Despite the fact that the flight is on time it's two hours before she comes through the gate, with less luggage than she would normally take on a night out. Sadly, her suitcase is still enjoying the Philly sunshine. Seems you have to pay a supplement these days if you want your luggage to arrive at the same time as you.
Tuesday: The government announces yet more measures to tackle antisocial behaviour. Nobody can dispute the fact that antisocial behaviour is a serious concern and there's nothing wrong with Asbos per se. They were just badly conceived, never intended to be issued to children and young people and it's been a game of catch-up over the past 10 years to try to make them effective.
This approach is in marked contrast to that taken in Scotland, where the government announced earlier this year that less Asbos would be sought. This, despite the fact that only 14 of them have ever been given to under-16s. Perhaps the answer to youth crime and antisocial behaviour isn't always to be found the other side of the Atlantic.
Thursday: Discussion with colleagues about the many benefits associated with the development of the youth offending team (YOT) case management service. My original involvement in the project was from the premise that YOT staff were spending so much time inputting information onto the existing case management systems that they were in danger of forgetting what it was like to work face-to-face with children, young people and their families.
Our new service will free up staff time. However, we need to consider how staff will use this extra time. I still find it amazing that we do not have any approved programmes for working with children and young people - ones that have an evidence base of success. It has happened with parenting programmes, surely it's time for some real investment in programmes that might have a proven track record of success. I wonder what they do in Scotland?
