Youth justice service
Cheshire Youth Justice Service (YJS) covers the whole of the county of Cheshire, comprising the four Local Authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Halton and Warrington.
We work with children from 10-17 years of age and are a statutory partnership, collaborating with key partners to deliver effective support and create safer communities. Together, these partnerships strengthen the support for children and their parents/carers and victims of youth crime.
Cheshire YJS adopts a holistic approach to working with children and victims in terms of safeguarding and protecting the public.
What does the YJS do?
Cheshire YJS adopts an evidence-based approach when working with children to reduce re-offending. This includes Child First, trauma and relational approaches. These approaches are at the very heart of the work we carry out and children are also diverted away from the Youth Justice System where appropriate.
A Child First Identity Focused Approach means seeing children as children and focussing on any barriers they face.
Cheshire YJS follows Child First principles by:
- Engaging children, parents and carers in meaningful collaboration
- Minimising justice involvement through prevention and diversion
- Prioritising children’s best interests, rights and potential
- Promoting children’s strengths:
- to develop a future-focused, pro-social identity,
- to achieve desistance,
- to build on supportive empowering relationships so children achieve their potential and make positive
contributions to society.
We include Restorative Justice in the work we do with children and victims. This can be indirect including supporting a child to write a letter of explanation, or complete work to benefit the community in some way e.g. reparation. On some occasions children meet with victims to apologise for the harm caused.
Volunteering opportunities
We have a large team of volunteers who support our work. Volunteering with us requires a commitment of a minimum of three hours a week.
In order to be one of our volunteers, you must be 18 years of age or over and ideally you should live or work in Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Halton, or Warrington.
Volunteer recruitment takes place in September each year. Each volunteer will have a formal interview and if successful, will go through our mandatory training and induction. Training sessions tend to run at weekends in October and/or November and in addition, there are quarterly team meetings for volunteers and a newsletter. Travel expenses are also provided.
All voluntary posts are subject to a Vetting and Barring Disclosure Check (DBS).
Volunteering opportunities are always changing within the team and at present the following roles are available:
The panels involve local community volunteers, children the YJS is working with and their parents/ carers. Panel members will discuss and listen to these key people and ensure the views, wishes and feelings of victims of crime are heard in the panels. The plan will address how the child will be supported to make positive progress and keep themselves and others safe. Panel members will talk and listen to these key people and agree a plan of action.
The plan is designed so it
- repairs the harm done
- empowers participants
- helps victims of crime
- helps children move forward.
This role normally needs a time commitment of three hours a fortnight.
Volunteers also undertake a range of tasks to support a child whilst working with YJS. This can include helping them attend solo and group work sessions; helping them get to external appointments or interviews and helping with transport. Some children benefit from a “long term” Mentor, whereby the same volunteer offer supports over the entire period of an order. This could be to build the child’s confidence, learn new skills or to be a positive role model.
This involves working with children in the community who are undertaking various forms of Restorative Approach that seek to repair harm and empower participants. These activities include skilled-based sessions and community reparation projects, where the child gives back to the community in a positive way and develops their skills where they are meaningful and align with the goals and interests of the child.
These range from painting and decorating, gardening and regeneration schemes.
If you’d like to volunteer with Cheshire YJS, you can apply through the link to the online application form below.
- Phone: 0345 145 0055
- West office: second floor, Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford CW7 1AH
- East office: seventh floor, Delamere House, Delamere Street, Crewe CW1 2JZ
- North office: third floor, Municipal Building, Kingsway, Widnes WA8 7QF