Turnaround Programme

Turnaround is a youth early intervention programme led by the Ministry of Justice. ItThe is a c.£71 million programme providingprovides multi-year funding to Youth OffendingJustice TeamsServices (YOTs)(YJSs) across England and Wales until March 2026, enabling them to intervene earlier and improve outcomes for children on the cusp of entering the youth justice system. This additional funding willenables enableYJSs YOTs to support childrena whocohort theyof currentlychildren not doon nottheir workstatutory withcaseload.  

The programme entered -delivery upin toDecember 20,5002022. moreFollowing childrenthe acrosssuccess Englandof andthe Wales.

The programme enteredprogramme, delivery in DecemberFebruary 2022.2026 Itthe isMinistry scheduledof toJustice run(MOJ) announced a further £46 million of funding until March 2026.2029.

EarlyAs interventiona andwell-established preventionnational areprogramme, atTurnaround theuses heartearly ofintervention theand government’sprevention Saferto Streetssupport mission,government which includes commitments to halve knife crime in a decade and to intervene earlier to stop young people being drawn into crime, as well as crackingtackling down on anti-social behaviour.behaviour (ASB). Turnaround alignsprinciples withacknowledge thesethe commitments.complex Turnaroundneeds hasof builtchildren on the successcusp of the Supportingjustice Familiessystem, programme,focusing whichon showedaddressing the benefitsroot causes of workingoffending withthrough childrenoffering anda theirstructured, familieswhole family approach delivered by YJSs. The programme has funded bespoke, evidence-based interventions for up to meet20,500 needsvulnerable throughchildren holisticto March 2026 and aims to support delivereda further 12,000 children by joined-upMarch local2029. services.This target is subject to ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government, where devolved funding arrangements from 2027 may affect how Turnaround delivery is implemented in Wales.

Eligibility

TurnaroundChildren takesaged referrals10 fromto police17 andwho otherfit partnersone foror childrenmore agedof 10-17the whofollowing are:  criteria are eligible for Turnaround:

• noticedthose bywho have come to notice of agencies with enforcement powers for repeated involvement in anti-social behaviour (ASB); 

  (ASB)
• arethose involved in anti-socialASB behaviour who have received:  received:
  • Community Protection Warning/Notice (CPW/N);(CPW/N)
  • Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC);(ABC)
  • Civil Order for ASB;ASB

• inthose receiptwho ofare Community Protection Orders (CPO), Civil Order and/or Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) for anti-social behaviour; 

• interviewed under caution following arrest,arrest or subject to a criminal investigation attending a voluntary interview; 

  interview

• those who are subject to a No Further Action (NFA) decision (including Outcome 22); 

• those who are subject to a Community Resolution (Outcome 8); 

• those receiving a first-time youth caution, not including a conditional caution; 

  caution

• those released under investigation (RUI) or those subject to pre-charge bail (PCB); 

  (PCB)

• those discharged by a court; 

  court (including conditional discharge)

• those acquitted at court;court and/or 

  and/or
• those fined by a court.

Assessment and support

Although there is no single path to youth offending, there are certain needs and vulnerabilities associated with a child having an increased likelihood of being in contact with the youth justice system or becoming involved in offending behaviour. These include:  

• Mental health concerns
• Substance misuse
• HavingCare experiencehistory/being ofa thechild carein systemneed
• Being a victim of crime/ abusecrime/abuse
• Unstable family setting
• School absence and exclusions and/or
• Undiagnosed educationaleducational/ learning support needs

YOTsYJSs can use Turnaround funding to offer children and their families an Early Help style assessment to address needs and to build on individual strengths, with the aim of preventing them going on to offend or reoffend. Children and families are involved in decisions about the support and interventions they receive.

The programme recognises that YOTsYJSs best understand the needs of children in their local area and deliberately gives them the flexibility to decide which interventions should be used, provided these are evidence-based.

The programme is voluntary. Eligible children do not have to admit guilt to receive support. This voluntary aspect should help traditionally hard-to-reach children get the support they need and prevent an escalation to offending or reoffending.

FutherFurther information

• On programme delivery –  - Management information on Turnaround delivery January to December 2023

• On how Turnaround is operating in your area area you can contact the relevant Youth OffendingJustice TeamService using these contact details.

• On evaluation - Turnaround Programme independent process and implementation evaluation: final report - GOV.UK