Delivery of TYS is seen as being part of a wider agenda
| Provider | Training and Development Agency |
|---|---|
| Topics | Targeted youth support |
| Type | Emerging practice |
| Date | September 2006 |
| Region | East Midlands |
This case study links to Mobilise achievement 1: The local authority understands in depth what targeted youth support is, what the government requires by 2008 and how it fits with related workstrands.
In Leicester City, the implementation of targeted youth support (TYS) is seen as part of the wider integration of the children's services agenda.
Situation
The strategic team is clear that a focus on delivering TYS is an enabler for integrated services across the whole area of children's services. Much of the groundwork necessary for integration will already have been done through the implementation of TYS.
Challenge
The key challenge is political and emotional. Letting go of old silo ways of working that might involve losing some political clout, and losing enjoyable parts of a job, are the biggest shifts to achieve. In addition, recognising that other professions have a role to play in the package of care for a child or young person can also be a challenge. This is exacerbated when professionals are not even aware of the full range of services and practitioners on a particular patch. Strategically, service leads need to put more emphasis on working in partnership, both across services and also out of the local boundaries of an authority and into other partnerships (particularly with health and the police).
Response
Strategically, an enormous amount of effort has been given to the establishment and ongoing maintenance of key partnerships. A shared vision is evolving from this and the partnership way of working is being evidenced down to a practitioner level.
At a practitioner level, the pathfinder has found that getting to know who else works on the patch is an essential first step. The multi-agency event at the analysis stage of the TYS change process, and the Fast Start and Options Development workshops, have served as a good way of bringing practitioners together to meet each other.
There has been an important acknowledgement that they are there with the same objective in mind: the wellbeing and support of children, young people and their families. The simple act of putting a face to a name and starting to get to know one another cannot be underestimated in moving people towards partnership working.
A directory of services and practitioners in the New Parks area has also been established and the children's trust website enhanced to include the TYS programme (called LIST in Leicester) this serves as an effective communication tool for all involved in LIST.
The emphasis placed on preventative intervention and building resilience to risk will broaden the cohort of children and young people affected by these changes beyond Tiers 2 and 3 into the universal field of care. In addition, much work is in hand for the smooth introduction of the common assessment framework and lead professional role. This will be a key way to ensure partnership working at service and practitioner level with the interests of the child, young person and family at the fore.
Results and benefits
The vision, commitment and leadership shown by the leaders in the city will ensure that TYS is effectively implemented in Leicester. The political and emotional groundwork done by TYS in addition to the more rational progress made (eg. implementing CAF, establishing neighbourhood teams) will ensure that this integrated way of working can be more easily rolled out into other areas (eg. adult services).
Click for further case studies relevant to the Mobilise stage of the targeted youth support change process.
Click for further process case studies relevant to the Mobilise stage of the targeted youth support change process or to read the achievements for this stage.
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