Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone, has signed a contract for the expansion of the Bail Supervision Scheme. This will ensure the continuation of the successful scheme in Dublin and its extension to courts in Cork and Limerick.
The Bail Supervision Scheme offers an alternative to detention for young people. The ultimate aim of the scheme is to support long-term, sustainable positive change for the young person, their family and the community.
The scheme has been formally evaluated by the Research Evidence into Policy Programmes and Practice (REPPP) project in University of Limerick. The findings of the evaluation reflected positively on the work of the scheme and found it to be successful in delivering on its main purposes:
· To support young people to comply with bail conditions laid down by the court;
· To reduce offending behaviour; and
· To improve pro-social behaviours, while at the same time, reducing the dependence on remand in custody.
Extern has been contracted to deliver services as part of the scheme. It will use Multisystemic Therapy (MST), an evidence-based approach which seeks to understand the factors that contribute to the young person’s behaviour and to assist in the compliance with bail conditions, as the main intervention. This will be supplemented with other interventions depending on the needs of the young people.
Awarding the contract, Minister Zappone noted:
I am delighted to be funding the expansion of the Bail Supervision Scheme to support young people in complying with bail conditions laid down by the court and in effecting positive change in their lives. The Scheme offers an alternative to detention for young people, and is aimed at supporting them to be at home, in education, training or employment, and to remain out of trouble with the law.
I am also very aware of the dedication of practitioners in the field of youth justice and of the challenges that are faced daily. The key to overcoming these challenges is co-operation among us all. In this regard, I and my Department are fully supportive of working with all parties in ensuring the smooth operation of the system.
Note to Editors:
Bail Supervision Scheme
Children who are at the risk of being denied bail or are remanded to detention, are likely to be involved in prolific offending patterns but they are also very vulnerable and probably experiencing chaotic living situations. If a young person is deemed to meet the criteria for consideration as part of the Bail Supervision Scheme, the court may grant bail with strict conditions having received assurance that the young person and/or his or her family will work with the scheme. The Bail Supervision Scheme will support young people to meet these court requirements and, of key importance, has the capacity to positively impact on the underlying behaviours.
The ultimate aim of the Bail Supervision Scheme is to make long-term, sustainable positive change for the young person, their family and the community. While working intensively with the young person and the family in relation to the young person who is the subject of bail conditions and in empowering the parent/guardian to ensure compliance, it also has a knock-on effect on the behaviour of other siblings in the family.
The therapists working in the scheme work on the basis of being available to the families 24/7 which has assisted and supported parents in ensuring young people comply with the conditions put down by the court. There is a very high level of support offered and sessions take place in the family home and community. The evaluation found that re-engagement in education/training programmes in particular was high for young people who participated in the scheme, especially given that all of the young people had been out of education for a long period of time prior to referral to the scheme.
Extern, working alongside the statutory agencies which include An Garda Síochána, Courts Service, Probation Service (YPP), Oberstown Children Detention Campus and the Irish Youth Justice Service within the DCYA, will deliver the scheme. Extern is a leading social justice charity operating across Ireland. Extern currently works with TUSLA and with Garda Youth Diversion Projects.
The Dublin scheme will continue and it is anticipated the two new sites will begin later this year.
In line with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) a Request for Tender (RFT) was published on the e-Tender system and the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in January 2020. Following the closing date an Evaluation Process was undertaken, resulting in the award of the contract for the service.
Research Evidence into Policy Programmes and Practice (REPPP)
The REPPP evaluation report can be accessed here https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/0a6bc8-evaluation-of-the-bail-supervision-scheme-for-children-pilot-scheme/