Secure Care

Secure care generally refers to accommodation for children and young people who pose a significant risk to either themselves and/or others and are likely to run away or abscond.
 
In Scotland, children and young people can be ‘placed’ in secure accommodation, provided they meet the following criteria: (i) they have a history of absconding and are likely to abscond from other types of accommodation and (ii) if they abscond they are likely to suffer significant harm or are likely to injure themselves and/or others. However, although a child or young person may meet the above criteria, placement within secure accommodation can only be determined by the authority of a children’s hearing or by the order of a court.  

Scotland currently has 7 dedicated secure units, with 124 places, spread across Scotland. These units, designed to meet the complex needs of high risk children and young people, provide a full and integrated curriculum of care, including educational, health and behavioural programmes. For more details on secure accommodation in Scotland, visit the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish Government has recently published guidelines for practitioners who work with high risk children and young people, copies of which can be found here. They also provide statistics for children in residential accommodation, with the most recent figures for 2007-2008 available here.

The Centre holds a  small number of books on secure care, details of which can be found here.