This document discusses the role of youth workers in supporting young people and families. It notes that while most young people successfully transition to adulthood, some need additional help from youth services during this process. The document also emphasizes the importance of families in influencing young people's lives and the need for early intervention services for both children and teenagers. It advocates for a holistic, family-focused approach coordinated by a key worker across services. The document argues that youth workers are well-positioned to work with other professionals to deliver services for troubled families through their expertise in areas like NEET, crime prevention, and school attainment. It concludes that local authorities should include tailored support for young people in troubled families delivered by integrated youth services.

1. 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

2. 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
“Inspiring Services, Improving Futures”
www.chyps.org.uk