scholarly journals Samenspel tussen jongerenwerk en specialistische jeugdzorg

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanda Sonneveld ◽  
Judith Metz ◽  
René Schalk ◽  
Tine Van Regenmortel
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Youth Care ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Meaningful Relationships ◽  
Addiction Care

Een deel van de jongeren die in het jongerenwerk partici- peert ontvangt specialistische jeugdzorg, vanuit bijvoorbeeld verslavingszorg, jeugdreclassering, jeugd-ggz of intensieve gezinsbehandeling. Hoewel profes- sioneel jongerenwerk voor een brede groep jongeren in kwetsbare situaties positief bijdraagt aan hun persoonlijke ontwikkeling en maatschappelijke participatie, is er weinig bekend over de betekenis van het jongerenwerk voor jongeren die specialistische jeugdzorg ontvangen. Voor dit verkennende onderzoek zijn interviews afgenomen met: 1) zeven jongeren (16+) die specialistische jeugdzorg ontvangen en in jongerenwerk participeren; 2) zeven jongerenwerkers en 3) zes jeugdhulpverleners werk- zaam in specialistische jeugdzorg. Een thematische analyse maakt inzichtelijk dat het jongerenwerk op vijf manieren van betekenis is voor jongeren in specialistische jeugdzorg. Jonge- renwerkers zijn ten eerste toegankelijke gesprekspartners die deze jongeren motiveren om problemen serieus te nemen en daarbij professionele hulp te accepteren. Het jongerenwerk biedt deze jongeren daarnaast een omgeving om 2) betekenisvolle relaties op te bouwen, 3) hun zelfbeeld en eigenwaarde te versterken, 4) hun maatschappelijke participatie te vergroten en 5) onder- steuning te vinden om hun zelfstandigheid te vergroten. De resultaten maken inzichtelijk dat het jongerenwerk ook voor deze specifieke groep jongeren groeikansen biedt voor hun persoonlijke ontwik- keling en maatschappelijke participatie. Daarnaast leert dit onderzoek dat participatie van deze doelgroep in het jongerenwerk een positieve invloed kan hebben op de jeugdhulpverleningsprocessen en -resultaten. Hiermee bieden de resultaten gemeenten en de jeugdzorg een beter begrip van hoe het jongerenwerk als preventieve voorziening van betekenis is voor jongeren in specialistische jeugdzorg en een bijdrage kan leveren om de druk op de jeugdzorg te verlichten. Engelstalige versie van de samenvatting A substantial share of all young people who participate in professional youth work settings receive specialised youth-care services, such as addiction care, mental healthcare or intensive family treatment. Nevertheless, little is known about the unique value of youth work settings for young people who are receiving specialised youth-care services. In this exploratory study, we investigated the unique value of youth work for young people in specialised youth-care programmes. Interviews were conducted with: 1) seven young people (16 years of age and older) who were receiving specialised youth-care services and participating in youth-work settings; 2) seven youth workers and 3) six professionals working in specialised youth-care services. Thematic analysis demonstrates that participation in youth-work settings is significant for this group in five ways. First, youth workers provide these young people with accessible dialogue partners who can motivate them to take problems seriously and accept professional help for their vulnerabilities. Youth workers also offer an environment within which to 2) build meaningful relationships; 3) strengthen self-concept and self-esteem; 4) enhance social participation and 5) receive support that helps to increase independence. These findings thus suggest that youth work offers growth opportunities for this specific group. They further indicate that participation in youth work settings can reduce the duration and intensity of the youth-care services provided. The results can help municipalities and youth-care professionals to enhance their understanding of the importance of professional youth work to young people who are receiving specialised youth-care services and how youth work can contribute to reducing high healthcare costs.

On Educational Advocacy and Cultural Work: Situating Community-Based Youth Work[ers] in Broader Educational Discourse

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Bianca J. Baldridge
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Marginalized Youth ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Educational Discourse ◽  
Educational Spaces

Background/Context The current educational market nestled in neoliberal and market-based reform efforts has shifted the nature of public education. Community-based educational spaces are also shaped within this context. As such, given the political and educational climate youth workers are situated in, their role as advocates, cultural workers, and pedagogues warrants greater exploration within educational scholarship. Although previous scholarship captures the significance of community-based youth workers in the lives of marginalized youth, their voices and experiences are absent from broader educational discourse. Subsequently, community-based youth workers’ relationship with schools, engagement with youth, and their pedagogical practices remain underutilized and undervalued. Purpose The purpose of this article is to highlight the critical space youth workers occupy in the academic, social, and cultural lives of Black youth within community-based educational spaces. This article critically examines the intricate roles that youth workers play in the academic and social lives of youth and proposes deeper inquiry into the practices of youth workers and implications for broader education discourse. Setting The study takes place at Educational Excellence (EE), a community-based educational program operating after school in the Northeastern part of the United States. Research Design This study employed a critical qualitative design with ethnographic methods. Participant observations occurred at program events for youth and their families over 13 months, events during the holidays (2), middle and high school retreats (2), staff retreats (2), parent orientation meetings (4), curriculum planning meetings (13), and staff-development trainings (10). In order to triangulate participant observation data, every youth worker was interviewed individually (n = 20) and observed during (or in) staff meetings, organizational events, and interaction with coworkers and students in the program. A total of three focus groups, lasting between 60 minutes and 90 minutes were held with participants. Findings/Results Findings indicate that a combination of factors contributes to the important role that youth workers play in the lives of students. From their vantage point, youth workers are community members that have extensive knowledge of the current educational landscape and the ways in which it shapes the experiences, opportunities, and outcomes of youth in their program. As former school administrators, teachers, and life-long community-based educators, youth workers’ understanding and analysis of students’ experiences in schools is extremely significant to their understanding of educational problems and the needs of their students. As such, youth workers were able to revive students through culturally responsive and relevant curricula and engagement that gave students an opportunity to think critically about the world around them and to also think more deeply about their social, academic, and political identities. Conclusions/Recommendations Youth workers within community-based educational spaces serve as essential actors in the lives of young people. Recognizing and validating these educators and community-based spaces as distinct, equally important, and complimentary spaces to schools and classroom teachers is an essential step in the process of reimagining the possibilities of youth work in community-based settings and in broader conceptions of educational opportunity. Further research and practice should recognize community-based spaces as vital sites of learning and growth for young people. In addition, education research and policy should acknowledge the distinct value and pedagogical practices of community-based educational spaces from traditional school spaces.

Rethinking some youth worker ‘tales’

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Seal ◽  
Pete Harris
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Violent Behaviour ◽  
Youth Worker ◽  
Conceptual Clarity

This chapter begins by challenging workers to critically interrogate what the authors see as archetypal youth work ‘tales’. The authors highlight how some youth workers can over-privilege and idealise their own relationships with young people and need to be wary of over-identifying with them to such an extent that challenging their violent behaviour falls off the agenda. They also argue that youth workers need to develop greater conceptual clarity, especially around notions of respect and trust. With the former, for example, workers may need to make distinctions between earned, intrinsic respect, and respect that is based around fear. The chapter explores how workers might encourage young people to reflect on self-respect and how status is constructed in their community and culture, working on alternative attainable and sustainable ways to develop it. The authors then cast a critical eye over the relationships between youth workers and professionals from other agencies, arguing that youth workers should not develop a crab mentality towards these agencies but rather seek to present the distinctive, but not unique, contribution they can make.

scholarly journals Detached Youth Work: A critical analysis of theory and practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Natalie Dowling
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Young People ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Key Skills

This thesis provides a critical analysis of the theory and practice of detached youth work (DYW) as a form of engagement with young people which has lacked attention within policy and research. The research aim was to develop a contemporary definition for DYW in order to create a model of best practice and establish a set of key practitioner skills. The thesis addressed three research objectives, 1: To develop a contemporary definition of DYW using current theory and analysis of practice, 2: To critically analyse current DYW processes to establish a model of best operational practice and 3: To evaluate the work of practitioners in order to establish a set of key practitioner skills for effective DYW. These were achieved through an ethnographic case study approach across two locations, employing three interviews with detached youth workers and 15 participant observations. This was combined with an online survey of 32 detached youth workers exploring their experiences of practice. The thesis illustrates the problems, exacerbated by austerity, in supporting marginalised young people. Responding to the first objective it develops an umbrella term to define DYW, while advising on ideal requirements for this form of practice. For the second objective a model of best operational practice is constructed, emphasising the importance of locations of practice, engagement tools and aspects related to the community and police. The final objective of this thesis contributes a new three-stage process for engagement with new groups of young people through DYW, alongside drawing on data analysis to establish a set of key practitioner skills particularly beneficial in development of job descriptions and recruitment consideration. The thesis concludes that greater understanding of DYW is required to support this form of engagement and allow effective practice to make a difference to individuals at risk. Moreover, in responding to the research aim, it evidences the need for effective relationships and the key skills required for any practitioner engaging with individuals and communities. Without investment in youth services this form of practice is at risk of becoming lost or viewed as ineffective due to inappropriate understandings.

scholarly journals On Being Disrupted: Youth Work and Black Lives Matter

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Marie Bonfiglio
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Black Lives Matter ◽  
Black Man ◽  
North Minneapolis

Youth workers are constantly figuring out how to respond to their young people, especially in times of disruption. The Black Lives Matter movement came close to home in the aftermath of the shooting by police of Jamar Clark, a young black man in north Minneapolis. This article is a reflection on the tensions that six area youth workers faced and the variety of roles that they played in working with their young people. The goal of this paper is to inspire other youth workers to be bold to act in times of disruption in order to support their young people and challenge the systems that impact them.  

Methodical principles and prevention-focused outcomes in professional youth work: A longitudinal analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110547
Author(s):  
Jolanda Sonneveld ◽  
Judith Metz ◽  
Willeke Manders ◽  
René Schalk ◽  
Tine Van Regenmortel
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Models ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Outcome Measure ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Prosocial Skills ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Social Returns

Previous research has suggested that professional youth work settings empower socially vulnerable youngsters, strengthening their personal development and social participation. It is expected that youth work can prevent personal and social problems of youngsters, which may have longer term positive social returns. How the underlying methodical way of acting of youth workers contributes to prevention-focused outcomes remains unclear. This article presents a four-wave longitudinal cohort study (16 months) that investigated longitudinal associations between 12 individual methodical principles that youth workers apply in interactions with youngsters and four prevention-focused outcomes: prosocial skills, self-mastery, social network and civic participation. The sample consisted of 1,597 Dutch youngsters with a mean age of 16.5 years (SD = 3.60). Findings: Linear mixed models analysis found that all individual methodical principles were longitudinally associated with one or more outcome. The strongest associations were observed with regard to prosocial skills and civic participation. Depending on the outcome measure, methodical principles seem to be more effective for boys, for youngsters who participate for 3 years or longer in youth work settings and for youngsters between 10 and 19 years old. With regard to the effect of methodical principles on improving self-mastery, 9 of the 12 principles appeared to play no positive role in increasing self-mastery of youngsters. Applications: This study provides youth workers with a better understanding of which methodical principles are positively associated with prevention-focused outcomes as well as reinforcing the evidence-based practice of professional youth work.

Results of an Evaluation of Therapeutic Residential Groups for Adolescents in Berlin

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 524-538
Author(s):  
Sandra Wesenberg ◽  
Christina Frank ◽  
Marilena de Andrade ◽  
Miriam Weber ◽  
Claus-Peter Rosemeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Youth Care ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Qualitative Interview Study

In the last few years, a large amount of research have been done in the field of youth care services. However, there is still a substantial need for empirical findings, especially on institutions with specific missions such as therapeutic residential groups for young people. This article grew out of cooperation between practitioners and researchers and presents the results of a German study entitled “Process Evaluation of Therapeutic Residential Groups for Young People” (TRGs). The main research question of the evaluation study was whether the treatment in the TRGs is specifically stabilizing, protective, and, above all, effective in dealing with young people with severe problems. The study employs multiple methodologies (qualitative and quantitative procedures) to obtain a satisfactorily comprehensive analysis of both outcome and process quality. The article presents selected results from the quantitative part of the study and the qualitative interview study and discusses them considering recent research in the field of child and adolescent care services.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Professional Youth Work to the Personal Development and Social Participation of Socially Vulnerable Youngsters: A Dutch Longitudinal Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanda Sonneveld ◽  
Judith Metz ◽  
Willeke Manders ◽  
René Schalk ◽  
Tine Van Regenmortel
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Prosocial Skills ◽  
Longitudinal Cohort ◽  
Care Services

AbstractThis article focuses on how length of participation in professional youth work is associated with five outcome variables: prosocial skills, self-mastery, social network, civic participation (volunteering and organizing activities) and finding support from social care services. The study was designed as a longitudinal cohort study of four waves during a 16-month period, gathering the data of 1597 youngsters aged 10–24 who participated in Dutch professional youth work. The results show that, on average, youngsters who participated longer in youth work scored significantly higher on the outcome variables. Respondents did not show individual improvements on outcome variables over the period, but the results demonstrate a cautious positive trend over time in volunteering. Referring youngsters (33%) by youth workers to care services could prevent an exacerbation of existing problems. The results provide knowledge that legitimizes the role of professional youth workers and which can be used by them to improve the support of socially vulnerable youngsters in their personal development and social participation.

scholarly journals IDEOLOGIES AND THEORIES FOR YOUTH PRACTICE WORK

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74
Author(s):  
Ramadimetje Bernice Hlagala ◽  
Catharina Sophia Delport
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Reference Points ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mix And Match

There are many youth workers who continue to design their interventions without any theoretical basis, despite a long history of youth work as a field of practice. The aim of this article is to present selected ideologies and theoretical frameworks underpinning youth work practice. These ideologies and theories, although predominantly borrowed from other disciplines, provide insight on how youth work should be practised.Based on a thorough literature review, the authors have selected different theories and ideologies that youth workers, like other professionals, are expected to know, understand and to adapt to youth work practice. These theories are important and would serve as theoretical frameworks on which youth work interventions will be based and, thereby, provide youth workers with the means to predict and analyse the situations of young people from different viewpoints to enable the development of different strategies to address relevant problems.The article concludes that theories and ideologies should be used as reference points, and youth workers mix and match different theories and ideologies depending on the nature of problem they are addressing at that particular time.

Youth work and youth violence in a European context

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Seal ◽  
Pete Harris
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Violence ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Youth Work ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Gang Violence ◽  
Populated Area ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk

In this chapter, the authors present an outline of the philosophical underpinnings of youth work practice and discuss how youth work is conceived, organised and delivered in different member states, and specifically in those the authors encountered in their study (Germany, Austria and the UK). They then introduce their working definition of youth violence. The authors were keen to move beyond the narrow confines of conceptualisation of youth violence as ‘gang’ violence, partly because this is a heavily populated area of enquiry, but also because they recognised that youth workers will be engaging with young people whose experience of violence falls both within and outside of the bounded and contestable phenomenon of the ‘gang’.

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