North Yorkshire County Council is a Partner in Practice – click here for more information
Looked after children and care leavers are at particularly high risk of poor outcomes, with staff turnover and a diverse range of needs frequently resulting in them working with a wide range of ever changing professionals, which can cause them to become distrusting and reluctant to engage.
We created two hubs which provided both residential and outreach services; the latter comprised of key workers, portfolio leads, a life coach, a communications support worker and a police liaison officer to create a multi-disciplinary service that would address the young person’s need in a single team.
The innovation was able to improve accommodation stability, engagement in education, employment and training, relationships with others, resilience and wellbeing and access to support in a crisis. It also reduced high risk behaviours such as criminal activity, missing incidents and substance misuse. Furthermore, we demonstrated a reduction in costs to society, to a range of agencies including £200,000 in the first year to the police.
Following a successful evaluation by Loughborough University, we have received investment to save funding until 2020. Our police liaison officers have been permanently funded by North Yorkshire Police due to costs avoided as a result of a reduction in arrests and missing incidents. The full range of accommodation options is now available, including a “welcome approach” for UASC.
No Wrong Door is also being expanded into two further areas: Leaving Care and Social Emotional and Mental Health. NYCC are also helping other Local Authorities to roll out their own No Wrong Door service.
Loughborough University
