Strengthening practice with young people and their families
What's Important To Us
When working with young people, we need to be mindful of the special place they hold in society. They are on the path towards adulthood and our interactions with them need to be cognisant of this. Young people have their own thoughts, opinions and views of the world, and we need to respect these while at the same time addressing their safety needs and holding them accountable for their behaviour. This is not easy work by any means, but it can be incredibly rewarding if we keep at it. It is also important that we work with the young person’s wider whānau and community to make sure they are part of the support system around the young person now and in the future.
We need to work with young people and their families in a collaborative and strengths-based way. By drawing on some of the concepts in our practice framework, this key information will outline some ways in which we can do this.
Be child-centred
Taking time to get to know the young person is time well spent. Knowing what makes them tick, how they see the world around them, what their passions and talents are, and who the influential people are in their lives will inform our assessment and planning for the young person. By getting to know the young person, we can reinforce their strengths, help them celebrate their successes, and be there for them when times are tough. A great way to engage with a young person is to do the Three Houses with them. Talking with them about their strengths, worries, hopes and dreams will give you added insight into what the young person is thinking, and how they see their life turning out.
Listening is a big part of getting to know a young person. Think about the perspective that the young person is coming from, and remember that they may not have all of the information that you have access to. Remember that young people have the right to participate in the decisions about their lives, and to express their views and have due weight given to their views (United Nations, 1990). Think about your own attitude and demeanour when talking with a young person. Sometimes in our efforts to engage with a young person we can sound quite patronising when this is not how we mean to come across at all (Ministry of Youth Development, 2009). Also remember to be honest, respectful, flexible, open and approachable, listen to criticism and be prepared to learn from your mistakes, and have a sense of humour (Children’s Society, 1998).
Invite the young person to meetings that are about them and give them the opportunity at these meetings to have their say. If the young person isn’t able to attend a meeting, find out what they want to say and make sure you put their thoughts forward. Being a part of the decision-making process will give the young person a sense of ownership over their life; they are far more likely to adhere to decisions and plans that they have contributed to (McLeod, 2008). Supporting young people to participate in decision-making can also have other benefits – research shows that they are more likely to have increased confidence and self-belief, gain practical skills, exercise positive career choices, and be more actively involved and take greater responsibility in the future (Ministry of Youth Development, 2009).
Read Engaging with children and young people for some further tips.
Focusing on the young person also means looking at all of their needs, including their health and education needs. Have they undergone the right assessments so that they can access the right support? Perhaps the young person has some extra needs that require a more in-depth assessment? For more information, read Responding to a young person's complex needs
Get to know the young peson's family
When we are learning about a young person, we also need to learn about their whānau, the role each family member plays in the young person’s life and the potential of each family member to support, guide and encourage the young person. We need to work with the young person’s parents and wider whānau on adult issues that may have an impact on the young person such as parental alcohol and drug abuse, neglect and the role modelling of anti-social behaviour.
Ask the family about their culture and cultural needs. Each family will have different cultural needs that may impact on their perspective of what is important for their young person, what supports they will need and what success will look like for their young person. Understanding the unique cultural needs of the family is important so that we can ensure that the plans are a good ‘fit’, and that any professional support services involved are sensitive to the family’s particular needs. Seeking advice from others in the early stages of engagement with a family of a culture different to your own is a good idea.
Build a support network around the young person
Young people need to have a network of support around them that will be enduring as they move into adulthood. While most young people will have supportive family around them that they can turn to in good and bad times, others won’t. In those cases, we need to help the young person identify and develop a support network which might instead be made up of their peers and people within their local community.
When there is family support available, bring the family together to look at the particular role or roles that each family member can play in the young person’s life. Perhaps one whānau member will take responsibility for transporting the young person to and from their training course each day, while another might cook a special family dinner for the young person once or twice a week. Remember that even if a young person appears to have a lot of family around them, this still may not mean the young person feels supported (Bahr & Pendergast, 2007). Talk to the young person about exactly how available and approachable their family are and, in cases where they don’t feel able to approach them, what might need to happen to improve these relationships.
In situations where there are none or few family members available to support the young person, you’ll need to explore some other alternatives with the young person. Who will be the ‘adult’ figure in their life? Who will be their role models? Who will be there for them in the middle of the night when they need someone to talk to? Who will they celebrate their birthdays, holidays and special occasions with? Talk to the young person about who is important to them, and incorporate these people into their support network. Perhaps there are people and agencies within the community that you could link the young person into if they can’t identify anyone immediately. Think about setting one person up as a mentor to work alongside the young person to support, nurture and challenge them, prepare them for adult life, and help them achieve certain life goals (Buckley and Zimmerman, 2003).
Once the support network has been mapped out, make sure one person in the network takes the lead in putting together a roster or schedule so that everyone (including the young person) knows what their particular roles are, what they will be doing, and when. Give everyone a written copy of the roster, signed by the social worker, and ensure everyone in the support network has each others’ contact details too. Regular support network meetings will help with this process. It may be your role initially as the young person’s social worker to lead the support network, but you will need to hand this over to someone else in the network once there is no need for Child, Youth and Family to remain involved with the young person. A meeting with yourself and the new lead to talk about the different aspects of the role and what the role entails will be necessary to ensure a smooth and successful handover.
Hold the young person accountable for their offending and support them to change their behaviour
When young people offend, they need to be held accountable for their behaviour. It is important that they learn the lesson that committing a crime is not acceptable and there are consequences for their actions. At the same time, we also need to turn our minds to thinking about what led to the offending behaviour. Without truly understanding this, we can’t begin to support the young person to make different life choices if they find themselves in the same situation in the future.
Farrow, Kelly & Wilkinson (2007) define the wider influences upon a young person who offends under the following headings:
- past experiences and history
- community in which the young person lives
- the young person’s social circle and lifestyle
- the young person’s internal world (i.e. the attachments and relationships they have with others).
When we look at a young person’s offending, we can often see a number of influences or contributing factors that led to the offending behaviour. For example, a young person may steal because he doesn’t have any money (which is linked to his family’s financial status) and because of being influenced by friends. The young person’s choice in friends may in turn be affected by being unemployed or excluded from school. While neither the family situation nor exclusion from school or work is likely to lead directly to offending, when combined with the influence of peers and particular patterns of thinking, they are likely to have a significant and reinforcing effect (Farrow, et al, 2007). Once we understand the context around the offending, we can then figure out the best way to work with the young person and support them to change their behaviour.
Victims, advocates and support people are also key people in terms of supporting young people to change their behaviour. These young people are at a turning point in their lives, and having the right people around them to encourage them to go down the best possible path can make all the difference in the world. Victims are known to have a particularly positive impact on the young person’s understanding of how their offending affected them (Crawford & Burden, 2005; McIvor & Raynor, 2007) and, as such, play an important role in the accountability process specifically within the family group conference but also in a continuing support role with the young person. Some of the most successful family group conferences are those where the young person is directed to work for a victim as part of their community work programme – this type of scenario helps each person see the other person in a different and much more positive light, and provides the opportunity for learning and understanding on both sides.
References
Bahr, N. & Pendergast, D. (2007). The Millennial Adolescent. Australia: ACER Press.
Buckley, M.A & Zimmermann, S.H. (2003). Mentoring Children and Adolescents: A Guide to the Issues. USA.
Children’s Society – http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/
Crawford, A. & Burden, T. (2005). Integrating Victims in Restorative Youth Justice. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press.
Farrow, K., Kelly, G., & Wilkinson, B. (2007). Offenders in Focus: Risk, Responsitivity and Diversity. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press.
McIvor, G. & Raynor, P. (eds.) (2007). Developments in Social Work With Offenders. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
McLeod, A. (2008). Listening to Children: A Practical Guide. London, UK: Jessical Kingsley Publishers.
Ministry of Youth Development (2009). Keepin’ It Real: A Resource For Involving Young People In Decision-making. Wellington.
United Nations (1990). Convention on the Rights of the Child.
