The Alliance for Youth Justice launches today!
The Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) brings together over 70 non-profit organisations, advocating for and with children to drive positive change in youth justice in England and Wales.
We are delighted to announce our relaunch today, marking a new and exciting phase for the organisation previously known as the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ).
Our members range from large national charities and advocacy organisations, to numerous smaller grassroots and community organisations. We bring together the expertise of our members and provide ways for them to shape decision-making - working to influence policy, legislation and practice to address issues affecting children who come into conflict with the law.
The AYJ advocates for distinct systems, services and support that treat children and children first and foremost - underpinned by social justice, children’s rights and a focus on positive long-term outcomes. We aim to promote widespread understanding about the underlying causes of children coming to the attention of the criminal justice system, and champion approaches that enable them to reach their full potential.
“We are delighted to make this change to enable our work in youth justice to be more engaging and impactful, for the benefit of our members, the wider sector, and most importantly the children we work for and with - communicating with clarity who we are, what we do, and what we want to achieve.”
Our history goes back to the early 1990s, when we were founded under our original name. This was initially a loose coalition of organisations including many of the country’s leading charities and voluntary organisations concerned with children, young people, and the criminal justice system. We established a strong reputation as a respected source of informed and principled expertise in youth justice matters, and were routinely consulted by parliament, government and others on policy and practice.
Following the recruitment of our first Director, Pippa Goodfellow, in 2019, we undertook a comprehensive consultation exercise with our members, board and external stakeholders, to inform the future direction of the organisation. We had grown and evolved from being a ‘standing committee’, so it was the right time to think about how we reflect the dynamic and inclusive network of organisations we had become. We knew that in order to keep up the momentum in our work we needed to reflect on how we had changed as an organisation and our goals for the future.
In July 2020 our members voted unanimously to change our name to the Alliance for Youth Justice. This has also be an opportunity to refresh and enhance the organisational vision, mission and strategic objectives in collaboration with our members, aiming to put the alliance in a stronger position to achieve system-wide impact and influence.
“Becoming the AYJ signals more than just a change of name. Over the past 18 months we have grown and developed our Board, and expanded our staff team - who we would like to thank for their incredible hard work. We are committed to continuing the important role of our alliance in promoting the rights of justice-involved children, which is more critical than ever as we begin to explore the impacts and implications of COVID-19 on the youth justice system.”
To find out more about the story behind our relaunch in this blog post by our Director, Pippa Goodfellow, here.
We would like to extend huge thanks and appreciation for the generosity of our funders for making this possible. Thank you to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for supporting our organisational development through their Youth Fund and to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for their continued investment in our core staff team.
With our refreshed external profile, vision, and goals, we look forward to continuing our work to improve youth justice as the AYJ, for the benefit of children, young people, and society.
We hope you enjoy exploring our new website and finding out more about the AYJ.