Bridging the gap between research and frontline youth justice practice

Although the Risk, Need, Responsivity model of rehabilitation is rooted in a substantial body of research evidence, several studies of the model’s efficacy in youth and adult justice settings within England and Wales have revealed modest outcomes. In this article, we contend that the findings do not necessarily reflect deficits in the model. Rather, a growing corpus of research now indicates that poor practice integrity or inadequate implementation of the model’s principles is a key but under-researched factor that undermines the efficacy of interventions based on the model. We also present the findings of a study that explored applications of the model in three Welsh youth justice services and we examine possible means of bridging the gap between research evidence and real-world practice.

Download Full-text

Evidence-based skills in Welsh youth justice settings

Evidence-Based Skills in Criminal Justice ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447332961.003.0014 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Pamela Ugwudike ◽

Gemma Morgan

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Research Evidence ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Positive Finding ◽

Youth Justice ◽

Relationship Skills ◽

Supervision Practice ◽

Justice Practice ◽

Integrate Research

This chapter presents the findings of a study that examined supervision skills within three youth offending teams. The study focused on youth justice practice in Wales and its objective was to explore how best to integrate research evidence into frontline practice. It found that participating practitioners employed mainly relationship skills. This is a positive finding but there was limited use of evidence-based skills embedded in what is described as the ‘structuring principle' of effective interpersonal interactions (Bonta and Andrews 2017). The skills are change-focused and they impact on what young people learn during interactions with practitioners and the quality of the influence the practitioners exert over them. This chapter examines the factors that impede the application of structuring skills and concludes with a discussion of the ways in which gaps between research and supervision practice can be bridged to enhance the quality of youth justice practice.

Download Full-text

Adolescent to Parent Violence and Youth Justice in England and Wales

Social Policy and Society ◽

10.1017/s1474746411000601 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 241-250 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Rachel Condry ◽

Caroline Miles

Keyword(s):

Support Services ◽

Research Evidence ◽

Academic Discourse ◽

Significant Problem ◽

Policy Agenda ◽

Youth Justice ◽

England And Wales ◽

Policy Level

Adolescent to parent violence is a problem which remains largely unarticulated within youth justice policy literature and academic discourse in England and Wales. This article presents research evidence suggesting that adolescent to parent violence is a significant problem which needs to be clearly addressed in the youth justice policy agenda. Although it is widely recognised by practitioners and regularly encountered in their work, there is a ‘silence’ at the policy level and a lack of appropriate support services or responses. The article considers reasons for the absence of adolescent to parent violence in youth justice policy and argues for the importance of recognising and defining the problem and for the development of appropriate responses.

Download Full-text

Burosumab initiation in a UK XLH cohort: real-world use resonates with research evidence

Endocrine Abstracts ◽

10.1530/endoabs.66.oc4.2 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Poonam Dharmaraj ◽

Christine Burren ◽

Moira Cheung ◽

Raja Padidela ◽

Zulf Mughal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Real World ◽

Research Evidence

Download Full-text

Lost in Translation or a Work in Progress? Developing Desistance-Informed Youth Justice Practice in the Welsh Context

The British Journal of Social Work ◽

10.1093/bjsw/bcaa209 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

John Deering ◽

Jonathan Evans

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Work Practice ◽

Social Work Practice ◽

Small Sample ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Youth Justice ◽

Practice Model ◽

Case File ◽

Justice Practice ◽

Lost In Translation

Abstract This article draws upon empirical research conducted within a Welsh Youth Offending Service (YOS) in 2017–2018. It captured staff responses to the introduction of AssetPlus, an assessment tool intended to complement a corresponding move to desistance-informed practice. Given that YOSs are now expected to develop practice underpinned by desistance theories, the article focuses on how desistance theories were interpreted and translated into one YOS. It was concluded that the introduction of the new practice model suffered from inadequate planning and AssetPlus assessment did little to enhance this shift. In an exercise in Utopianism, the views of practitioners and managers were sought on what constituted ‘ideal’ practice with children in conflict with the law. The researchers found some evidence of support for holistic child-centred social work practice that addressed contextual factors. The study was conducted with a small sample of practitioners and operational managers, involving seven semi-structured interviews, two focus groups (a total of eighteen respondents), case file analysis, document reading and observation. Given the size of the sample, the findings are not regarded as generalisable, but rather as raising important issues and pointers for further research.

Download Full-text

OP48 Nursing Requirements In Long-Term Care: A Health Technology Assessment

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care ◽

10.1017/s0266462319001132 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (S1) ◽

pp. 11-12

Author(s):

Paula Corabian ◽

Charles Yan ◽

Susan Armijo-Olivo ◽

Bing Guo

Keyword(s):

Nursing Care ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

Real World ◽

Research Evidence ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Staff Time ◽

Term Care ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Relationship

IntroductionThe objectives of this study were to systematically review published research on the relationship between nursing staff coverage, care hours, and quality of care (QoC) in long-term care (LTC) facilities; and to conduct a real world evidence (RWE) analysis using Alberta real world data (RWD) to inform policy makers on whether any amendments could be made to current regulations.MethodsA systematic review (SR) of research evidence published between January 2000 and May 2018 on the relationship between nursing staff coverage, care hours, and QoC in LTC facilities was conducted. Panel data regressions using available RWD from Alberta, Canada, were performed to assess associations between nursing care hours and LTC outcomes. Outcomes of interest included quality indicators related to resident outcomes, hospital admissions, emergency room visits and family satisfaction. Nursing care hours considered in SR and RWE analysis included those provided by registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs).ResultsThe SR found inconsistent and poor quality evidence relevant to the questions of interest, indicating a great uncertainty about the association between nursing staff time and type of coverage and QoC. Although some positive indications were suggested, major weaknesses of reviewed studies limited interpretation of SR results. RWE analysis found that impact of care hours on LTC outcomes was heterogeneous, dependent on outcome measurements. There was evidence that total staff, RN, and LPN hours had positive effects on some resident outcomes and magnitude of effect differed for different nursing staff.ConclusionsNo definitive conclusion could be drawn on whether changing nursing staff time or nursing staff coverage models would affect residents’ outcomes based on the research evidence gathered in the SR. RWE analysis helped to fill a gap in the available published literature and allowed policy makers to better understand the impact of revising current regulations based on actual outcomes.

Download Full-text