Programmes > Accommodation

Performance
Kirklees Youth Offending Team (YOT) continues to do well in terms of accommodation provision throughout the Kirklees area. 90?% of young people who are on orders to YOT are adequately accommodated in suitable accommodation. The Youth Justice Board target is 96%. The remainder of young people 4% are usually those who go unreported or are not picked up through the assessment process. These are the most difficult to engage group of young people. Even though we can be proud of what we achieve for young people who have accommodation needs we are always looking at improving the service we provide.

Kirklees Housing Options Support Services have followed the guidelines set out by central government that young people in need of temporary accommodation should not be placed in Bed & Breakfast provision. This should therefore reduce the percentage rate of young people being placed in unsuitable accommodation. This approach has resulted in young people being offered tenancies by Housing providers and not temporary accommodation. This has given our young people real opportunities to succeed in their tenancies. The emerging trend within HOSS is to make attempts at resolving family conflict with a view to young people staying with parents and family. The YOT firmly believe that this is by far the best placement for them.

House of Lords Ruling
Accommodation for Lone 16/17 year old Children
The ruling confirmed the Department’s view that local authorities should presume that any lone, homeless child should be provided with accommodation and under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 unless the child is not in the local authority’s judgment (based on an initial screening assessment), a child “in need”.  In nearly all cases the impact of a child being homeless and their parents being unable to provide them with suitable accommodation or care would result in such significant challenges to the child’s welfare, that the child will be a child “in need”. Where the criteria for section 20 have been met children’s services do not have discretion to choose to use section 17 powers instead to provide accommodation. The effect of providing accommodation under section 20 is of course that the child becomes “looked after” within the meaning of section 22 of the Act.

Click here to see the full judgement

Kirklees YOT also work in partnership with a private landlord who provides a self contained tenancy. This resource is used to accommodate young people who are leaving custody with accommodation needs.

Contractual Agreements
Kirklees YOT have in place a Service Level Agreement with a local provider (Foundation Housing)  to provide support for up to 10 bed spaces dedicated to YOT clients throughout North and South Kirklees.

The support package is an intense support plan that has been designed to meet the individuals’ support needs.

Kirklees YOT has secured funding for high level support for up to 10 young people who are on orders to the YOT. Another local provider (Stonham Housing) were successful in making a bid to Supporting People for funding for two full-time support workers who will provide intensive support for young people in their own tenancies. We have experienced real difficulties with young people failing in their accommodation due to the lack of intensive support. We hope to evaluate this service over the next year. 

Representation
Kirklees YOT are now in a privileged position to have a senior manager from Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing being represented on the YOT management board this is a major step forward which will have an influential outcome as to how both organisations can challenge barriers YOT service users encounter.

We are also in a position to have a YOT manager representing YOT on the West Yorkshire Strategic Housing Partnership Board.

The Accommodation officer also attends the Kirklees homelessness forum advocating on behalf YOT. He also attends the Multi Agency Resource Panel meetings (MARP). The meetings are chaired by the manager of Housing Options Support Services and the panel is made up of a range of agencies that aims to address the needs of individual young people that have complex issues that  prevent them from accessing tenancies.