1. Module 8:
Networking and Referral Support
CHCYTH501A :Develop and implement procedures to
enable young people to address their needs
CHCNET404B: Facilitate links with other services
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2. Helping young people meet their needs
 This unit describes the knowledge and skills
required to monitor and upgrade organisation
approaches to young people with highly complex
problems
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Now what!

3. Counselling support for youth
 While Youth Workers are not counsellors they
may be called upon to work in a counselling role
with young people and it is important that youth
workers have a basic knowledge of and skill
level in counselling support strategies.
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4. What you can and can’t do...
 The first very important point is to NOT go
where you are not clearly confident, qualified
or experienced.
 Sexual abuse, long term neglect or abuse,
serious grief and loss issues, disability support,
serious depression or anxiety and suicidal
thinking etc should always be referred on to
qualified counsellors or psychologists.
 There are however a myriad of issues that you
will be talked to about as a youth worker and it
will be important that you understand some of
the basics.
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5. You will need to know...
 Principles of empowerment and enabling
processes in advocacy
 Methods of short term counselling strategies
 Different forms of abuse and their indicators and
response processes
 Family support and mediation
 Strength based approaches
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6. Let’s look first at...
 Principles of empowerment and enabling
processes in advocacy
 We have talked about these at length in the
previous module and in community development
principles which we studied in Stage 1.
 Remember the internal vs. external locus of
control and how important it is for young people
to begin to experience appropriate internal
power in their own lives. It is not of course valid
to leave everything up to them...without
guidance and support...
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7. A good analogy
 A great example is the bowling alley...with the
guard rails in place. You can really get to feel
the fun and power of hitting the pins without the
discouragement of failure of bowling into the
troughs if you have the right guidelines and
supports in place!
 It doesn’t take long to know exactly how to roll
that ball.
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8. Practice...
 As young people practice their skills in
autonomy...and manage success wise adults
begin to take away some of the controls and
safeguards and let them deal with moderate
amounts of danger on their own. DISCUSS
 This naturally builds towards great confidence
and adulthood.
 Advocacy naturally for a small child is fully on
their behalf...as children become adolescents
however it is important to get them to speak up
...with support in wings! They learn the
confidence of using their voice and knowing they
can impact outcomes.
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9. What does this mean in a Counselling
role?
With younger children you may need to come up
with the strategies and solutions and get that
happening for them, but as children grow,
ensure that they are pushed to find solutions
themselves. Your conversation with them should
guide them in the right direction.
• For example:
• Julie’s boyfriend Gary has gone off with her girlfriend on
the weekend but has come back to her sorry about what
he has done. Julie’s girlfriend Erica is skiting to all her
friends about her conquest. Julie comes to you
heartbroken and angry.
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10. Empowerment Conversation...
 Youth Worker: Julie, that must have been a real shock to
you to hear that this had happened. Did you have any
idea?
 Julie: No I was at my nans. I wasn’t allowed to go to that
party as my parents were away.
 Youth Worker: What emotions are you feeling right now?
 Julie: I’m upset, really angry and now he wants me to
take him back!
 Youth Worker: Mmm I can see your dilemma. What do
you think is fair for you right now Julie?
 Julie: Well its over between me and that backstabbing
Erica that’s for sure.
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11. Empowerment conversation...
 Youth Worker: Sure, is this the first time she has
betrayed you like this?
 Julie: Yes, but I have seen her do it to others before.
 Youth Worker: I see, so she has a bit to learn on her
journey hasn’t she about being a trustworthy friend.
 Julie: Yea she does.
 Youth Worker: So you feel the fair thing to do is to cut off
your friendship with her.
 Julie: Yes, she really needs to learn she can’t do this to
her friends.
 Youth Worker: fair call Julie...but what about Gary?
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12. Empowerment conversation...
 Julie: I am angry at him that’s for sure. He just got
through telling me he wanted to be with me forever!
What’s that about?
 Youth Worker: Its pretty understandable your hurt
feelings about this Julie.
 Julie: Yea and I really liked him too.
 Youth Worker: Sounds like you are pretty sad that it
could end between the two of you. What reason does he
say that he did it?
 Julie: He says Erica was coming on to him and he had
been drinking and he didn’t realise what he was doing.
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13. Empowerment Conversation...
 Youth Worker: I see. So what do you feel you want to do
about the situation then Julie?
 Julie: I think I will tell him it will take me a while to trust
him again, but we can go out as friends for the moment.
 Youth Worker: OK that sounds reasonable. What else
would you like to say to him?
 Julie: I want to tell him not to drink because he is a nice
guy and girls will want to get with him and he will need to
be much stronger than that.
 Youth Worker: Do you think he will listen to you?
 Julie: Yea he will he is really upset and crying n stuff...so
I believe he is sorry.
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14. Empowerment Conversation...
 Youth Worker: OK Julie, sounds like you have got some
of this sorted out already by yourself...and I think your
thinking sounds fair as well...well done. Feel free to
come back and have a chat with me and let me know
how things are going OK.
 Julie: thanks miss, I feel a lot better now.
 The youth worker was able to support Julie while she
worked out the right decisions for her in this
conversation. The youth worker didn’t tell her what to do
or push her in any particular direction. This allows Julie
to gain confidence in her own decision making in a crisis
situation.
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15. Methods of Short Term Counselling
Strategies
There are a number of short term counselling
strategies that you can use to support youth.
Remember larger issues that require longer
support should be referred on.
 Decision making – can be supported with assisting
young people to look at the pros and cons and the things
that really matter to them in life.
 Brief therapy – is used to help people identify the
relative risks and benefits of risk taking behaviours
without judgement and allowing the person to come to
their own conclusions. (This is very powerful...rather than
nagging).
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16. Methods of Short Term Counselling
Strategies
 Solution focused strategies – focus on ‘what the
person wants in the end’ and then steps to get
there...rather than hashing over problems endlessly.
 Person centred approach – simply allows the person to
talk without judgement and uses the microskills of
counselling – listening and empathy to help someone
talk their way to their own solutions.
 Mediation is also another short term counselling
strategy that we’ll talk about as well.
• Review PB works Video clips on Counselling Interview
Start, What is Cognitive Therapy
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17. Different forms of Abuse, Indicators and
Response Processes
• Some Young people will be subject to some more
severe life situations and we may need to provide that
first point of contact support until we can get them to
another source of help.
 For example: a young person may be self mutilating, or
considering suicide. Our responses should be gentle,
clear and direct and ensure someone is always with
them – we need to pass this young person over with
care and continued support to mental health
professionals.
 Young people in danger due of abuse or neglect need to
be supported and provided clear strategies to ensure
they are out of danger.
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18. Family Support and Mediation
• Watch video clip on the 5 faces of Borderline Personality.
 At times as well we may need to support a young person
through a mediation with family.
 The key to a mediation is that you need to assess
whether there will be a large power imbalance in working
in mediation between the two parties or not.
 You do NOT want to get into a situation where parents or
teachers put down and verbally abuse a young person in
a mediation but that it is a real opportunity for both
parties to express the problems they are facing in
honesty and without abuse and then to work on
solutions.
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19. Mediation Structure
1. Outline the rules...no putdowns, name calling and to
respect mediator.
2. Provide opportunity for both parties to have their say
ensuring that they abide by the rules.
3. Help the parties to find their common problems and
then
4. Ask both to come up with solutions that ‘might’ work.
5. List these.
6. Ask at the end which of the solutions would work the
best to address the common problem.
Watch video clips on pbworks TED Conflict Resolution, the Mediation process
both mediation process and mediation cartoon.
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20. Strength based approaches
Another key approach in modern counselling is called
‘strength’ based approaches.
This approach looks at what the person is doing well rather
than what they are doing poorly.
 The teacher who said to Mic Smith that he had leadership
and organisational skills when he was organising groups
of peers to rob shops helped Mic see that he had ability
not that he was a terrible or useless person. It worked.
 Measuring success is a great part of this. People tend to
have a black and white view to their efforts...they feel they
win or lose...but they may have achieved partial success
for which they can be proud. To measure that is to identify
success and not failure.
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21. Develop Support Programs for Young
People
 In talking with a young person in a counselling context
you will firstly need to assess their specific needs and
see how you might match them with any existing
program that is in place. This might be a group program
or a one to one support program.
 You will need to use your
basic counselling skills to
engage the young person
and their specific need.
1.1 Assess specific needs of the young person and match to an existing program
1.2 Employ appropriate communication techniques to engage young person and to address specific needs
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22. Develop Support Programs For Young
People
You may not always know of an appropriate support program
but you can find out ensuring you find out the content,
purpose and how a young person can access the program.
Sharing this support with the young person is important.
You may have to sell it well.
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23. Develop Support Programs for Young
People
Youth Worker: Hey Fred, I notice that you are actually
really good with your hands, and you know I found out
about a wood turning class that is held by some oldies in
your suburb...you would give them a real boost I reckon
if you went along some time. They could also probably
show you how to make those really cool bowls. You
could make a few for the centre.
How would you like to go sometime?
1.3 Consult relevant community organisations to identify available support programs that meet specific needs of
clients
1.4 Undertake appropriate work to ensure a thorough knowledge of content, purpose and access protocols of existing
programs
1.5 Provide relevant information to client as appropriate

24. Ensure that Young People with Complex Needs
ReceiveAppropriate Services
• Follow all procedures in your organisation for any
indicators of physical, emotional, psychological or sexual
abuse – that goes without saying.
• Meanwhile your conversation with the young person should
not be intrusive but supportive and caring. By ‘fishing’ for
information you may re-traumatise a youth and this fact
finding, should be left to professionals. Naturally if the young
person wants to share with you allow this without shock or
disgust, but with caring consideration. Gently encourage
professional support and let them know that you want this for
them because you care about them.
2.1 Implement procedures to ensure indications of physical, emotional, psychological or sexual abuse are identified
and addressed
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25. Ensure that young people with complex needs
receive appropriate services
 Your organisation will have procedures for aggressive
and abusive behaviour and it is important to seek
support from supervisors and to check on policies and
procedures.
 Be careful not to have a knee jerk reaction but calm
yourself down when a young person is displaying
aggressive or at risk behaviour.
 Help the young person express themselves and their
needs by soothing them, taking them seriously and away
from volatile situations.
2.2 Define appropriate procedures and put in place to minimise effects of any aggressive or abusive behaviour of
clients including identifying: 'at risk' behaviour patterns ,a range of alternative strategies, quick response actions,
support behaviours , protocols of behaviour
2.3 Employ appropriate approaches and language to enable clients to express their ideas in a range of ways
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26. Liaise with other Youth Support
Services and Organisations
• It is important that if there are no appropriate referral
systems that you help in designing them to ensure any
special needs of clients can be addressed.
• This might include transportation and or advocacy to
access services.
• Ensure cultural considerations are taken into account.
3.1 Design and implement appropriate referral systems and procedures to ensure special needs of clients can be
addressed
3.2 Identify and access support facilities required to optimise client access to specialist services
3.3 Ensure support and advocacy services provided reflect organisation procedures, respect the young person's rights
and are appropriate to cultural and other individual circumstances
3.4 Consult with relevant professionals and service providers to ensure broad and comprehensive client service
delivery
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27. Support needs may include...
 Language/translations/interpreters
 Physical aids
 Transport
 Cultural advisers
 Change of venue/location
 Family/peer
 Specialists
 Case management team
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28. Youth Workers may provide Young
People with the following Support:
 Advice
 Provision of information
 A listening and affirmation role
 Short term or crisis counselling
 Mediation (family and other)
 Advocacy (legal and other)
 Practical assistance
 Referral to other agencies/services
 Linking with others, groups, networks
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29. Information and Referral advice may
include:
 Specialist agencies and organisations
 Special support groups
 Government and non-government services
 Individuals with specialist expertise
 Allowances, pensions and benefits
 Equipment, physical aids
 Private finance
 Grants
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30. Relevant Legislation will include:
 Statutory care and protection guidelines
 Juvenile justice regulations
 Confidentiality
 Age of consent
 Anti-discrimination
 Duty of care
 Organisations policies and procedures
 Professional code of conduct or ethics
 Contractual obligations
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31. Monitor and upgrade Support provided
by the organisation
 Your role as a youth worker may require you to take a
leadership position not just with the young people but
with other aspects of the organisation.
This may entail the following:
 Regularly reviewing information and services provided to
clients to assess their continuing relevance and
effectiveness
 Periodically reviewing assessment, support and referral
systems used within the agency
 Holding appropriate debriefings with workers for the
purposes of counselling, identifying training needs and
evaluating client service delivery
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32. Monitor and upgrade Support provided
by the organisation
 Identifying problems experienced by workers and
assessing appropriate adjustments to the service
delivery and negotiating with relevant staff
 Providing support and supervision to other workers
 Arranging regular debriefings with associated
organisations and service providers and producing and
providing reports in accordance with your
organisation’s procedures
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33. Essential knowledge
 Legal and organisation policies relating to advocacy,
monitoring and dealing with abuse
 Principles of empowerment and enabling processes in
advocacy
 Methods of short term counselling strategies
 Different forms of abuse and their indicators and
response processes
 A broad range of specialist and generic services and
agencies
 Family support and mediation
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34. Essential Knowledge
 Organisations policies, guidelines, procedures
 The specific needs of identified target groups
 Youth specific consultation and engagement principles
for seeking feedback on service provision
 Reflective and evaluative processes in youth work
practice
 Strengths-based approaches
 Human rights declarations and convention on the rights
of child
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35. Essential skills for Youth Workers:
• Demonstrate application of skills in:
– interpersonal communication with young people
(specifically skills such as listening, observation, leading
discussions, questioning, clarifying)
– short term counselling, negotiation, mediation
– case management - formulating aims and objectives,
implementation and evaluation methodologies, strategic
planning with a team of professionals inside and outside
the organisation
– organisation and individual youth rights advocacy
– youth participation strategies
– program development
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36. Essential skills for Youth Workers
• Develop and implement procedures relating to services
offered by worker's organisation including support
facilities, particular types of support and information and
referral advice
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37. Networking
• This unit describes the knowledge and skills required to
liaise and facilitate linkages between community services
including specialist and generalist services in the
community to ensure support of people in need
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38. Identify and maintain Links with
Relevant Services
 In your work it is all important to realise that you need to
make contact with a wide range of services so that you
can refer YP helpfully and appropriately.
 The first thing you need to do is to Gather and store
information on relevant services as appropriate.
 This might include:
 Pamphlets and other information sources
 List of all relevant services
 Information on own agency
 Criteria for referral to each agency
 Contacts
 Information to provide to clients
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39. Identify and maintain Links with
Relevant Services
 Identify, develop and
maintain communication
processes within and
across services to
establish and maintain
inter- and intra-sector links
 Maintain active
participation in relevant
networks
 Maintain information on
the organisation's range of
services
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40. Provide relevant information to Services
 Respond to information requests from other
organisations as appropriate
 Maintain knowledge of and access to internal means of
support within own organisation
 Provide information and resources to support community
groups as appropriate
 Ensure materials and resources provided are relevant
and current
 Seek feedback on the materials and resources and use
in developing future materials and resources
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41. Work with and support other organisations to
enhance service delivery
 In your referral work you will need to:
 Define the type and level of support to be provided and
negotiate with the relevant organisation
 Maintain appropriate support and contact with people
referred
 Provide information to services in line with organisation
confidentiality, consent and privacy policies and
procedures
 Develop and negotiate longer term plans to assist
services to operate self-sufficiently
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42. Essential Knowledge:
 Existing information systems
 Referral networks - criteria and procedures for referral
 Current community services issues
 Language used in community services work
 Range of community services and how to access
 Confidentiality and privacy
 Knowledge specific to working with people from culturally
and linguistically diverse backgrounds
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43. Essential skills
• Facilitate effective working relationships within
community services and within the general community
• Demonstrate application of skills in:
– participating and conducting interagency meetings
– verbal and non-verbal communication
– questioning
– active listening
– referral
– promotion
– negotiation
– liaison and networking
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44. Essential skills
 Recognise own limitations and
agency boundaries
 Develop and provide information
about community services
 Use and coordinate the use of
relevant information technology
effectively in line with work health
and safety (WHS) guidelines
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