Two members of staff from the County Durham Youth Offending Service (CDYOS) have scooped awards at the “Oscars” of the British criminal justice system.
Practice improvement officer Sarah Caden and speech and language therapist Susan Stewart have been given a Butler Trust Award in recognition of their work with both young people who offend and victims of youth crime.
CDYOS’ strategic manager Gill Eshelby said: “The catalyst for the work was national research which suggests that 60 per cent to 90 per cent of young people in the youth justice system have speech, language and communication needs.
“Such needs might include an inability to understand and engage in the legal process, leading to poor presentation in court or during a police or youth offending team interview.
“Together Susan and Sarah have brought leadership, energy, creativity, innovation and teamwork to transform how we, as a service, work with young people who offend and young victims of youth crime.”
CDYOS is the only youth offending service in the UK to see staff receive recognition from the Butler Trust this year, with the pair given one of the 10 awards handed out to staff working in prisons, probation and youth justice services, following over 300 nominations.
Marian Bateson, the professional lead for children’s speech and language therapy at North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, from which Susan was seconded as speech and language therapy lead, said: “This project is an excellent example of a partnership working to support the speech, language and communication needs of some of the most vulnerable young people.
“The project is innovative and ground-breaking and it is exciting to have the opportunity to shape the future of speech and language therapy services in this way.”
The awards will be presented to Sarah and Susan by HRH Princess Anne, the Butler Trust’s royal patron, at an awards ceremony at St James’s Palace in March 2016.
In a statement the Butler Trust commended the women for their “outstanding dedication, skill and creativity.”
“In Sarah and Susan’s case, the dedication and passion they have brought to their work in transforming the Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) strategy really shone through,” the Trust said.
“Our panel were deeply impressed by their commitment and inspirational leadership which is making such a difference to the young people in their care.
“Many congratulations to Sarah and Susan and we look forward to seeing them – and all of our winners – at St James’s Palace in March where they will receive their awards and commendations from our patron, HRH The Princess Royal.”