Chyps policy paper young people families

“Inspiring Services, Improving Futures”

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Thematic Discussion Paper

Young people and families

Introduction

The focus of youth work has traditionally been on the journey from childhood to

adulthood, supporting young people through that transition and adolescence. At the

heart of the transition into adulthood is the viable independence from their families that

a young person makes. This includes access to further education, training, employment

and viable housing alongside the development of skills and abilities to succeed. Most

make that successful transition. Young people whose lives are “chaotic” need additional

support; this takes place within the context of their family and in the natural progression

into independent living.

“Parents and families are the single most important influence on the lives of young

people”...“Providing early help is not just about supporting families in the early years of

a child’s life, nor is it a one-off inoculation that can prevent later ills. Some negative

behaviors or outcomes can be prompted from later events in a child’s life and cannot

always be predicted from their circumstances earlier in life. It is therefore important to

continue to offer early help in the teenage years as and when it is needed.” - Positive for

Youth (2011)

Background

Government Policy produced by both the current and the previous governments has

placed a greater emphasis on the role of the family in young people’s lives. The Prime

Minister has made a commitment to try to turn around the lives of 120,000 most

troubled families by the end of Parliament, a commitment he reaffirmed in the wake of

the summer disturbances in 2011. Around 40-50,000 of these families include children

and young people that have behavioral problems or special educational needs that

impact on behavior A new Troubled Families Team, headed by Louise Casey, has been

set up in the Department for Communities and Local Government to work alongside local

areas to ensure that these families are supported.

Most difficulties which teenagers experience in their relationships with their parents and

family are part of the normal pressures and growing up. Providing support to teenagers

and their parents when problems are first identified will help prevent them from

becoming more severe in the future. For families of teenagers with more complex needs,

intensive family interventions where a key-worker co-ordinates the support across

services (e.g. youth offending teams, police, health service, job centres) have been

shown to be successful at turning around the lives of those families.

The Challenge

Strong evidence shows that the nearly 4,000 families who have received intensive key

worker support so far have significantly improved family functioning and parenting:

a 53% reduction in truancy

58% reduction in anti-social behaviour

40% in drug and alcohol problems

57% reduction in domestic violence issues

and 41% reduction in crime

This type of intensive support can address more serious family problems and prevent

problems being transmitted inter-generationally. Seventy one per cent of family

“Inspiring Services, Improving Futures”

www.chyps.org.uk

intervention projects, based on a key-worker co-ordinating family support, are focused

on families where at least one child is aged 12-16 years.

The benefits of a holistic and familial approach when addressing issues within the home

cannot be underestimated. However, a ‘young people focused’ approach to teenagers

within a family can add significantly to the Troubled Families agenda, and the expertise

brought by youth workers is very relevant. Whilst recognising the expertise brought by

other professionals, the role of the youth worker in taking a young person centered

approach can complement the work being offered.

The part played by youth workers within the NEET, crime prevention and school

attainment agendas is a strong basis for delivering alongside other professionals within

the Troubled Families agenda. Youth support services and youth workers also have a role

to play with young people who have become estranged from their families, care leavers

living independently, and young people in general where they require support and advice

in matters relating to their own lives and development.

In particular, Positive For Youth identified three key qualities of youth work as key

professionals to:

Identify early any specific and complex problems for which young people need

more specialist help.

Listen to young people, and build their confidence and skill to make their voice

heard in decisions.

Articulate clearly to commissioners the impact of the services they provide and be

enterprising in seeking opportunities to replicate their proven practice

Specialist youth support services and professionals also provide information, advice,

guidance, and support to young people facing particular challenges or issues.

Conclusion

There is a large and growing body of evidence to support work with young people simply

because they are ‘young people’. Support for young people within families is one of the

key areas of the youth work curriculum. Each local authority should include tailored

support to young people in the context of “troubled families”. This support is best

delivered by youth workers operating in an integrated structure to support the family,

but in settings that are conducive for the young people concerned. The Confederation of

Heads of Young People’s Services sees it as an intrinsic part of its work to champion and

lobby for the youth worker role within the troubled families’ arena, with both

preventative actions and providing support tailored to the needs of young people.

Questions

1. Do young people’s services or youth workers as key workers support multi-agency

teams for early interventions or troubled families in your local authority?

2. What is the contribution of young people’s services to support young people who

cannot or do not want to remain in the family home?

3. What is the contribution to support young people who stay in the family home longer

and continue to depend on their parents?

Brian Willmore, CHYPS Executive; October 2012