A realistic inquiry of welfare-orientated diversionary practice within a Youth Offending Team in supporting the wellbeing of young people within the community

Boden, Thomas (2019). A realistic inquiry of welfare-orientated diversionary practice within a Youth Offending Team in supporting the wellbeing of young people within the community. University of Birmingham. Ap.Ed.&ChildPsy.D.

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Abstract

Practice diverting young people (YP) away from the Youth Justice System has become more prevalent in England and Wales. However, such practice is piecemeal, and scantly evaluated. Welfare-orientated ‘Child First’ practice represents one model of diversion where improving wellbeing associates with improved life outcomes and recidivism.

This study provides a realistic inquiry as to how one Local Authority Youth Offending Team (LA YOT) implements diversionary practice supporting the wellbeing of YP. A realistic evaluation framework was employed (Pawson and Tilley, 1997) which was also informed by affordance theory (Volkoff and Strong, 2013). Contexts, mechanisms and outcomes pertinent to diversionary practice supporting wellbeing were abstracted from stakeholder knowledge, further developed using a realist synthesis of the literature and refined using hybrid thematic analysis (Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006) of realist interviews carried out with six practitioners that work within the LA YOT.

Findings provide insight into the use of community engagement approaches, strengths-based practice frameworks, integrated multi-agency working, and the implementation of evidence based therapeutic practice supporting diversion and wellbeing. Implications for both research and practice are discussed in relation to both redistribution of priorities and resources in YOTs and the role of Educational Psychologists (EPs), in supporting welfare-oriented diversionary practice.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ap.Ed.&ChildPsy.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ap.Ed.&ChildPsy.D.

Supervisor(s):