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Youth Justice Liaison & Diversion Worker (NMC Registered)

Employer
West London NHS Trust
Location
SOUTHALL
Salary
£41,659 to £47,672 a year Per Annum
Closing date
27 Jan 2023

View more

Profession
CBT therapist, Community mental health nurse
Grade
Band 7
Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Are you an experienced, highly motivated mental health practitioner, with CAMHS/Youth Justice experience and who is passionate about improving health outcomes for young people within the Criminal Justice system?

We now have the opportunity to recruit a full time (1.0 WTE) Band 7 Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion Practitioner, Hounslow Borough, to join our well established and expanding Liaison and Diversion service within West London. As part of your role you will be expected to attend police custody, to screen and assess any under 18 presenting. This is deemed the reachable moment within Youth Justice. The two custody suites, Hammersmith and Acton, serves a large diverse borough within the West London area. There is not a custody suite in Hounslow but you will be expected to support your YJLD colleagues, within Ealing and H&F, as and when appropriate.

The Youth Justice Liaison team sits within a wider Liaison and Diversion service in West London NHS Trust, including Court Diversion at Westminster, Crown Court at Isleworth and Police Liaison service at Acton and Hammersmith, alongside two other YJLD practitioners in H&F and Ealing boroughs.

We are looking for suitably experienced mental health professionals rather than one particular discipline. We are interested in hearing from mental health/Learning disability nurses, social workers or occupational therapists.

Main duties of the job

We provide proactive screening and assessment to individuals within Police custody, Youth Offending Teams and Court, identifying need/vulnerabilities, signposting to other services and where indicated diverting to health. You will be screening those under 18.

Our aim is to improve overall health outcomes, reduce further police contact and re-offending rates, and to avert disorder-related crises. Your will improve access to appropriate services for vulnerable young people by making referrals to health and social care agencies as required. The YJLD Worker may also need to make a care plan to address the needs of the young person while a referral is being made and is expected to hold a small caseload, while assertively in reaching to other services.

This scheme, commissioned by NHS England operate to a standard model and similar schemes are now available in every part of the country. It is an all-age service and all women and people under the age of 18 are screened as mandatory due to their vulnerability within the system.

The service needs practitioners who are able to think quickly and work independently under pressure when screening and assessing vulnerable young people in the Youth Offending service. You will need excellent communication and risk management skills and demonstrate a commitment to close partnership working with the Police, YOS, Education and other agencies, both statutory and voluntary.

About us

Successful candidates will need to be vetted by the Metropolitan Police and would not be able to begin work until cleared (process takes at least four to six months). Vetting includes the declaration of criminal convictions or any Police involvement i.e. investigations even if no further action, warnings, cautions (no matter how old), as well as Count Court Judgements and applicants should have a min three-year residency. This process is much more in-depth than an enhanced DBS check and will review family and social associations as well as your own probity.

Hours of work will be Monday to Friday 9-5pm, not including Bank Holidays. We try to accommodate work/life balance and requests as much as possible within this service by having a flexible and respectful attitude to each other. There are no parking facilities at the custody suites, so you will need to use public transport but we provide free parking when on Trust based sites.

Your role will be supporting other L&D colleagues between Hammersmith and Acton (and Polar Park) custody suites and the Hounslow Youth Offending service, working collaboratively with the team there of SALT, Educational Psychology, Drug and Alcohol workers, case managers, YOS Police and YOS CAMHS.

Job description Job responsibilities

The post holder will work under the remit of the Forensic Community Service providing a proactive assessment, liaison and diversion service in the borough of Hounslow, attending Police Custody on occasion as required and the Local YOS team base.

The post holder will join an established team of Youth Justice practitioners, all who work in partnership with health, social services and the criminal justice system, to ensure that individuals presenting with mental health problems in police custody, YOS and Court have their needs addressed and are diverted into appropriate health care services as necessary.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential
  • Professional qualification in mental health (e.g. Registered Mental Health Nurse or Registered Learning Disability Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Clinical Psychologist or Forensic Psychologist). (with evidence of further education).
  • Current registration with an appropriate body overseeing professional practice (i.e NMC or HCPC)
  • Substantial/meaningful evidence of continuing professional development and post registration training
Desirable
  • Professional training in one or more psychological therapies
Experience Essential
  • Experience of working with young people in a mental health setting
  • Experience of working autonomously and managing a case load
Desirable
  • Experience of working with young people in a youth Justice setting (YOI or YJS)
Knowledge/Skills Essential
  • Excellent working knowledge of the MHA, Children's Act and PACE
  • Understanding of statutory guidance affecting young people under 18 in the NHS and Social care
  • Knowledge and experience of legislation and guidance around safeguarding children and young people
  • Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach which considers the needs of the whole person
Desirable
  • Knowledge of North West and West London and/or the Hounslow area


Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

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