In response to the Welsh Assembly Government's consultation document, Towards a National Youth Service Strategy for Wales, the union says the youth service in Wales is "massively under-funded and under-resourced" and calls on ministers to force local authorities to invest.
The union is also calling for improvements in pay, status and conditions for youth workers.
The Assembly Government asked respondents to the consultation whether youth services should reach out to groups outside their traditional remit even if that meant abandoning the key youth work principle of voluntary engagement.
Doug Nicholls, general secretary of the union, said: "We believe that young offenders in young offender institutions would benefit from access to youth work, but that would only be successful if the young people chose to be involved."
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