Transcript Slide 1

Every child matters, but
to whom?
Dr Jenny McWhirter
DrugScope Associate
[email protected]
Young people and drugs
As users
?
Children
and care
At risk?
Young
people
As
non users
As parents
Sexual
health and
exploitation
Users
 Infrequent
 Frequent
 Poly
drug use
 With other risk behaviours
 Problematic
 Impact on family, friends and peers
 Training for the children’s workforce in
screening and assessment
 Dedicated services for young people
At risk
 Truants
and those excluded from school
 Unstable home and family circumstances
 Drug/alcohol using parents
 Poor achievement at school
 Poor adult support (home, school,
community)
 Mental health problems
 Involved with CJS
 Community based interventions grounded
in need
As parents
 Hidden
harm
 ECM
 YM
 EYFS
 Specialist
drug services such as Health
Visitors and Midwives
 Access to universal services for nonjudgemental support
Involved in sexual exploitation
 HIV/Aids
 To
support drug use
 The role of young men
 Drugs used to control feelings
 Drugs used to manipulate behaviour
 Risk of violence
 Joined up services which are sustained
In care or leaving care
 Support/training
for carers
 Financial support for kinship carers
 Housing
 Continuing education
 Continuity of universal services: GP,
schools, voluntary organisations
 Access to specialist services: drug
treatment, sexual health
As non-users
 Universal
services
 Evidence for prevention
 Understanding the aims of drug education
 Understanding the context of drug
education
 Just say ‘no’ to drug testing in schools
 Evaluation, evaluation, evaluation!
Somebody’s daughter,
everyone’s child?
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24 years old
Mother of 3 young
children
Addicted to crack cocaine
and heroin
Living with an older man
‘Sex worker’
One of 5 young women
murdered in Ipswich in
December 2006