Front-line practitioners in the youth justice system work with many of the most troubled and damaged children and young people, some of whom have experienced years of abuse and neglect.

Serious case reviews have often reflected on the need for local services to become more joined up and to better share essential information, in order to maintain a more child focused approach.

We know this well from lessons learnt in youth justice.  Professor Eileen Munro in her review of child protection emphasised the importance of early intervention and noted the development of a number of different forms of multi-agency teams. Over the past few years, one model which has been adopted by a number of local authorities is the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH).

Each MASH has a core aim of keeping the focus on children through improved information sharing and better assessment of risk.

The model includes a partnership of key local organisations working with children to address safeguarding concerns in a way which very much parallels the multi-agency partnership model of the Youth Offending Team (YOT).

There is also an opportunity for YOTs to discuss with other agencies whether or how they could be involved with these hubs.

MASH consists of a multi-agency team who are employed by their individual agencies but co-located in one office.  The hub operates on the basis of a sealed
intelligence unit where protocols govern how and what information can be released
to operational staff, such as front line social workers.

Co-location is essential for building relationships, trust and understanding between agencies so staff are confident about sharing information.

The approach has been adopted by a number of local authorities across the country, including London where the Metropolitan Police are leading a pan-London MASH project.

In London, the ambition is for all 32 London boroughs to establish a MASH by the end of the 2013-14 financial year. As of November 2013, 26 MASHs were operating in London and YOTs are recognised as a core partner in the MASH.

Frances Done, former chair of the Youth Justice Board, saw the possibilities of this model and felt that MASHs could be a critical link into early intervention and thus play a role in the prevention of offending.

MASH is emerging. Early impact evaluations are promising and adoption of
the model appears to be spreading.

Lin Hinnigan is chief executive of the Youth Justice Board