The nation's 16- and 17-year-olds live in a "legislative shadowland" where public services conflict and are inconsistent. That was one of Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board's conclusions after investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl in April 2007 (CYP Now, 23-29 April).
The shadowland described is the situation where a person is legally a child under the Children Act, but has a different balance of rights and responsibilities compared with younger children. In this situation, adult services may not support their needs, the board warned. But does this shadowland really exist and, if so, where is it most evident?
"It goes further than a legislative shadowland," says Paul Moore, strategic director of children's services at charity NCH. "It's also difficult to mobilise services for the mental health of young people because they can't access adult services but children's services don't meet their needs."
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