Justice Minister Naomi Long today officially opened new headquarters for the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) at Charles House, Donegall Street, Belfast.
The new facilities, which will also house the Youth Justice Services Belfast Area Team, have been developed to create a safe, inclusive and trauma centred environment for children, young people, families and victims. It includes a designated reception area, additional training rooms, a functioning kitchen to facilitate reparative and development opportunities for children and young people, and multi-sensory rooms for children with neurodivergent and sensory processing needs.
Minister Long said: The Youth Justice Agency plays an important role in diverting young people from the formal youth justice system, and in the delivery of interventions to address offending behaviour, raising victim awareness and in reducing the risk of reoffending. These new multi-functional offices will support their dynamic business needs and allow staff to increase their engagement, identify unmet needs and promote positive and sustainable relationships with children and young people.”
The Minister added: “While the physical environment is important in the delivery of services, the true strength of the Agency lies in the professional, highly skilled and experienced staff working within the Belfast Area Team. Having met many of them today I can say they are highly motivated and deliver the highest level of care for the children, families, carers and victims who they work with.”
During the visit to Charles House, Minister Long also took the opportunity to launch the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) Performance Impact Report 2023-24, which includes quantitative data, user feedback and case studies to illustrate the outcomes of the Agency’s work. It also provides core information on the Agency’s performance and its impact on children, families, victims and communities.
Also published today is an external evaluation of Children’s Diversion Forums. There are a number of these multi-agency forums operating across Northern Ireland which identify children involved in the early stages of minor offending and then link them to services to meet their needs, to prevent re-offending and divert them from the formal criminal justice system.
Notes to editors:
- PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Justice Minister Naomi Long today officially opened new headquarters for the Youth Justice Agency (YJA) at Charles House, Donegall Street, Belfast. She is pictured in one of the sensory rooms at the new facility with Stephen Martin YJA Chief Executive and Patricia Muldoon, Assistant Director YJA Belfast Team.
- The Youth Justice Agency (YJA) works with 10-17 year olds who have offended or are at serious risk of offending to help the children address their offending behaviour, divert them from crime and assist their integration into the community.
- The Youth Justice Services delivery a range of community- based interventions.
- The Performance Impact Report is available in the publication section of this website.
- The CDF evaluation which was conducted by Dr Colm Walsh from Queen’s University Belfast is available in the publication section of this website.
- Press queries about this publication should be directed to the DoJ Press Office via Email
- The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
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