UKABIF & the Barrow Cadbury Trust publish report focused on ABI & Young Adults in the Justice System

On Tuesday, 26th March, the Barrow Cadbury Trust and the United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum published their report ‘Time for Change: Acquired Brain Injury and Young Adults involved in the Criminal Justice System in England’, summarising research carried out by UKABIF into transitions for young adults with acquired brain injuries who are moving to adult services.

UKABIF received a grant from the Barrow Cadbury Trust under the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) programme to review what policies and practices are in place for young adults (aged 17-25 years) which recognise both Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and maturity.Brain injury is a neuro-disability which is known to be a significant factor affecting maturational development and outcomes for young adults.

Since the former Secretary of State for Justice, Rt Hon Robert Buckland KC MP commissioned a review, there has been increased awareness of the prevalence of neurodiverse conditions and their impact on policy and practice in the criminal justice system (CJS). Yet some conditions, like ADHD and autism, are better known than brain injury.

The project's primary aim was to improve support for young adults with ABI moving to adult justice services. Additional objectives were to:

·      Provide space for greater collaboration between members of the ABI Justice Network to change practice for young adults with ABI

·      Fill gaps in research evidence related to the treatment of young adults with ABI involved in the CJS

·      Further raise awareness of the needs of young adults by promoting training for practitioners and understanding how best to embed it in practice

·      Ensure that learning which is taking place in silos in some parts of the CJS is disseminated across the whole system.

The research part of the project focused on two areas:

Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, which highlighted the limitations of the existing response by the police and liaison and diversion services to young adults with brain injury in terms of awareness of both ABI and maturity.

Establishing evaluation sites for The Disabilities Trust (now Brainkind) ‘Ask, Understand, Adapt’ programme (online training modules on ABI), in four prisons holding young adults.

The project also produced a leaflet for criminal justice agencies working with young adults with brain injury to signpost them to sources of support. The leaflet was co-created with young adults and is available here.

Finally, the project team engaged with NHS England to ensure that guidance for Community Sentence Treatment Requirements and Reconnect included content on ABI and developed a policy levers matrix to illustrate the range of touchpoints within the CJS where there is potential to better support young adults with ABI.

We found that there is significant scope for further work by the T2A Alliance, UKABIF, and other members of the ABI Justice Network to continue promoting a distinct approach to young adults with ABI. While there is some recognition of ABI and awareness is rising, the effect of ABI on the maturity of young adults has yet to be routinely considered in the early stages of the CJS, i.e. in police custody suites and liaison and diversion schemes.

For example, data held in police custody suites and by liaison and diversion services still needs to be more robust to understand the needs of this critical cohort or the extent to which they are met. There are also currently few support pathways specifically for people with ABI who are involved with the justice system, let alone those which are specifically for young adults.

The lead author of the report, Gemma Buckland, shares some key insights into the findings in a feature on the T2A website which you can read here https://t2a.org.uk/2024/03/26/spotlight-on-acquired-brain-injury/.