Barnardo’s have been supporting children and their families affected by child exploitation for over 20 years. Our exploitation services commissioned in Middlesbrough and Darlington provides direct one to one support for children and young people, as well as providing advice, guidance to parents/carers and multi-agency professionals. We are also commissioned to missing from home work undertaking return home interviews. This work is also important to us due to the close relationship between missing children and young people and exploitation.
About our support
Our experienced practitioners work with children using trauma informed practice, where our focus is to build a trusting working relationship (building an alliance) with the child, before completing any direct work in relation to exploitation.
The service also uses the Barnardo’s 4A’s model:
· Access
· Attention
· Assertive Outreach
· Advocacy
Our support is child led and as a result, the pace and content of the sessions varies, though as a general rule we cover topics such as consent, the law, grooming, online and social media safety, peer/gang/organised/party models of exploitation, sex and sexual health, county lines, trafficking, drugs and alcohol, mental health, reporting abuse and the criminal justice process, coping strategies, who can help and plan for the next steps.
Who we help
We can help children and young people who have been affected by Child Sexual and Criminal Exploitation. We work with children referred for support up to their 18th birthday, though support may continue after that if they are already open to our service and/or if they have additional learning needs.
Are you looking for support?
We can help families who have been affected by Child Sexual and Criminal Exploitation through direct/indirect sessions, helping parents and carers to understand what child exploitation is, what it may look like and the impact it can have.
We support professionals and organisations with advice, guidance and where appropriate, resources to help support and safeguard children and young people.
