The YJB's Strategic Plan
2024-27 sets out our approach for how we will work with
others to realise our vision for a Child First youth justice
system, and deliver services that promote positive outcomes for
children, by reducing offending, supporting victims and making
communities safer.
Video transcript
I am Keith Fraser, the Chair of the Youth Justice Board for
England and Wales.
Today we have the results of the elections for local government,
Mayors and Police and Crime Commissioners. Today is likely to
cause change for the delivery of youth justice services and
police services. As you begin to understand what these potential
changes mean for your services, and for the children and
communities you serve, we hope that our shared vision will
provide you with consistency, and our recently published
three-year Strategic Plan can help you navigate any change.
As stewards of the youth justice system, the Youth Justice Board,
or YJB as many of you know it, has a duty to be transparent about
our goals, strategies, and outcomes. By holding ourselves
accountable to measurable objectives and regularly reporting on
progress across the sector, we aim to build trust and confidence
in our strategic direction.
Our new Strategic Plan directs how we will achieve this over the
next three years, laying out our priorities to deliver a more
impactful Youth Justice Board. One that is more efficient, more
inclusive, and more effective. The strategic objectives support
this direction.
Firstly, we will support the improvement of youth justice
services in local communities.
Secondly, we will focus on addressing persistent disparities
across the youth justice system, including those that reflect
children's racial heritage.
Our third objective is to influence policy and practice to
increase the adoption of the Child First framework throughout the
youth justice system.
To deliver on these objectives, we must ground our approach in
data that demonstrates effective practice and sound research.
This underpins our approach in the Strategic Plan.
We will continue to contribute to the effective resourcing of
youth justice services, to set clear standards for justice to
support improved performance across the sector.
We will use our data and evidence to identify opportunities to
innovate and improve, while promoting and strengthening
engagement with communities and victims.
We will continue to monitor services, constructively challenging
our statutory partners and agencies. We will ensure that they
have a clear focus on how they are going to respond to the needs
of children in their area.
We will also inform and influence practitioners and policy makers
about the operation of the youth justice system and how best to
apply the Child First framework to deliver positive outcomes.
This strategic plan requires a commitment to continuous
improvement and collaboration. We must be willing to adapt and
evolve our approaches in response to changing needs, emerging
evidence and varying resources. In achieving this, we can ensure
that our efforts are targeted and impactful in preventing
offending, reducing reoffending and promoting positive outcomes
for children.
We strongly encourage you to embrace these priorities, embed them
into your local strategies and work with the YJB to make a
meaningful difference in the lives of children and the
communities we serve.
Thank you.
Read the full Strategic
Plan 2024-27.
