Contemporary Drug Policy Issues

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Contemporary Drug Policy Issues Children and
Young People
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About The Childrens Society

• ? The Good Childhood Inquiry
• 127 years of direct practice
• ? Disabled children and young people
• ? Children in trouble with the law
• ? Refugee children and families
• ? Young people at risk on the streets
• ? Traveller and Gypsy children and young people
• ? Drug and alcohol misuse (by child and/or and
  parent)

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• STARS project and National Initiative
• http//www.parentsusingdrugs.org.uk
• Essex Young Peoples Drug and Alcohol Service
• CheckPoint
• Drug Prevention Capacity Building
• Intensive Support Model for young people at risk
• Wellbeing research

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How far have we come?

• 1998 2008
• Significant policy, practice and service
  development 180 young peoples services in
  England in 2006 (NTA) 18,000 young people
  accessing treatment
• Funding initiatives and commissioning
  structures
• Hidden Harm
• Safeguarding young people from sexual
  exploitation
• Every Child Matters
• Childrens workforce
• Growing research base
• Drug and Alcohol lead for children in DCSF

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Current policy framework
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Issues and Challenges

• Strategic
• Integration and simplification of strategies and
  delivery objectives
• More to come! - Child Health Strategy, CAMHS
  Review, Youth Crime Action Plan implementation
• Proliferation and coordination of statutory
  bodies CDPs, LSCBs, soon Childrens Trusts
  and YOT steering groups
• Focus on structures and strategy overwhelming
  practice and delivery?

With children, for children, with you
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Issues and Challenges

• Commissioning and Funding
• Childrens Trusts, health and pooled funding
  threats and opportunities
• Economic climate impact
• Voluntary sector experience of commissioning
• Specialist gt lt generic service modelling
• Prevention gt lt crisis intervention balance

With children, for children, with you
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Issues and Challenges

• Practice
• ? Responding to young people involved in drug
  dealing, running and selling
• ?Countering the impact of normalisation of
  substance misuse within some families and
  communities
• Safeguarding where involvement in drugs is a
  survival or coping mechanism for young people in
  high risk situations
• Identification, risk assessment and child
  protection judgements, in cases of parental
  misuse
• Distinctive challenges in responding to substance
  misuse within stigmatised and vulnerable groups,
  such as Gypsy and Traveller communities, and
  among refugees

With children, for children, with you
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Future shoot
Drivers and priorities Preventing child
deaths - in the home - on the streets Poverty,
unemployment, homelessness - all interrelate
with rates of problematic use by parents and
children - impacts for organisations and GDP
spend on children? Towards and beyond a general
election - political football - what of ECM
stays or changes
With children, for children, with you