaviour Orders: A summary of research into Anti-Social Behaviour Orders given to young people between January 2004 and January 2005
This research examines the processes leading to the imposition of an ASBO; the perceptions of key professionals and sentencers; the views and experiences of young people who have been subject to an ASBO, and those of their parents/carers. Nearly half of the young people in the sample had been returned to court for breaching their ASBO. Recommendations included greater involvement of Youth Offending Teams in the decision-making process to ensure that all options were fully explored, and restricting the number of prohibitions to the minimum necessary to increase compliance.
A summary can be downloaded, and the full report ordered from the Youth Justice Board website.
November 2006Police and Justice Act 2006
The Police and Justice Act received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006.
Among other measures, the Act:
- enables a local authority or a registered social landlord to enter into a parenting contract with a parent in respect of anti-social behaviour by his or her offspring.
- enables a local authority or a registered social landlord to apply for a parenting order
- provides a power for CSOs to take part in truancy sweeps;
- provides Trading Standards Officers with the power to issue Penalty Notices for Disorder to clamp down on licensed premises that sell alcohol to under-18s;
- strengthens conditional cautions to add a punitive element to the conditions.
November 2006Design:This Way Up
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