Antigone Award 2010

The Antigone Foundation was founded in 2007 by the philanthropist Martha Lane Fox and promotes the successes of socially excluded people. Antigone is supporting Just for Kids Law, allowing us to award young people with the ‘Antigone Award’. The award is given to a young person, engaged with JfK Law, who has made the most progress over the previous year in the face of serious hardship and adversity.

This year we received eight nominations for the award. One eighteen year old, involved in a street robbery and sentenced to six months in a Young Offenders Institution, has returned to school, secured a part time job and plans to train as a Youth Worker and attend an Oxbridge University. Another nominee, despite a conviction for Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) and a nine month prison sentence, now has a part time job, has taken steps to address her alcohol and substance misuse issues and is looking to find a college placement which combines GCSEs with a book keeping course.

The winner of this year’s Antigone Award is eighteen year old Saffron. After completing a 2 year custodial sentence at a secure training centre Saffron was determined to make a new start. She found herself independent accommodation and a place on a college course studying business and administration. Saffron then came, of her own initiative, to ask for work experience at Just for Kids Law. During her placement she was an asset to the JfK Law team, not only taking on important tasks for the staff but also training groups of up to thirty lawyers at a time around the country.
Saffron was taken out for dinner on August 4th by Martha Lane Fox and the two JfK Law directors, Aika and Shauneen, and presented with her prize of £250.
We are so proud of the achievements of all the nominees and wish them the best for the future.

http://www.marthalanefox.com/

Raising the age of criminal responsibility

In a letter printed in the Times, Just for Kids Law has joined the voices of other charities and practitioners to ask for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised. Written by Dr Eileen Vizard the letter calls for raising the age limit substantially in line with most other countries and proposes a consultation process to explore how this can be achieved.

The letter reads:

"The Times

Letters to the Editor

7th July 2010

Children and court

The age of criminal responsibility should be raised substantially in line with most other countries.

Sir, We are concerned about the very low age of criminal responsibility, ten years old, for children in England and Wales. The assumption that a ten-year-old can face charges is widely discussed in terms of whether or not that child can “understand the difference between right and wrong”. The question is more complicated — most ten-year-olds can understand that difference. The test should go beyond this and should decide whether the defendant’s intellectual capacity is such that he could not effectively participate in the proceedings and accordingly have a fair trial.

We believe that the age of criminal responsibility should be raised substantially in line with most other countries and propose a consultation process, led by the Law Commission, to explore how this could be rectified."

Dr Eileen Vizard, Child and adolescent psychiatrist; Shauneen Lambe, Director, Just for Kids Law; Professor Dinesh Bhugra, President, Royal College of Psychiatrists; Professor Sarah – Jane Blakemore UCL, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience; Juliet Lyon, Director, Prison Reform Trust; Paul Mendelle, QC Chairman, Criminal Bar Association; Andrew Flanaghan, CEO, NSPCC; Lord Ramsbotham, House of Lords. Plus 26 other signatories listed at thetimes.co.uk/letters

Comment on the Edlington case

Commenting on the case of the boys in Edlington, Shauneen Lambe, Director of Just for Kids Law said:

"This case is, of course, shocking and distressing. The consequences of neglect and lack of proper support once again reaches far beyond the individuals involved. In this case, horrifically, the violence was passed on to other children. All too sadly, I am not surprised at all by the chaotic life that these boys lived. We see many children whose lives are desperate; blighted by poverty and neglect despite this being one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Much of the work we do involves litigation against authorities who we feel should provide more to the children in their area. It is only with proper and often costly investment from early stages that we can avoid tragic events like this."

[Press Release 22/01/10]

Charioke Marathon November 2009

Organised by Refugee Action,
Just for Kids Law joined in chorus with Children of the Andes and Food Chain to sing our way through 10 hours of karaoke classics. A huge thanks to Melissa Reardon, Rebecca Toennessen and Emma B who sang their hearts out for our Hardship Fund and raised close to £900.

Vacancy - Education and Community Care Lawyer

JfK are looking to recruit a education and community care lawyer as soon as possible.

The role: mainly to provide children and young people with direct representation and advice at first instance hearings, for example Independent Appeal Panels and SENDIST, as well as judicially reviewing cases, particularly in urgent s17/s20 Children Act 1989 disputes where Local Authorities are not appropriately supporting and accommodating vulnerable young people.

The main activities will include:
· providing legal advice and assistance to children and young people in relation to school admissions and exclusions, special educational needs and appeals to SENDIST;
· providing direct representation at relevant education hearings;
· providing legal advice and assistance to children and young people in the care system, including “looked after” children and those leaving care;
· taking cases and preparing and issuing judicial review challenges in the above fields;
· working with JfK’s Youth Advocate to meet the needs of its client group.
· Participating in the trainings organised by JfK Law.
· Attend relevant trainings in areas of Education or Community Care Law

The Person: The successful candidate will be a solicitor or have other equivalent legal qualifications and experience. We are a small but vibrant community based organisation looking for a hard-working, dedicated, computer literate, individual who is committed to advancing the rights of our client group. The Education and Community Care Lawyer will be under the direct supervision of the Directors of Just for Kids Law. Any job offer is subject to CRB approval.

Hours: We are preferably looking for someone to work full-time. Working hours may be outside typical office hours.

Office: Just For Kids Law is situated at 402 Harrow Rd. The closest underground stations are Westbourne Park (Hammersmith and City) and Warwick Avenue (Bakerloo). The majority of our clients are based locally.

Starting Salary: ₤28,500 per annum.

Application: CV’s and a covering letter to be sent to shauneenlambe@justforkidslaw.org

Closing Date: 6th November 2009.

Closure of Secure Children's Homes

JFK has grave concerns about the YJB decision to cut the number of secure children's home places from 219 to 191. Whilst custody is rarely a productive outcome for a young person caught up in the criminal justice system, SCH's provide the kind of care and provision that the YJB should be seeking to develop.

JFK has grave concerns that more young people will be placed in Young Offender Institutes or Secure Training Centre's. These places just aren't suitable for very young and vulnerable young people.

Mary O'Hara has written about the concerns of penal reformers in today's society Guardian.http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/20/secure-care-homes-closure

We are also concerned that young, vulnerable people will be placed far from the families and communities that are so important to ensuring they stay away from offending behaviour. In addition, under the Carter Legal Aid reforms, lawyers no longer get paid for their travel time to visit clients held in custody. JFK has concerns that as there will be no SCH provision in the London area that young people may in effect be denied access to their solicitors, as firms will be under financial strain to spend significant time travelling to visit their clients.

Hemini hits the headlines

Hemini's charity run has made it to the news! Clink the link to see the article and don't forget to sponsor her through www.justgiving.com/heminipatel

http://www.londoninformer.co.uk/london-news/london-local-news/2009/04/17/10-000kms-just-for-the-kids-113489-23407540