The Targeted Youth Support Pathfinders Evaluation Final Report

What is targeted youth support (TYS)? It's the layer between universal and specialist provision. All young people should have access to universal services like education or health, but those at risk of poorer outcomes who don't meet the eligibility requirements for statutory interventions might also gain from targeted services. Of course, their needs can be many and varied - for example, problems with education, feeling angry or depressed, coping with a parent's divorce, being a young carer, or needing sexual health advice and support - so the collaborative service support required can also vary.

Is it about helping vulnerable young people before a problem escalates? In a nutshell. That's only possible if that young person's needs are identified and assessed early enough, preferably through the Common Assessment Framework, then drawing in whatever agencies may be able to provide the most appropriate and timely support. One of the main lessons of the recent Department for Children, Schools and Families Targeted Youth Support Pathfinders Evaluation Final Report is that the early identification of these young people is key to the success of the intervention. Unfortunately, the majority of the young people whose cases were examined in the report already had high levels of need.