Managing The System
1. The key people in this system are the youth conference co-ordinators. They are responsible for setting up and convening conferences. Although they are not expected to dominate a youth conference, they do have an important role to ensure that it does not go off the rails and that the participants in the conference all have a chance to play their part.
2. Co-ordinators need to work effectively with police and the prosecution service. They also need to have a good knowledge of their local areas and a good understanding of the various programmes and support mechanisms available in the locality to be used as part of any conference plan. Although plans will often be able to make use of existing services for young people, the Youth Conference Service has a budget to purchase or set up services that would not otherwise be available.
3. The progress of plans in supervised by the Youth Justice Agency. It is their responsibility to work with the children to try and ensure they successfully complete the requirements of the plan.
