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Parent empowerment prevents youth crime

Parents are being trained to reduce the likelihood that their children’s bad behaviour will turn into youth crime.

Juliet Starbuck, a Senior Educational Psychologist with the West Sussex Youth Offending Team, outlined the project on Friday 6 January 2006, at the Division of Educational and Child Psychology Annual Conference in Bournemouth.

The West Sussex Youth Offending Team and West Sussex Educational Psychology Service have worked together to drive forward the initiative, which is described as an answer to parents’ prayers.

The project sees sessional workers - many of whom have had their own difficulties with their kids - work with parents to identify what it is going on in the home and what they can do to make things better.

The sessional workers have all received training in communication skills, behaviour management skills, emotional intelligence, solution-focused brief therapy, drug and alcohol awareness, domestic violence awareness and child protection. They meet for intensive supervision with a psychologist and parenting expert, where they are encouraged to use skills and techniques to find better ways to support parents.

The project has worked with parents of children aged five to 13-years-old and to date with over 400 families across West Sussex. Each parent receives around six weeks of support.

Although it can be hard to measure success at reducing youth crime, the project has been able to track the progress parents feel they have made. When asked at the beginning how confident they feel to deal with their children’s behaviour most parents usually say one or two out of 10. At the end of the six-week support almost 100 per cent of the parents score at least seven and some score much higher. Six-monthly follow-up calls show that the positive changes usually last.

Ms Starbuck said: "We know that children who find it difficult to behave, both at school and at home, cause parents to struggle. Yet good parenting is one of the key ways to prevent serious problems, including youth crime.

"The sessional workers help to empower the parents who then solve their own problems and bring about sustainable change."