Prevention

This document has been prepared for the Youth Health Improvement and Health Inequalities Strategic Leads Group. It sets out the key government policies that aim to support young people’s health and wellbeing. It is a broad overview and does not attempt to describe every policy or initiative that will have an impact on the health of young people in Scotland.

Despite increasing concern about youth unemployment, there has been little work to date focused on identifying those at risk of becoming NEET (Not in employment, education or training) and the evidence base on intervention programs that can make a difference.

The link between social breakdown and crime is well established. In the CSJ’s seminal report Breakthrough Britain, five common drivers of poverty and social breakdown were identified – educational failure, family breakdown, addiction, worklessness and economic dependency, and debt.

In February 2010, the CSJ launched a review of the youth justice system to identify how it might be reformed to improve outcomes for young people, victims and society.

In the context of increased debate about early interventions in the UK, the Local Government Association (LGA) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to produce guidance on what constitutes a good business case for early interventions and how it should be assessed.

The guidance will be of use to local authorities (LAs) and their partners in their decision making and planning on early interventions.

Based on extensive research, consultation and original analysis, this report adds new dimensions to the case for early intervention.

It shines a light on the disproportionate vulnerability of babies to abuse and neglect; and it provides the first estimates of the numbers of babies affected by parental problems of substance misuse, mental illness and domestic abuse.

The purpose of this review was to examine the available research evidence on criminal justice interventions in Scotland in terms of "effectiveness", (measured by rates of reconviction/reoffending, and reductions in drug use) and costs. The review also recognises the current policy emphasis on "recovery", which requires a wider acknowledgement of the possible mechanisms for measuring "success" and a wider vision for the process of recovery itself. It was undertaken between August and November 2010.

A summary of new evidence on the role of advice services in preventing youth offending and the potential impact on crime of cuts to advice services.

The briefing is for providers, planners, researchers and policy makers with an interest in: services for young people; legal advice services; and the youth justice system. It follows a recent JustRights report, Not Seen and Not Heard, revealing the impact of proposed legal aid cuts on children and young people.

The tendency for risky behaviors to co-occur has been well-studied. However, prevention efforts traditionally have taken a targeted approach, seeking to prevent a single risky behavior.

This briefing brings together findings from developmental science and from rigorous program evaluations to identify seven actionable, feasible strategies and relevant programs that have been found to affect two or more risky behaviors.

Film that focuses on services designed to improve or maintain people's well-being. The services featured in this film are specifically aimed at reducing loneliness in later life and include a luncheon club and separate tea dance club, both based in Dorset.

One in a series of research briefings about preventive care and support for adults. It focuses on services aimed at reducing the effects of both loneliness and social isolation.