Youth Offending Service Management Board

The Youth Offending Service (YOS) in Stockton is made up of representatives from the police, probation service, social services, health, education, drugs and alcohol misuse, housing and the voluntary sector. The Stockton YOS seeks to tackle the offending behaviour of the child or young person, but also seeks to address the risk factors associated with it - from poor parental supervision and domestic violence or abuse to peer group pressure; from truancy or school exclusion to substance misuse or mental health problems.

The YOS Management Board provides strategic oversight and direction to Stockton YOS, and co-ordinates the provision of youth justice services locally.

The Role and Purpose of the YOS Management Board

The main objectives of the Stockton Management Board are:

To support and direct the work of the YOS.

To co-operate with other Youth Offending Services, especially across the Tees Valley.

To report youth justice performance and issues to the following bodies:

Children's Trust
Safer Stockton Partnership
Stockton Safeguarding Board
Youth Justice Board

To ensure that a Youth Justice Plan is prepared and implemented; to consider and act upon feedback from the Youth Justice Board (YJB), and to receive quarterly monitoring reports, including identifying any deficiencies in meeting National Standards, and agreeing actions to overcome them.

To agree an annual budget and monitor expenditure (via the YOS Finance Group where appropriate).

To pursue the 'pure preventative' agenda, including particularly the objectives included in the Stockton on Tees Community Plan and to act as the Steering Group for the Youth Inclusion Programme in the Borough.

To align all activities and youth justice services in meeting the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, linking to the Borough's Children and Young People's Plan.

To ensure all activities and youth justice services align with and contribute to the Borough's crime and disorder strategy through the local Community Safety Plan.

To promote co-operation and seek to influence the policies and practices of other agencies (both those represented on the Management Board and others) which have an impact on youth offending or have the potential to do so.

To influence other strategies and programmes from a youth offending perspective.

To pursue additional resources for the purpose of reducing youth offending.

To monitor and evaluate initiatives and projects, in order to establish what works best and most cost effectively.