GovWire

Constructive resettlement is a framework to provide the personalised practical support a child needs to develop a prosocial identity. This means that resettlement work should encompass both personal and structural (also known as practical) support.

Whilst personal support should always direct and inform the structural support required, so that the practical is personalised to the child, work on both can take place concurrently.

Personal support

Individualised personal support is required to help the child to move on in their lives as well as develop goals and aspirations. Throughout the whole of the childs sentence, your work should centre around helping the child answer 4 key questions:

1. Who am I? You should explore the childs identity, and which elements of it discourage positive outcomes.
2. What are my strengths? You understand the childs strengths, interests and goals that can inform a pro-social identity.
3. Who do I want to be? You help the child prepare for a pro-social future self that they can develop and maintain.
4. How am I going to get there? You help the child plan the routes to their pro-social self and know what support is available.

You should work with the child throughout the planning process to help them to think about these questions, with an understanding that, initially, not all of these will be answerable by the child.

You should promote the childs strengths and encourage them to think of themselves in a positive, pro-social way, alongside providing the structural support they need to achieve their pro-social self.

When providing support, you should also follow the 5Cs of constructive working. You should also explore identity awareness that covers how the child sees themselves, as well as how others perceive them.

Structural support

Structural support is the practical support offered to a child so they can resettle in the community. You will need to identify and work with other agencies and professionals to ensure that this structural support is provided. For example, you will be required depending on their need, to assist them to access:

• accommodation
• healthcare
• education
• training, and employment
• social and constructive leisure activities

You should encourage other agencies to adopt Constructive Resettlement when working with the child and understand their role in assisting children to successfully resettle. To help you do this you could share some of the resources available to support practitioners with Constructive Resettlement.

The 5Cs are the 5 main elements that characterise constructive working with the child. They can be used as a useful checklist for planning with the child and professionals supporting them.

The 5 main elements are:

1. Constructive work is focused on identity development, future oriented, strengths-based, motivating.
2. Co-created developed with and for the child.
3. Customised each childs identity journey is unique, recognising the importance of diversity.
4. Consistent identity shift is the focus of all involved in custody from the start.
5. Coordinated through effective casework and communication.

Constructive

The overall objective of Constructive Resettlement is to help the child develop their identity. You should consider the purpose of all work with the child in custody and on release in relation to that objective.

This means that all support for the child should look to the future, rather than focusing on past behaviour. This will avoid underlining the pro-offending identity. The support you facilitate should motivate the child for change and ensure that the child is empowered to make positive choices (the more vulnerable the child, the more attention needs to be paid to empowerment). Everyone involved should always look towards positive outcomes rather than framing discussions around deficits.

Co-created

A childs identity is personal to them, and can only be developed by them, so it is crucial that they are involved in any

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