A collaborative approach to meeting the needs of adolescent offenders with complex needs in custodial settings: An 18-month cohort study

Abstract

Recent studies and policy documents have recognised the need for support for adolescent offenders under the age of 18 who experience both mental health and behavioural difficulties. Although mental health services are provided within all Young Offender Institution (YOIs), the level of provision is highly variable. Further, these services can find it difficult to meet the needs of young offenders whose mental health needs are compounded and inextricably linked with their behaviours. A specialist facility was established within an adolescent prison in North-West England to meet the needs of this population. The unit used a multi-agency approach in which prison officers worked in collaboration with mental health staff. This article describes the aims of the unit and reports on the first cohort of young people admitted; there were significant improvements in behavioural and social functioning across all three main outcome measures. Implications for future policy, service development and research are discussed.

Keywords:

• adolescent
• prison
• mental health
• behavioural problems
• cohort study

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the service commissioners at NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan who sponsored the evaluation and HMP Hindley who provided access and advised us during the project, in particular George Dodds. We are also indebted to the members of staff who worked on Willow Unit (the Complex Needs Unit) for their assistance during data collection. Finally, we are grateful to Sharon Bolton who supported our data collection throughout, Dr. Mike Doyle and two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of the article.