The government announced an external review of child and adolescent mental health services (chaired by Jo Davidson), designed to ensure that the educational and emotional needs of children and young people with mental health problems, or at risk of developing them, were being met.
Source: Press release 12 December 2007, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0870 000 2288) and Department of Health
Links: DCSF press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Dec
A report highlighted the long-term benefits of comprehensively meeting the mental health needs of children and young people, both to the individuals and families concerned and to public services and the economy as a whole over that individual's lifetime.
Source: Maintaining the Momentum: Towards excellent services for children and young people's mental health, NHS Confederation (020 7959 7272)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Nov
A report examined poverty among young people aged 16-29 across 13 countries of the pre-enlargement European Union. It charted how poverty rates varied between countries, looked at the factors associated with being poor, and examined the events that were linked with moving in and out of poverty. Using this comparative approach, it suggested relevant policy lessons for the United Kingdom, including: learning from Scandinavian countries' family-friendly policies; targeting resources on those young people who had just left home; and evaluating youth employment schemes on levels of job retention, not just numbers of young people getting work.
Source: Maria Iacovou and Arnstein Aassve, Youth Poverty in Europe, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings
Date: 2007-Oct
An article examined the relationships between residents and staff in hostels for homeless young people. The findings highlighted some dilemmas and tensions experienced by both residents and staff, and pointed to effective ways of working with homeless youth.
Source: Liz McGrath and Nancy Pistrang, 'Policeman or friend? Dilemmas in working with homeless young people in the United Kingdom', Journal of Social Issues, Volume 63 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Sep
A report highlighted the cost of young people's exclusion from access to the advice they needed to resolve their complex housing and homelessness problems.
Source: James Kenrick, Locked Out: The prevalence and impact of housing and homelessness problems amongst young people, and the impact of good advice, Youth Access (020 8772 9900)
Links: Report | Youth Access press release
Date: 2007-Sep
A report said that there needed to be a fundamental change to the way in which children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) were delivered, so that they became more accessible and responsive. The statutory sector needed to adopt the person-centred approach commonly used by the voluntary sector.
Source: Ines Garcia, Christina Vasiliou and Kim Penketh, Listen Up! Person-centred approaches to help young people experiencing mental health and emotional problems, Mental Health Foundation (020 7803 1100)
Links: Report | MHF press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report summarized the responses from 68,495 young people aged 10-15 to over 100 health-related behaviour questions – including food choices, drug taking, and exercise and sport.
Source: Young People into 2007, Schools Health Education Unit (01392 667272)
Links: SHEU press release | DEF press release
Date: 2007-Jul
A survey found that only 55 per cent of young people said they had been taught about teenage pregnancy at school. Only 49 per cent of respondents knew where their local sexual health clinic was.
Source: Sex and Relationships Education: Are you getting it?, UK Youth Parliament (020 7843 6310)
Links: Report | UKYP press release | NCB press release | Young People Now report
Date: 2007-Jul
The government began consultation on proposals for improving the safety of children and young people. Parents needed to identify real dangers without preventing children from 'exploring': but children from low-income families were much more likely to be hurt in accidents than wealthier counterparts.
Source: Staying Safe, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Consultation document | Summary | DCSF press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jul
An article examined the effects of adolescent exposure to cross-community violence, intense paramilitary operations, aggression, and intimidation in Northern Ireland.
Source: Linda Shepherd, 'Exposure to community violence and political socialization among adolescents in Northern Ireland', Policy Futures in Education, Volume 5 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jul
A report made recommendations designed to improve the lives of children and young people in Wales. These included the creation of a Welsh Assembly Government committee for children and young people, and strengthening the role of the Minister for Children.
Source: A Wales Fit for Children and Young People, Children in Wales (029 2034 2434)
Links: Report | CIW press release
Date: 2007-Jun
A study found that the number of young people aged 16 who said they had no best friend they could confide in had risen from around 1 in 8 twenty years previously to almost 1 in 5. The study compared the experiences and views of teenagers in 1986 and 2006. A linked study found that many parents were denying their children the same freedom to go out unsupervised as they themselves had enjoyed, because of fears for youngsters' safety.
Source: The Good Childhood: A National Inquiry - Evidence Summary One: Friends, Children?s Society (020 7841 4415)
Links: IOSH press release | RoSPA press release | ACCT press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jun
A new book provided a critical analysis of ways in which risk assessment and management were defined and applied in policy, theory, and practice in relation to children and young people.
Source: Betsy Thom, Rosemary Sales and Jenny Pearce (eds.), Growing Up with Risk, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-May
A systematic review examined research relevant to accidental injury, risk-taking behaviour, and the social circumstances of young people - covering topics as diverse as drugs, alcohol, transport, and sport. Although there was a large literature on a 'culture of risk-taking' among young people, the evidence to support the view that this translated into significant numbers of injuries was limited.
Source: James Thomas et al., Accidental Injury, Risk-taking Behaviour and the Social Circumstances in Which Young People (Aged 12-24) Live: A Systematic Review, EPPI-Centre/Social Science Research Unit/Institute of Education/University of London (020 7612 6050)
Links: Report | Summary | IOE press release
Date: 2007-Apr
A report outlined the contribution the Welsh Assembly Government had made, in partnership with other statutory agencies and the voluntary sector, to furthering children?s and young people?s rights as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: Implementing Children and Young People?s Rights in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Apr
A report said that a significant number of young people remained excluded from growing national prosperity. Youth unemployment cost the economy £10 million a day in lost productivity, while criminal activity by young people cost over £1 billion each year.
Source: Sandra McNally and Shqiponja Telhaj, The Cost of Exclusion: Counting the cost of youth disadvantage in the UK, Prince's Trust (020 7543 1234)
Links: Report | Prince's Trust press release
Date: 2007-Apr
A study in Scotland examined children's and young people's views, concerns, and experiences regarding their sexual health and well-being. Concerns were often interwoven with experiences and relationships with peers and partners, normative values within the peer group, and lay communication about sexual issues within peer settings. Specific attention was required to challenge the stigmas that threatened young people's sexual health and wellbeing, such as that surrounding homosexuality.
Source: Kathryn Backett-Milburn et al., Children and Young People's Concerns about Their Sexual Health and Well-Being, Scottish Executive (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Mar
The government announced a package of measures designed to tackle the problem of youth homelessness and meet its pledge to eliminate the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation for people aged 16-17 by 2010. A national youth homelessness scheme would be established in partnership with leading charities - focusing on early intervention and prevention, and on both accommodation and non-accommodation needs. 'Centres of excellence' would be set up in each region to ensure councils with a good record on tackling youth homelessness could share practice with neighbours.
Source: Press release 7 March 2007, Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 3000)
Links: DCLG press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Mar
A study examined the perspectives of young people in Scotland on what kinds of support, both formal and informal, were helpful during periods of family change. Informal support networks were often disrupted when families changed, through changes in schools, losing touch with some relatives, or moving house or country: this could leave some young people very isolated.
Source: Gill Highet, Cool with Change: Young people talking about support, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships/University of Edinburgh (0131 651 1832)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Mar
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that more needed to be done urgently to address the problem of youth homelessness in Wales.
Source: 'Everyone's Business ? No-one's Responsibility', Social Justice and Regeneration Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: News report
Date: 2007-Feb
The Scottish Executive published (following consultation) an action plan for improving the health of children and young people in Scotland.
Source: Delivering a Healthy Future: An action framework for children and young people's health in Scotland, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | Consultation responses
Date: 2007-Feb
A report said that children with learning disabilities were six times more likely to have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder than other children. The increased risk of mental health problems might be the result of their exposure to poverty and social exclusion, rather than their condition, in some cases.
Source: Eric Emerson and Chris Hatton, The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities in Britain, Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (020 7802 0300) and Institute for Health Research/ Lancaster University
Links: Report | FPLD press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Feb
The children's watchdog for England said that young people with mental health problems were receiving inappropriate and inadequate care on adult wards, because of a continuing shortage of hospital beds and facilities for those under 18.
Source: Pushed into the Shadows: Young people?s experience of adult mental heath facilities, Office of the Children?s Commissioner (0844 8009113) and YoungMinds
Links: Report | OCC press release | Guardian report | Young People Now report
Date: 2007-Jan