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Working with young people: A profile of projects funded by the Partnership Drugs Initiative
Chapter 8: Conclusion
In this report we have provided both a descriptive profile of 17 projects included within the PDI as well as an outline of some of the common themes across the projects in their work with children and families. As we have shown, these projects vary in many aspects of their work including the way in which they contact clients, their methods of assessing clients and the work they undertake with them. The predominant source of referral into projects within the PDI is social work, with fewer referrals than expected from education and health. Similarly, for an early intervention programme such as the PDI, there were fewer self-referrals than one might have expected.
The overall impression gained from the interviews with project staff was of a range of initiatives that were, on the whole, well organised and well managed. Management styles which were supportive and inclusive were particularly valued by staff. Premises that were adequate to a project's requirements were essential to its effectiveness and, with some notable exceptions, the majority of the projects appeared to be satisfied with their accommodation. The projects also appeared to be making significant contributions, often in areas in which service provision had previously been deficient. Many of them were breaking new ground by targeting formerly neglected groups or by employing innovative techniques and methods of working.
A range of factors appeared to contribute to the success of projects. According to the staff who were interviewed, a flexible and holistic approach which was capable of dealing with the complex needs of clients was essential to their effectiveness. In addition, nearly all of the projects emphasised the client-centred nature of their work and most of them attempted to involve their clients in decisions about the form that intervention might take in their case. It was also clear from the accounts provided that an essential ingredient in the success of a project was the existence of a clear model of care and support with well-defined boundaries. A focus which was too broad or too vague could result in workers feeling confused and becoming swamped by the diversity of tasks they were required to deal with.
Projects' relations with external agencies were also absolutely vital to their success. In particular, outside bodies occupied a pivotal position as far as referrals, both inward and outward, were concerned. These relations were mainly positive but, as we saw, the number, quality and timing of inward referrals presented considerable difficulties for some projects. In addition, overlaps with the work of other agencies could give rise to boundary disputes and rivalries. In order to enjoy a productive relationship with outside agencies, it was vital that the latter had a clear understanding of a project's role and, just as important, regarded its contribution as being of value. This meant that it was extremely important for projects to network with outside agencies and communicate their purpose to them. Those projects which enjoyed the more successful partnerships with external bodies seemed, by and large, to be those which had expended the greatest amount of time and energy on promoting and explaining their activities. It was especially important for projects to have clear referral criteria and to communicate these effectively to potential referral agents otherwise the referrals which were received might not be entirely appropriate or timely. This was a particularly important requirement as a far as the PDI projects were concerned since the innovative nature of many of them increased the potential for misunderstanding and confusion.
It was also clear from the site visits that projects which were well integrated with their host agency or agencies enjoyed a number of important advantages. Staff could share resources, take advantage of in-house expertise and training opportunities and might even be re-deployed within the host organisation. Occasionally, the work of a project and its host was so well integrated that they formed a seamless service. The sort of integration exhibited by most of the projects also meant that it was possible for the organisation as a whole to adopt a more co-ordinated and strategic approach to providing the kinds of support that young people and families need. On the other hand, projects which were not well integrated or where mutual understanding was poor could suffer in a number of respects. It was clearly important that host agencies were familiar with each other, had common expectations of the project and a clear understanding of the nature of its work. Likewise, project workers needed to understand clearly how their work related to that of the host. Certainly, deficiencies in those respects could be rectified once the project was underway and there were successful examples of that happening. However, this process could be time-consuming and might occur only after the project had experienced significant difficulties. The important point here is that good integration and understanding did not just happen. It required careful planning and preparation for the project's arrival, the satisfactory induction of project staff, a clear idea on the part of host agencies of the nature of the project and its articulation with existing services and a management approach which was characterised by inclusiveness and clarity of purpose.
Finally most of the projects were experiencing difficulties in satisfying the demand for their services. In a significant number of cases this was compounded by staffing problems of various sorts. The small scale of the projects rendered them particularly vulnerable to problems in relation to the recruitment and retention of staff and to staff absences. Although this had had a profound impact on the work of some of the projects and their staff, it is difficult to see how this problem might be avoided. Certainly, though, the projects' thin resources were not helped by a failure on the part of most of them to develop clear criteria for the closure of cases. While this is no easy task given the nature of their work, it is essential that projects have criteria for moving clients on otherwise there is a danger that cases will simply drift on and, in the process, block the recruitment of new clients. A number of the projects had recognised that this was something which they were going to have to deal with and some were already actively engaged in the task. The fact that some projects had been able to address this issue successfully, demonstrates that it can be done.
In the next phase of this evaluation we will focus on two key areas. First we will provide a series of case studies of individual projects. These case studies will look in much greater detail than has been possible here at the nature of the work carried out within the selected projects. Second we will look at the extent to which it can be said that projects funded under the initiative are having a beneficial impact on clients. It is not possible within the limits of this evaluation to look at the impact of all of the projects funded under the PDI and for that reason the outcome evaluation, like the case studies, will focus upon a limited number of projects.
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