Former ADCS president appointed to Youth Justice Board
Gabriella Jozwiak
Monday, April 24, 2017
A former president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has been appointed as a member of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
The appointment of Alan Wood, who was ADCS president in 2014/15, comes two months after the publication of a government-commissioned report into the future of the youth justice system, which led Justice Secretary Liz Truss to announce that the YJB's remit would be scaled back.
The recommendations of the Youth Custody Improvement Board, of which Wood was chair, led Truss to shift responsibility for commissioning and overseeing the youth secure estate from the YJB to a new body - the Youth Custody Service - which launched earlier this month.
The MOJ's announcement of Wood's appointment stated that his work done identifying the most serious issues in the youth justice system made him "key" in efforts to address reforms.
Wood told CYP Now he was "excited" to be appointed to the position.
"The recent proposals by ministers to change the functions of the YJB, and focus its attention on how community services partners are working with young people in the criminal justice system, are really important," he said.
"To have a strong voice on the quality of provision that young people are provided with both at community level and within custodial settings is very important because there's much to be done.
"Being strong advocates for the highest possible policy provision both at community and custody level is a really tough job to do, but it's got to be done."
Wood said future areas of focus for the YJB included the establishment of proposed new secure schools, training and development of staff at local level in how to protect and divert young people away from criminal activity, and the financial challenges facing the youth justice system.
"I hope the YJB will see a very important role for itself in challenging the quality of evidence, challenging the status quo to do better, encouraging innovation and encouraging wider partnerships between youth services, social services and school services," said Wood.
Wood will work alongside the YJB's new chair, Charlie Taylor, who led a separate government review of the youth justice system and took up the post in April.
Wood has initially been appointed to serve until September, when the YJB's membership for the next three years will be finalised.