Gateshead Council and partner agencies have developed a new model to improve risk management for adolescents. The Adolescent Risk Management Group (ARMG) targets those young people likely to come to harm because of their own behaviour - normal child protection processes focus on protecting children and young people from the harm posed by others and it was felt that further steps needed to be taken to protect some young people from the risks they pose to themselves.
The aim of the new model is to support and to protect those young people likely to come to harm through their own high risk behaviour, for example those abusing drugs or alcohol, engaging in high risk offending, those who run away from home or care regularly or have chaotic living arrangements and those who place themselves at increased risk of sexual exploitation.
The Adolescent Risk Management Group is a multi-agency partnership that includes senior managers from Children's Services, police, health, substance misuse agencies and the Youth Offending Team. The group is chaired by the Head of Service for Children, Families and Young Offenders, Gateshead Council.
Any professional working in Gateshead with young people could ask for a young person to be considered for discussion at one of the monthly meetings. A wide range of professionals across a number of agencies in Gateshead have been trained in completing the Vulnerability Checklist to determine whether a young person meets the criteria for discussion at a meeting and what measures need to be put in place to ensure their safety. The check list should ideally be completed in a multi agency meeting with an input from the young person themselves. If you are concerned about a particular young person that you are working with then you should speak to your line manager or the safeguarding/ child protection lead in your agency and discuss the possibility of completing a Vulnerability Checklist with other agencies who are working with the young person. Any other young person's situation or any urgent concerns should be considered in accordance with Gateshead LSCB Inter-Agency Child Protection Procedures.
The Terms of Reference and Policies and Procedures for the ARMG are below.
ARMG Terms of Reference| (pdf)
ARMG Policies and Procedures| (pdf)