Pathfinders

Through its Pathfinder activity, YJB work with partners to address the system-wide challenges such as reducing serious youth violence including the county lines exploitation of children, disproportionality and making resettlement constructive.

Pathfinder activity will focus on sector development or identification of exemplar and/or innovative practice with a clear focus on wider sector dissemination. Organisations which receive pathfinder funding will be expected to:

• Work with multiple partners

• Provide strong leadership to the whole sector

• Evaluate the effectiveness of their practice

• Share their knowledge and practice

• Directly support others to ensure their learnings are easily accessed and replicated in other areas across England and Wales

The intended benefit of this approach is that the pathfinder work will enable the whole youth justice system to identify, develop and promote effective practice in critical areas

Approaches

Award Approach

• In June 2023 the YJB Executive and Board approved the YJB Project Management Framework which outlines the process for allocating targeted funding.
• This framework was developed to address the recommendations made from the Pathfinder Review, to align with the principles set out in the Government Functional Standards for the management of grants and projects and to ensure compliance with Managing Public Money principles.  
• The new processes set out in the framework have now been implemented and are being used for all new projects (both internal non-funded and externally funded).
• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, all new general grants will be awarded via open market engagement.

Evaluation Approach – New Pathfinders

• All new pathfinders will have an evaluation (generally expected to be commissioned by the Local Authority as part of the grant funded activity).
• The approach will be assessed as part of the evaluation of bids.
• There is the expectation that the evaluator, in partnership with the youth justice service developing and delivering the programme, will develop a theory of change / logic model for the programme at the outset, which will be used to inform the evaluation design. 
• Evaluation plans will be made available to be approved and quality assured by YJB research team from the outset.
• Data collection tools must conform to the ethical standards of both the British Psychological Society and the Health and Care Professions Council and, similarly, to the guidance of the British Sociological Association. 
• The evaluation model must include pre, during and post evaluation approaches.  
• The evaluation approach must include how the key elements and learning can be defined to inform replication/translation in the future.

Current Pathfinders

Upcoming Pathfinders

Addressing Ethnic Disparity

• The YJB is investing into a new pathfinder in 2024 to focus on addressing ethnic disparity.  This project will commence in 2024 and run through to 2028.
• We know that children from black and mixed heritage backgrounds continue to be over-represented at most stages of the youth justice system.  What we do not fully understand is why interventions are achieving better outcomes for white children than they are for black and mixed heritage children. 
• Investment into this pathfinder will include an initial proof of concept prior to the design of a model of intervention to test and learn from the existing interventions, to build on what we know works for black and mixed heritage boys and avoid duplicating interventions that don’t. 
• The pathfinder will further the work already achieved through the development of the YJB Disparity Toolkit, Prevention and Diversion Toolkit, Enhanced Case Management Guidance, the Brent & Newham Covid 19 Pathfinder and the Cultural Response to Serious Youth Violence Pathfinder.
• The pathfinder is area-specific where the disproportionality is highest in context with the ethnic breakdown of the population.  
• YJAF data showing the highest relative rate index (RRI) and second highest RRI is amongst black and mixed boys across England and Wales.  The data indicates that we should focus on London however, the YJB is already heavily investing in London, therefore the YJB made the decision to invest in the next highest areas of combined first and second highest RRI which is the West Midlands Police Force Area.
• There is the expectation that this pathfinder will provide a regional response rather than be specific to one YJS area. 
• We have now completed a marketing campaign (restricted to YJS in the West Midlands Police Force Area) and are progressing the successful application through to grant award.