The joint inspection by HM Inspectorate of Probation, the Care Quality Commission and Ofsted into resettlement services found too many young offenders struggle to access health services.
Support aimed at preventing reoffending is also weak. Of 29 children tracked by inspectors a year after release, only a quarter complied with their supervision and around half were arrested, in some cases within weeks of release.
Poor access to mental health support is a particular concern, with two-thirds of those with mental health problems not showing any improvement within a year of release.
Key problems include a lack of co-ordinated support across custody and the community, with too little attention given to preparing young offenders for release. This meant resettlement work in the community often started too late.
Lack of information sharing is another concern. Fergus Currie, CQC health and justice manager and one of the inspection team, said this is prevalent across – and even within – agencies working with young people in custody and the community.
He said: “One example we found was that health information had been provided to the youth offending team (YOT), but then not passed on to the YOT health worker, who was then having to act blindly in terms of health support when the young person was released.”
Currie is also concerned at the lack of continuity of care for young offenders.
He said: “There should be a health assessment in the community, which when the young person goes into custody follows them through that process and then through release to give a continuity of treatment.
“But we found it didn’t follow them into custody, where instead there was a new assessment, which was actually focused on what health provision was available rather than on the needs of the young person.”
Other concerns are that different support staff across custody and the community “did not fully understand each other’s roles, did not always value each other’s input and did not always work together”.
Assistant chief inspector of probation Alan MacDonald said: “Work to help children resettle does not start early enough. Children and their parents or carers should be well prepared for release and all agencies ready to support a constructive release plan.
“Some children did not know where they would be living until a few days before their release and because of this, the rest of the provision could not follow.
“It is possible for the lives of many children who have offended to be turned around. It will need all the component parts to work to ensure children get the right support they need to stop offending and that, importantly as a result, there are fewer victims of crime.”
Among recommendations is for health commissioners and providers to improve information sharing and provide continuity of care for young offenders before, during and after release.
