Youth justice services, probation and prison

If you find yourself in trouble you may need to work with the Youth Justice Service or Probation Service.

We can help you by working with these organisations to make sure you are supported. There are dedicated workers who understand what it is to be looked after or a care leaver and can offer support accordingly (we will ask your consent before approaching them on your behalf).

Our support for you will not stop if you’re in custody on remand or sentenced. We will keep in touch and visit you regularly. Your pathway plan should be reviewed as soon as you go into custody and we will complete pathway plan reviews with you up to your 21st birthday and if needed, we can continue to do this up to 25th birthday.

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Finances in custody

In adult prison, you can earn a weekly allowance by engaging in a work or paid training activity. If you are unable to do this, we can provide a small allowance to make sure you have the basic things you need and to make sure you have phone credit to keep in touch with family and the people important to you.

If you are an eligible, relevant or former relevant care leaver in a youth custody setting and cannot earn pocket money through a work or training programme, we will support you with a weekly allowance to meet your living costs and to make sure you have phone credit to keep in touch with family and the people important to you. We will continue to support this once you are sentenced until either you are released, or you move to an adult prison.

We may be able to support you with other finances when in custody and to support you when you are released from custody. Your Personal Advisor can give you details of this and agree what support you could get in your pathway plan.

If you leave custody after your 25th birthday and still have remaining Setting Up Home Allowance; we will save this for you to access on your release.

Support with accommodation when leaving custody

We understand that young people leaving custody require extra support. We will work the prison to plan for your release to ensure you have a smoother transition back into the community. When this happens, if you are under 25 years and eligible, you will be able to access all the support in this local offer.

Before you leave custody, your social worker or personal advisor will work with you to update your pathway plan to identify your housing needs early and plan for where you will live. This will happen no later than two months before your planned release date.

They will involve all the people who can help put the right support in place such as your youth justice worker, prison officer, resettlement officer, housing advisor and probation officer.  They will also attend any pre-release meetings you have in custody to ensure that a clear plan is in place to support you when you are released.

If you haven’t already, we will assist you to make a Bradford Homes application and request your Priority 1 Status is applied and if appropriate make referrals for Intensive Housing Management (IHM) support.

Your personal advisor can make a referral to housing options before you leave custody. The leaving care service has a dedicated housing advisor who can complete an assessment of your needs as part of your pathway plan and release plan.

We will also consider what support you might need to for training, education or employment and access to benefits on release. We will work with you to involve your family and people important to you in your plan and think about what other support you may need.

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