The future of secure care and the single point of contact (SPOC) for victims in the Children's Hearings System
Questions on prevention, alternatives, community based support and transitions
Prevention, alternatives and community based support, and transitions - background information
Prevention
Our approach to supporting our most vulnerable children must be holistic – focused on early intervention, preventative measures and effective transitions, as set out in our Youth Justice Vision, 2024-26.
In practice, these interventions are often provided by a partnership of universal and targeted, statutory and voluntary sector services. Examples of community support might include a referral to the Scottish Government funded Interventions for Vulnerable Youth (IVY) service based at Kibble. This national service uses a multidisciplinary, tiered approach to provide risk assessment, formulation and management for high risk young people aged up to age 19, who present with complex needs and high risk. The Scottish Government is providing funding of up to £308k to support IVY services in 2025-26.
The Promise has been clear that early help and support is crucial in preventing families from reaching crisis in the first place. That is why the Scottish Government has increased funding for Children’s Services Planning Partnerships through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding from £32m to £38m in 2025-26 and 2026-27. To ensure holistic family support is available to our communities, to help families thrive and prevent crisis.
The Scottish Government has also implemented a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to tackling youth violence, including knife crime, focusing on prevention and early intervention, through education and community engagement. The Scottish Government has invested more than £6m since 2023 to take forward a range of actions outlined in the Violence Prevention Framework. This includes increasing funding to the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence to allow them to undertake a range of interventions, working with multiple partners, including Youthlink Scotland’s “No Knives Better Lives.”
1. Alternatives and community based support
The Scottish Government is clear that secure care must only be used where necessary, and only when all other options have been fully explored and assessed as insufficient to meet the child's needs or manage risk safely. For children placed on welfare grounds, secure care must be considered a measure of last resort and only after all other community based or residential alternatives have been fully explored and assessed as unable to meet the child's needs or manage risk safely.
Many children who are a risk of being placed in secure care primarily for welfare reasons have complex needs that can, in some cases, be better addressed through intensive, relationship-based community alternatives. Where appropriate alternatives are available, children may be supported in environments that are closer to home, less restrictive, and more conducive to long term wellbeing and stability.
The availability and appropriateness of alternatives to secure care will depend on each child’s individual circumstances and on the legal route applicable to their placement. Not all options will be suitable in every case, and any potential alternative must be assessed against the level of need, risk, and the supports required to keep the child and others safe. Suitability will also depend on the resources, capacity, and specialist services available locally at the time. The Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice published guidance on alternatives to secure care in March 2025.
In contrast, for children placed in secure care on offence grounds, secure care is generally the only option available under current legislation when the court determines that the level of risk and seriousness of the offence requires such a placement. In these circumstances, there is no lawful community‑based or welfare alternative to secure care available.
By continuing to strengthen the availability of alternatives to secure care, Scotland can ensure that children are cared for in environments that best meet their needs, and that secure care is used only where necessary and as a last resort.
2. Transitions
Secure care in Scotland plays a vital role in supporting a small number of children with the highest level of need and risk. Children can be cared for in secure care up to the age of 18 (or 19, in certain circumstances, when relevant provisions of the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 are implemented). When a child is placed in secure care on offence grounds and their sentence extends beyond their 18th birthday, they will normally transition to a Young Offenders Institution (YOI) to complete the remainder of their sentence. This transition reflects the legal and custodial framework for young people in Scotland as they move into adulthood.
Regardless of the legal route into secure care or the length of a child’s stay, all children must be supported to return to their community safely and effectively. Secure care plays a critical role not only in providing safety, intensive support, and therapeutic intervention during a period of crisis, but also in preparing children for life beyond secure accommodation. Careful, coordinated transition planning - whether back to communities, to aftercare placements, or to a YOI where required - is essential to ensuring continuity of care, stability, and the best possible outcomes for each child and young person.
A key mechanism through which the Scottish Government supports improved transitions is through the Secure Care Pathway and Standards, developed collaboratively with local authorities, secure care providers, health, justice and children with lived experience. The standards set out national expectations for how children should be supported:
- Before entering secure care
- During their time in secure care
- When preparing to leave secure care
- After transition back to the community or onward placement.
The standards emphasise that transition planning must begin at the point of admission, not shortly before discharge, and must be embedded throughout the child’s secure care journey.
Key expectations within the standards include:
- Every child has a clear, child-centred plan that identifies likely transition routes from the outset.
- Planning for leaving secure care is multi-agency, involving local authorities, health, education, housing, justice and third sector partners.
- Children are actively involved in decisions about their future and supported to understand what will happen and why.
- Transitions prioritise continuity of relationships, including maintaining trusted adults wherever possible.
- There is a strong focus on step-down planning, avoiding abrupt moves from highly supportive environments to significantly less resourced settings.