Title: Regional Youth Services Collaboration Sarah McGhee and Magnum Tuipulotu
1Regional Youth Services CollaborationSarah
McGhee and Magnum Tuipulotu
- Presentation to Involve 08
- Wednesday 2 July
-
2A response to youth gangs The Auckland Youth
Support Network
- In November 2005, a co-ordinated response to the
reported gang activity in Counties Manukau was
implemented - Auckland Youth Support Network led the response
on the ground - Evidence-based approach
- Formal research and literature based review
- Interviewed - Community based participants
including Social Service agencies, school
principals, community representatives - Auckland Government Agency staff - Police,
Ministry of Education, Child, Youth and Family - Youth Gang Members- Current and former
- Non gang associated young people
- Looked at what worked and didnt work in other
parts of the world as well as history of gangs in
NZ
3Improving Outcomes for Young People in Counties
Manukau
- In September 2006 the government announced the
cross-government Action Plan Improving Outcomes
for Young People in Counties Manukau - The plan provides
- systematic
- integrated
- intense
- targeted commitment to the children, young
people, families and communities of Counties
Manukau - The 26 point plan was developed by the Auckland
Youth Support Network and comprises a
three-pronged approach to addressing the
presenting issues and to improve outcomes for
young people and reduce youth offending in
Counties Manukau
4Action Plan
- Crisis covers young people picked up by Police
outside of business hours - Intervention high risk recidivist youth
offenders - Prevention children, young people and their
families who are at risk of poor outcomes
5Role of Ministry of Youth Development
4 action points
- Implement and review the Turn Your Life Around
Programme in Counties Manukau (I) - Support for the community-based youth workers in
Counties Manukau (P) - Identify youth support service gaps across
Counties Manukau for future action (P) -
- Dialogue with young people youth engagement
project (P) -
6What young people said.
Family
Parents
Police
Accessibility
Church
gangs
Lack of Service Awareness
Young Person in Counties Manukau
Intimidating
DA
Violence
Not youth-friendly
Youthline
School
7How can youth services RELATE?
- They need to link well with other services to
look at whole needs of young people and families
(including co-ordinating and networking with
other youth services) - They need to engage with the community and young
people in their own environments - They need to create environments that reflect
youth culture and local community, and particular
services need to include recreation or hang out
spaces - Youth participation in design of youth services
is key to their success - Transport needs to be provided for young people
to access to youth services
8How can youth workers RELATE?
- There was a high degree of accord between focus
- groups about the staff who they envisaged working
at - these centres. Repeatedly, groups stated that
they - wanted the services to be provided by
- other young people
- people with heaps of life experience
- young people who had been through the issues they
were helping people with - people who relate to young people in how they
talk - people who dress like young people
- people who talk slowly and make young people feel
relaxed
Staff would include roaming youth workers who
talk to people and make them feel welcome, while
being able to monitor what young people were
doing and keep everyone safe.
9Youth Engagement Report in action
- A group of young people from the focus groups
created a project team. They developed key
messages from the report and delivered a
presentation to the Auckland Youth Support
Network. The report has become a valuable
resource - Ministry of Youth Development takes opportunities
to share information from the report wherever
possible. We still connect with members of the
project team
In addition we established a monthly Youth Worker
Support Cluster with the twenty three youth
workers appointed as part of the Action Plan.
These youth workers are based in the same
communities as the young people who participated
in the focus groups and are currently developing
their youth participation processes. They share
best practice, peer supervision, camaraderie,
ideas, projects and collaborate on events.
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