YJB - Case Management Guidance - How to work with children
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) has updated its Case Management Guidance, a manual for youth justice service practitioners and managers on what is expected at each stage of a child’s journey through the justice system. The YJB has now added a new section titled “What a child should be aware of when offences are disclosed” to the “How to work with children” chapter. This update provides practical guidance for youth justice services on the disclosure framework affecting children with criminal records.
Details
The new section sets out two key areas of disclosure: the distinction between spent and unspent convictions, and what information would appear on a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. It reiterates that, under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, convictions or cautions become ‘spent’ after a certain time, known as the ‘rehabilitation period’. Unspent convictions will appear on all record checks and must be disclosed if asked about by an employer or financial institution, whereas spent convictions do not need to be disclosed in those circumstances but may still appear on a DBS record check. The length of the rehabilitation period is determined by two factors: the sentence or disposal imposed following conviction, and the age of the individual at the date of conviction. The rehabilitation periods applicable to the most common sentences and disposals are set out here.
The guidance also highlights the filtering process introduced in November 2020, under which certain spent offences are automatically removed from DBS certificates, although they remain on the Police National Computer. Notably, warnings, reprimands and youth cautions (except for youth conditional cautions) will no longer be automatically disclosed on a DBS certificate. Furthermore, a conviction for a non-specified offence received whilst under 18 will not show up on the DBS check after five and a half years. However, convictions for a specified offence are never filtered. These offences are usually of a serious violent or sexual nature, or are relevant for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. The full filtering rules and list of specified offenses are available here.
Commentary
The new section directs practitioners to our information sheet on Criminal Records and Childhood Convictions, which can help children understand their convictions and advise them on how to communicate with prospective employers and education providers. Although the new section does not introduce new guidance on the disclosure regime, it provides a comprehensive overview and equips youth justice professionals with a single reference point on a topic of significant practical importance to the children they support.