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PART 3 - GET ON THE GOOD FOOT

Setting up your street based service

Tools of the job

Firstly, make sure you have a street work bag to carry all the resources and information leaflets you wish to use with young people. Secondly, you will need waterproof jackets that clearly show the organisation you work for - it simply isn't tenable any longer to go out onto the street incognito. Young people and their parents deserve to know, from a distance, that you are a professional worker from a reputable organisation that they can trust. Thirdly, you will need professional identification cards that young people or their parents can ask to see. And, last, you will need a mobile phone so that you can be easily contacted at any time.

Always work in pairs

Work on the street with young people is always done in pairs. Never "go it alone" and ensure all contact is professional, explicit, recorded, has 'on-call' back-up and is fully supported by your team and your line manager. If any difficulty occurs and you are uncertain how to proceed always consult your line manager or your team.

Setting goals

Do you know exactly what you are setting out to do? Defining the challenge is key to putting a successful service together and meeting the expectations of funders. In many cases, the funders have already identified the problem or challenge and are looking for you to provide the answer. The question then becomes "what is it they want us to do?" Set finite goals for your service that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound ( SMART). Ideally, create a Service Level Agreement ( SLA) with the goals and anticipated outcomes clearly set out before the service begins, this will ensure clear communication for all the stakeholders. Then, decide what baseline data you will need to assess the impact of your service. It doesn't need to be complicated and can be in the form of a simple questionnaire that you can ask young people at the start of your contact with them and repeat at the mid-point and the end of the service. The value of gathering good baseline data at the outset will come back to you time and time again as you demonstrate the change in young people's responses and therefore the impact of your work with them.

Mapping

Understanding and being able to accurately describe the local picture is fundamental to the success of your street based service. Before you start, collect background information on the community as a whole, key stakeholders within the community, a comprehensive list of youth services (including their membership criteria and opening times), press cuttings relating to local youth issues and how the young people are perceived. Before you actually engage with young people, walk round the area at different times, speak to local shop-keepers, visit as many likely locations as possible and generally build up as knowledgeable picture as possible about where your target group of young people hang out.

Making contact

The most common experience for street based workers as they approach and start speaking to that group of youths who have scared the life out of the locals simply by hanging around in a group, is that young people are more than happy to chat with interested adults. Keep the introductions simple with "hello, my name is… and this is my colleague… and we work for…," believe me, the rest will come naturally.

Building relationships

Building a positive relationship is the starting point and the key to successfully working with any young person. Be reliable and consistent with young people, accepting them for who they are without prejudging them for how they look, what they have done, what they say or what they think. In this important task, you are neither a passive facilitator nor a paid friend, but rather a conscious and skilled worker or volunteer whose job it is to help them build their self-esteem and make more positive and healthier life choices.

Manage young people's expectations thoughtfully

Every relationship has a beginning, a middle and an end. And, as you are in the business of building relationships as the cornerstone of our work with young people, it is your job to manage each of these stages as well as you can for them. You have a responsibility to be honest and up front about what young people can expect and what not to expect from you. If you are thoughtful in your preparations, and communicate plans and changes well, your relationships with young people are more likely to be positive and achieve the best outcomes for them.

Think from the very beginning about how long any work with a young person or group may last and ensure that the exit from such commitments are well managed and clearly communicated at the earliest possible stage. Provide clear and accurate information at all times to young people , including when it might be necessary to disclose information about them to others for the purposes of protecting them Keep them informed as and when new information becomes available especially if there has been a substantial change that will affect their expectations. Vulnerable young people are easily discouraged when they feel they have been let down and you may face great difficulty trying to re-establish contact. They may miss appointments or let you down (and never take this personally) but, you should never let a young person or group down. Strive to deliver on all commitments you make.

Dealing with challenging behaviour

View young people as primary agents of their own life changes. Always strive to coach and support them to learn how to make healthier choices and access services for themselves. There are times, however, when certain individuals can pose a direct threat to, or impair the experience of, others. Where bullying or abuse arises, always start to build your response and support from the point of view and safety of the most vulnerable. Part of your job is to work with young people who may already be excluded from other provision, including those who have been perpetrators of bulling, sexism, racism and so on. It makes no sense to add to that exclusion by indefinitely banning individuals. Temporary restrictions may be required from time to time to enable you to conduct a risk assessment and to renegotiate conditions for access with a young person, or to ensure you have appropriate and sensitive supervision arrangements in place. Otherwise, you may offer to provide support elsewhere in a setting that is mutually suitable for the purpose.

Keep the boundaries clear

Avoid all conflicts of interest between work and personal affairs. As relationship-building is at the centre of your work, it is especially important to make sure that the trusting and friendly relationships you build with young people are strictly professional and never confused or blurred by involving them in your personal life and interests. Never allow your home, property, personal information or mobile phone to be available to young people. At no time enter into any personal arrangements with young people outside of approved work. Never buy or receive anything from young people. This includes looking after personal items, pets, children and property. Contact with hard-to-reach young people should only happen during work time and with the full knowledge and support of your colleagues/team/line manager. If you find yourself in a difficult situation that you are unsure how to resolve, contact your line-manager immediately. You have a fundamental obligation to make sound decisions on behalf of young people that are undistorted by your individual beliefs, family, financial or other interests. Socialising or arranging to meet young people outside approved youth work business is inappropriate.

Work at their pace

Do things at their pace and in a way that suits them. Spend as much time as you need talking to priority individuals and groups about them, about what they think, what interests and worries them, and what action they think might make a difference. Taking time to work at their pace can actually be a fast track for getting to what is really important for them, what motivates them, for sorting out what they really want or need help with and engaging their willing participation in achieving real and lasting positive change.

Respect young people's territory

Approach and begin to build relationships with young people in their space but always remember to be respectful and sensitive to their territory, their cultural preferences and peer groups. Be interested, friendly and useful. Don't try to impose rules or conditions for young people's participation on their patch. You are on their territory, which means that at any moment they can simply walk away or tell you where to go.

Create learning readiness

Working on their terms, on their territory and at their pace means that you will routinely create moments where young people will be more interested and confident

discussing difficult issues. These are moments where they will be much more willing to talk about risk-taking, the consequences and consider healthier choices. It is in these moments - what formal educators call learning readiness - where a purposeful intervention by you can make all the difference. Your job is to seize learning opportunities when they arise and to purposefully create discussion and activities that help young people to make informed life choices. By listening to what young people themselves are saying you will be able to develop much more creative, culturally relevant and appropriate responses to them. Make sure you feel ready and skilled to respond to issues that you and your team anticipate may arise.

Child protection

Some very vulnerable young people may disclose their most fearful experiences of violence or sexual abuse, sometimes in the very first meeting. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you have the appropriate clearance to work with vulnerable young people and that you undergo basic child protection training before starting. Always ensure there are adequate support structures, good inter-agency links and referral routes and quality recording and monitoring procedures in place in your organisation to support your work. Always treat the information given to you sensitively, appropriately and follow locally-agreed information-sharing guidance on whether, and how, and when, and to whom to disclose information the young person has given you. All work of this kind must be strictly in accordance with locally agreed Child Protection Guidelines.

If during the course of your work, you become aware that a child may be being abused, or that a person may be abusing a child or children, you should consult immediately with your line manager. If a young person indicates that they wish to disclose abuse to you, sensitively explain, before or the moment they begin to do so, that you will be required to act upon this information. Priority should always be given to ensure that appropriate support is available to the young person by referring to the appropriate local agency.

If abuse is disclosed, as soon as possible, contact the appropriate local social work manager, senior police officer, family protection unit or emergency social work services. Abuse is defined as: physical injury, physical neglect, failure to thrive, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and abuse of others involving young people and children.

If you consider it important to inform the parents or guardians of the child about the nature of your suspicions, do not attempt to do so yourself. Always seek advice and pass your concerns on the statutory Social Services. It is their responsibility to decide how to proceed and they may already be conducting investigations.

You may be faced with situations that are ambiguous or uncertain, and your actions may have an impact on existing work with young people. That is why it is vitally important to consult with your manager and your team colleagues on how best to proceed. No matter what, the interests of the individual child and her/his safety must be put before other considerations. You are encouraged to regularly discuss child protection matters with your team and to include reviews of relevant training, consultation and referrals.

Disclosure

It is currently an offence for a person who is on the Disqualified from Working Children List to work in a child care position, either paid, or unpaid. Therefore, we strongly recommend that every person who is employed to work with the hard to reach is fully vetted by Disclosure Scotland before commencing direct work with young people. For guidance on how to disclose an employee, or to get a certificate for yourself, simply visit www.disclosurescotland.co.uk. However, safer recruitment is about more than disclosure checks and a range of recruitment and selection techniques should therefore be considered. For example, see the following guidance on recruitment and selection: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/169841/0047325.pdf

It is important to be aware that new legislation to further safeguard children (and protected adults) will be implemented during 2008 and 2009. The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 will deliver a robust vetting and barring scheme that will safeguard children and protected adults by keeping people who would harm them out of caring positions and a fair and consistent system that will be quick and easy for people to use and understand. The new scheme will help to ensure that people who have demonstrated through past behaviour that they pose an unacceptable risk, do not gain access to children or protected adults through work or through volunteering. A list of those who are barred from working/volunteering with children will replace the existing Disqualified from Working with Children List. This list and a new adults' list will be managed by a new Central Barring Unit. which will work within Disclosure Scotland to provide a joined up and streamlined service.

Your safety on the street

On-call back-up

Make sure you have an on-call phone-in person or suitable safety system and don't start your street work shift without first making contact. You should be available to be contacted either in person or by phone at any time for the full duration of the street work shift and we suggest hourly up-dates to confirm that your are safe. It is especially important to sign-off at the end.

Avoid trouble

Never stray from the agreed route without informing your on-call first - even if the session is quiet. It's not possible to foresee all eventualities that might occur on the street - there's simply no way of knowing what's around the next corner, so, always take precautions to avoid potential risks and dangers. If you even have a feeling or 'gut instinct' that there is a potential danger, you and your colleague should avoid it or extricate yourselves immediately to the nearest safe area. If a particular route, street, park or whatever feels unsafe then it avoid it. If you are with service users and a situation develops that feels unsafe, politely and quickly remove yourselves from risk. Always stay in sight of your street work colleague or at least be aware of where each other is.

If in doubt get out

You and your street work colleague should work as a team and never compromise each other's safety, even where one of you feels more confident in dealing with things. There are many techniques that you may think will help to diffuse or fend off aggression on the street but avoidance is always the best form of defense. Your mantra should always be if in doubt - get out. Afterwards it is very important to take time to talk with your street work colleague about what happened and to decide whether or not it is safe to continue the session. It is better to end a session early than to take unnecessary risks.

Emergency procedure

If you and your street work colleague are threatened or actually assaulted, take whatever means you can to extricate yourselves immediately, such as, hail a taxi, head for the nearest place where help or relative safety can be sought (e.g. a pub or shop) and phone for help. If immediate assistance is required then do not hesitate to contact the police. When you reach a place of safety, call the on-call support immediately.

Measuring success

Recording your work

Going out to where hard to reach young people are means that much of the quality work that you do will often happen in discrete places hidden from the view of others. Unseen by funders, partner agencies and the wider community means the true value of your work will be lost unless you are able to tell them about it and show evidence of its value. If they can't see it, you're not doing it! Your data is important in helping address gaps in identifying the Hard to Reach groups and in knowing why they continue to be hard to reach, e.g. the two-thirds of young runaways who are not reported as missing by their parents.

By operating on hard to reach young people's own territory, you are inviting yourself to share their space and become a temporary part of their group. You should always place them at the centre of your work and look to increase the information, resources and opportunities open to them. The recording, processing and dissemination of information should always take account of the immediate and long-term impact on their lives. In the gathering of research data, view young peoples as active participants and not as passive subjects. Be open with them about your work, and how you intend to monitor and evaluate it. Involving them as much as possible in the process can only enhance the validity of your data. Being a friendly, supportive and useful worker is also an essential part of the transaction of information.

Working on young people's terms and on an equal footing routinely creates quality-time that is rarely afforded in conventional settings. This gives you a somewhat privileged insight into what is behind the issues, behaviour and difficulties experienced by those who are at risk. The relationship you build up with individuals and groups, therefore, is established in a setting where they feel more relaxed and in control. Information is shared in an atmosphere of trust, and often in a way that is more open and frank than young people might choose to disclose to others. It is vitally important, therefore, to protect the confidentially of the information and integrity of the relationship (the only exception here is in relation to child protection). Never compromise young people by openly disclosing their activities or individually identifiable information in a way that would cause them distress or unwelcome consequences. At all times, respect for their interests, intentions and safety should be at the very core of the monitoring and evaluation process.

Data protection

As you will be recording personal information relating to individuals, you are required to do so in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act) which provides individuals with certain rights in respect of the processing of their personal information. As such, you should be careful and sensitive about the type of personal information you record. The Act covers the processing of all personal information relating to a living individual whether it is held in computer or paper form. Processing includes obtaining, holding, using, disclosing or destroying such information.

Under the Act, you are required to inform the young people that you will be processing personal information about them. However, the Act requires that specific conditions are met before processing begins and the most appropriate in such cases will be obtaining the consent of the young person concerned. Consent should be informed and in order to ensure it is informed, the young people should be made aware of their rights under the Act. In addition, when dealing with sensitive personal data, such as health, ethnic or racial origin, religion and sexual life, consent must be explicit. Of course, you may find yourself in a position where consent is not practicable or indeed required if, for example, the situation relates to child protection.

Specifically, they should be told that they have a right to see what personal information relating to them is being recorded and how they can go about making a request to see it if it is not appropriate in the work setting to do so. They can only use this right in respect of their own personal information and you should take every precaution to ensure that in doing so you do not disclose personal information relating to another individual unless they will already be in possession of it. They should also be told about the reason(s) or purpose(s) for which their personal information is being processed and, if relevant, to whom it may be disclosed.

You should consider what additional relevant information could be given at this time such as how to make a complaint. You also need to give consideration as to how the personal information will be stored and the length of time and rationale for retention as the Act requires that personal information is held only for as long as necessary. Essentially, if personal information is to be processed, then it must be done fairly and lawfully and in compliance with the provisions of the Act. In this regard, you should note that you or your organisation may need to be notified with the Information Commissioner's Office as failure to do so is a criminal offence.

Core Requirements

References

ISR Working Paper, January 2007, Nicola Brackertz

A Tumultuous Stage In Children's Lives: Looking beyond biology and puberty to understand adolescent behaviour, Ronald E. Dahl, 2007, University of Pittsburgh's Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic

Consultation On Advice Note On Engaging Children And Young People In Community Planning, Scottish Executive, 2005

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/17164834/48365

Mullock & Leigh-Pollit, The Data Protection Act Explained, HMSO, 1999

Gill Kirkup, The Feminist Evaluator, Open University 1999

Black youth on the margins, A research review, Ravinder Barn, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2001

Social Exclusion of Young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People ( LGBT) in Europe, by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Youth and Student Organization ( IGLYO) and ILGA-Europe claims LGBT youth experience estrangement from family, bullying and marginalisation at school, 2006

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