Child and Parent Support (Caps)
Category: Working with Children & Young People who Offend
The Child and Parent Support (Caps) programme provides intensive support services to families whose children (aged 8 to 13) are at risk of anti-social and offending behaviour.
Caps works! The most recent evaluation of the programme showed clear evidence of children doing much better as a result of taking part in the programme. In all cases, the risk of offending was reduced and there was an 80% improvement in the children’s school attendance. The children also exhibited an 83% improvement in school performance. Our feedback is strong: "The referral process has been excellent from the initial meeting at which the programme was clearly explained to the provision of support for the pupils who were referred. It has been clearly explained and fully supported by the Caps team. The Caps workers have undertaken their role in a very supportive manner and have kept the school informed. The work that has been undertaken continues to be positive and I believe it still needs more time to have a very positive effect on the young persons behaviour. Overall it has been an extremely useful service for the school in attempting to change the behaviour of some of our young people.” "I’ve been very impressed with your service to date, particularly your holistic approach. The referral and review process work fine. The work undertaken is appropriate and I like the way you work in partnership with young people, families and schools. I have seen a huge change in both child and mother. I felt that real, meaningful work had been undertaken. I recommended you to various people.” “I think the work carried out with the young person is positive and is indicative of best practice standards, because the project seeks to empower young people and their families and to promote their self esteem. The project offers support to parents and children who are facing very challenging circumstances. It targets children who are on the cusp of offending and who are at risk within the community and who are very often subjects of trauma and abuse. This project is invaluable in the areas I work where there are high levels of socio-economic deprivation. Staff are friendly, accommodating, caring and go out of their way to support families and children. I have no hesitation in recommending this project to other professionals." We operate on a referral basis and work with many partners including the Youth Justice Agency, Social Services, Education and Library Boards, the PSNI Youth Diversion Scheme, Barnardo’s and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Each Caps scheme also has a governing Advisory Group, comprised of partner/referral agency representation, whose role is to:-
If you would like to learn more about our programmes in Belfast, please click here. If you would like to contact our team in Armagh, please click here. |
Belfast Armagh User Experiences Documents Links |
Operating in the Belfast and Southern Trusts, Caps provides a service which works to develop the strengths and abilities of the child and their family. To successfully help families build positive lives, Caps intervenes at an early stage where children are at risk of offending and creates work programmes based on their individual and family needs. Along with the child and their family, programmes often include group work run by Caps such as social education and parenting programmes and participation in our family activities scheme. Once a programme has been agreed with the young person and their family, each party meets with a Caps worker once a week to carry out the agreed work.