Opinion: Youth work is key to prevention schemes

In the current policy climate we do, of course, tend to speak a different language. The popular APIE (Assess, Plan, Implement and Evaluate) model is invariably invoked. Various assessment tools are applied to gauge the range and intensity of risk factors, prior to planning interventions and subsequently evaluating them. This has not been such common currency in mainstream youth work, at least not so explicitly. Although the APIE model may be part of youth and community work training, it has probably been applied in a more general way compared with those initiatives dedicated to the specific domain of youth offending.

Yet, just below the surface, a different story emerges. When youth justice workers are asked what has made a difference in their work with young offenders, they invariably report a process through which they have built relationships, secured engagement and motivation, and therefore effected change. This requires persistence, commitment and a genuine desire to deliver support that has meaning and relevance for the young people concerned.