Young people with justice experience in collaboration with Staf and our Partner's at Children and Young People's Centre for Justice (CYCJ) have produced a Whole Systems Approach guidance for children and young people in conflict with the law.

Dale, Marie and Jason, who have all had some experience of the Whole System Approach, created the guide by speaking with children and young people who had experience of the various stages of the WSA. The outcome is an accessible resource which highlights some of the important information that they believed children and young people should be aware of when coming into contact with the justice systems.

The content explains what children and young people can expect at every stage of the process from early intervention through to court support, licence conditions and includes useful information such as the meaning of legal words, support services available and information about benefits and financial options. 

This guide is particularly relevant as Scotland moves towards incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law.

Co-author Marie Gibson said 

"Myself, Dale and Jason worked really hard on this guide to make sure children and young people going through the justice system understand the process and their rights, so I am really happy to see it being published. Thank you to all of the young people who shared their views with us and made the guide possible. I know that something like this would have helped me when going through a scary and confusing system so I hope it has a positive impact. "

For more information about the Whole Systems Approach, check out the Scottish Government's website explaining what the process involves and the thinking behind it.