Education Programmes in the Youth Justice Continuum

1. Education Programmes in the Youth Justice Continuum

2. To begin

3. One life, many services

4. Multitudes of actors • Children meet: • Teachers, Guidance counsellors, resource teachers etc • Instructors, tutors, Centre co-ordinators, Directors • Youth workers • Advocates (FAS-funded); Mediators (LES) • Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers • Youth Probation Officers • Social workers, Community Care, outreach workers… • Education Welfare Officers • Family Welfare Conference Co-ordinators, FWC facilitators, FWC mentors • Psychologists (NEPS, HSE), psychiatrists… • Legal representatives, GALs • Court officers… • Etc

5. School matters - continuum Level 8: Residential care Level 7: centre for education/YEP Level 6: Behaviour support classroom Level 5: Deputy Principal/Principal Level 4: care team Level 3: Year head Level 2: Class tutor Level 1: Classroom teacher

6. Some figures (2007) • 18+% of age cohort do not proceed to Leaving Certificate • School attendance: 20% absenteeism • For 14% the Junior Certificate is the last official second level exam • 4% leave with no qualifications • Females stay longer than males, outperform in exams • Educational retention strongly mirrors social background • Stable figures

7. First response: Prevention (in schools) • DEIS – the School Support Programme (SSP) • Home School Community Liaison Scheme • School Completion Programme • Also: Learning Support/Resource Teachers, Traveller supports, etc • BHSS • NEWB • NEPS • NCSE • etc

8. Second response: out of-school measures - education • YOUTHREACH (Centres, CTCs, Justice); STTCs • YEPs (5) • Cooperation hours, etc • Youth services and projects – different mechanisms • Youth Information Centres, Young Peoples’ Services and Facilities Fund • NOTE: poor transfer of information from schools; also, none of the school supports transfer;

9. Other out of-school measures • Other FÁS, Failte Ireland, Teagasc provision, etc; Local Employment Services • Probation initiatives • Garda projects • Drugs Task Force projects • Springboard projects • Projects supported by Area-based Partnerships • PEACE projects (Border area) • Barnardo’s Family Support projects • Neighbourhood Youth Projects • Steps Advice and Counselling Services • Ireland Fund projects • Etc!

10. Mapping provision HSE Gardai NEWB, etc Youth services Schools Youthreach

11. What is Youthreach? • A programme, not an organisation • Youthreach is the principal national response aimed at early school leavers (aged 16-20) with poor qualifications – less than 5Ds in Junior Cert • 15% lone parents; 10% Travellers • Inter-Departmental • Education and Science – through VECs – 95 Youthreach Centres (3800 places), 33 STTCs (1000+) • Enterprise, Trade and Employment – through FAS – 45 CTCs; also ‘Justice workshops’ (2000 places) • Delivered in 150 centres for educationand community training centres - small out-of-school units, fulltime and part-time staff • Staff: Coordinator/Director, Resource staff, teachers, etc

12. Youthreach: Presenting difficulties

13. From From Maslow and Lowery, 1998

14. From dependence to independence Instability, disorder, dysfunctions, detachment, dependency Stability, Integration, independence Engagement and attachment Foundation Progression Transition

15. Global set of needs

16. Case study: Mary • 15 yrs old lone parent • No family support • Seven brothers and sisters • Father is dead • raped by her cousin last year • Left school when she was 13 • No member of her family has been in school after the age of 13

17. An inter-agency response