YOUTH WORK IRELAND TRUSTEES REPORT 2018
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YOUTH WORK IRELAND TRUSTEES REPORT 2018
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Financial Year Ended 31 December 2018
National Youth Federation CLG (a Company CLG by Guarantee)
Officers and professional advisers
Position Name Start date End date
Chair Geraldine Lacey 08 Nov 2014 AGM June 2020
Treasurer (Co-opted) Bill Thompson 07 Mar 2015 AGM June 2019
Senior Manager MYS Tom Dunne AGM Oct 2018 AGM June 2021
Senior Manager MYS Christina Fogarty AGM Nov 2017 AGM June 2020
Senior Manager MYS Pat Forde Nov 2016 AGM June 2019
Senior Manager MYS Maurice Walsh AGM Oct 2018 AGM June 2021
Senior Volunteer Shirley Donegan AGM Oct 2018 AGM June 2021
Senior Volunteer Patrick Moore AGM Nov 2017 AGM June 2020
Senior Volunteer Paul McCusker 01 Feb 2014 AGM June 2019
Senior Volunteer Vacant
National Youth Action Group Jordan Cassells AGM Oct 2018 AGM June 2021
National Youth Action Group Danielle Gayson AGM Oct 2018 AGM June 2021
National Youth Action Group Tiernan Murray AGM Oct 2018 AGM June 2021
National Youth Action Group Meaghan McCarthy 05 Feb 2017 AGM June 2019
Co-opted Michael Connolly September 2018 AGM June 2021
Co-opted Catherine Durkin 02 Feb 2017 AGM June 2020
Co-Opted Bryan McMahon 23 Mar 2013 AGM June 2020
Retired 2018
National Youth Action Group Fintan Dwyer 07 Nov 2015 AGM Nov 2018
National Youth Action Group Abigail Mahon 07 Nov 2015 AGM Nov 2018
*see Appendix 2 for further details re Board positions.
Company Secretary Bryan McMahon (Board Member)
Chief Executive Officer Patrick Burke
Assistant Chief Executive Officer Paul Gralton
Head of Finance Maria Hill (Resigned December 2018
John McCormack (March 2019)
Head of Communications and Advocacy Michael McLoughlin
Head of Youth Work Practise Mathew Seebach
Charity Regulatory Authority Number (RCN) 20068363
Charity Exemption Tax Number CHY 18032
Company Number (CRO) 193547
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Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Financial Year Ended 31 December 2018
National Youth Federation CLG (a Company Limited by Guarantee)
Officers and professional advisers
Registered office 20 Lower Dominick Street
Dublin 1
Auditor PKF FPM Accountants (Ireland)
Limited
Unit 5B Unit 5H
Fingal Bay Business Park
Balbriggan
Co. Dublin
Bankers Bank of Ireland
6 Lower O'Connell Street
Dublin 1
Solicitors Crowley Miller
-3, Exchange Place
Georges Dock, IFSC
Dublin 1
Vision
“...our vision is of a world full of possibilities for all young people.”
Mission
“...together with young people we learn tools for life, foster dreams, offer hope and
realise our greatest expectations.”
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Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Financial Year Ended 31 December 2018
National Youth Federation CLG (a Company CLG by Guarantee)
The Directors and Trustees Report
Welcome to the Trustees Report of National Youth Federation where we report on
the impact of our work in 2018.
This report is broken down into the following sections.
Section 1: The structure and objectives of the Youth Work Ireland: Here we talk
about how our Federal Structure realises young peoples’ expectations.
Section 2: Activities, achievements and performance: Here we talk about the
Impact of Youth Work Ireland in 2018 over the areas of our Strategic Plan.
Section 3: Financial Review: Here we review the financial position of Youth Work
Ireland.
Section 4: Plans for future periods: Here the Trustees (Board of Youth Work
Ireland) speak of their plans for 2019 and 2020.
Section 5: Governance and management: Here you can learn about how our Board
is formed, and how they govern.
Section 6: Reference and Administration: Here we give you some additional
information you may find useful.
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Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Financial Year Ending 31 D3ecember 2018
National Youth Federation CLG (a Company CLG by Guarantee)
The Directors and Trustees report
Section 1: The structure and objective of Youth Work Ireland
The National Youth Federation CLG (trading and Youth Work Ireland), [Here forth in
this report referred to a Youth Work Ireland] is a federation of 21 independent Youth
Services, coordinated by a National Office.
Collectively we support hundreds of voluntary youth clubs, targeted youth projects,
Youth Diversion programmes and a whole range of educational and recreational
activities for youth people throughout the country.
Youth Work Ireland is that largest provider of youth services in Ireland. Our federal
model is very important to us because it supports our believe that local communities
are best placed to provide supports and services with and for young people. Local
voluntary youth clubs affiliate to our Regional Member Youth Services: And in turn,
each of our 21 Member Youth Services affiliate to the National Body which is Youth
Work Ireland.
Youth Work Ireland is a registered charity under the Charities Act 2009. The Member
Youth Services are Members of the company limited by guarantee under the
Companies Act 2014 and have a vote in our Annual General Meeting (AGM). In this
way local youth services have a direct say in our national policies and activities.
Our 21 Member Youth Services are in most cases constituted as independent
companies Limited by Guarantee (20) and one is constituted as a Trust. In the
majority of the Members, the affiliated Youth Clubs are the members of the
Company Limited by Guarantee and have a vote at the AGM. Sometimes volunteers
from projects have votes also. In this way young people and volunteers direct the
activities of their local Youth Services. A full list of our Members can be found in
Appendix 1.
The voluntary Youth Clubs affiliated to our Member Youth Services are small
independent charities under the Charities Act 2009. They each reaffiliate every year
to our Member Youth Services. A large number of our clubs have been in existence
for many many years and others are new. A club is only considered to be a part of
Youth Work Ireland when it is formally affiliated on a yearly basis with our Member
Youth Service.
Youth Work Ireland is a youth led organisation
Young People under the age of 25 are members of our youth clubs and are
participants in the programmes and projects run by the 21 Member Youth Services
and by the National Office. Some young people also sit on the committees of their
Youth Clubs, the Boards of the Member Youth Services and on our National Board of
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Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Youth Work Ireland. As a youth led organisation we are committed to young people who have real decision-making roles at all levels of the organisations. Impact of the Federation Youth Work Ireland, through the 21 Member Youth Services has an established network of nearly 500 youth clubs and projects across Ireland. On a weekly basis we actively engage with and support over 76,000 young people, their families and the local communities. Youth Work Ireland is supported by 3331 Garda Vetted volunteers and 726 Garda Vetted staff. More information can be found in our annual review for 2017/18 at: http://www.youthworkireland.ie/who-we-are/reports. This annual review provides an overview of the work of all our Local Member Youth Services and includes some interesting and fun videos of the projects delivered by National Office. By providing this report online we make it more interactive and environmentally friendly. Important Note for the understanding of these Financial Statements It is important to the understanding of these Financial Statements to appreciate that each of the 21 Member Youth Services of Youth Work Ireland are an independent companies/trusts/charity in their own right. Similarly, the affiliated Youth Clubs are all independent small charities. The Financial Statements that follow after this Trustees Report are for Youth Work Ireland (National Office) only. The financial statements of our members can be found on their individual websites, the Charities Regulatory Authority in Ireland and Companies Registration Office in Ireland. Legal purpose of the National Youth Federation CLG: National Youth Federation CLG is the legal entity of the Youth Work Ireland’s National Office. Youth Work Ireland, in accordance with the Youth Work Act 2001 has as its main objective: ‘To benefit the community through a planned programme of education designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young people through their voluntary participation, and which is complementary to their formal, academic or vocational education a Strategic Plan 2015 – 2020 (see: http://www.youthworkireland.ie/who-we- are/strategicplan). The National Strategic Plan provides a framework for the entire federal organisation of 21 Member Youth Services and our National Office to deliver on our objectives. The aims of the Strategic Plan enable National Youth Federation CLG to achieve its legal objectives above and are: 1. Strengthen our Integrated Youth Services Model 2. Improving and Sharing our Youth Work Practice 3. Youth Participation 4. Speaking Up for Young People & Youth Services 5. Finances and Resources 6. Acting Together for Great Impact 5
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 6
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Section 2: Activities, achievements and performance: In this section we concentrate on the impacts of Youth Work Ireland in the context of the delivery of our Strategic Plan. Reports on the work done by Youth Work Ireland’s individual Member Youth Services can be found at http://www.youthworkireland.ie/who-we-are/reports In 2018 the National Youth Federation CLG T/A Youth Work Ireland achieved the following in the context of the implementation of our strategic plan. Aim 1. Strengthen our Integrated Youth Service Model: Our Members Youth Services all deliver supports and services to young people through our Integrated Youth Services Model. At the heart of the model is the “whole young person” and once he or she interfaces with a support or services they then have access to the whole range of services and supports provided by the Member Youth Service. Youth Work Ireland commissioned an external evaluation of our Integrated Youth Services Model in 2018 and it is hope that it will be published during 2019. This Model is Youth Work Ireland’s “unique selling point” and our experience is that it has hugely positive outcomes for young people, their families and communities. Strengthening the model, is therefore a key aim of Youth Work Ireland’s work. The Model is supported vertically by the National Office and horizontally by exchanges between our Local Member Youth Services. Our model is always evolving but was described diagrammatically as below. 7
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Essential Partnerships: As is evident from the diagram above, we have developed
formal partnerships (governed by Memoranda of Understanding), with other national
and international organizations in order to deliver better integrated services to our
young people. This is a critical element of service deliver for us and is also cost
effected and value of money for the government.
Integrated Youth Services Sub Committee of the Board: We consider this model
so important that we have a whole sub-group of the Board devoted to it. The key
role for the sub-group in 2018 was to direct the research on the model which we
commissioned.
Regional Directors Networking:
Youth Work Ireland’s 21 Member Youth Services operate in both the urban and rural
context throughout Ireland. The Regional Directors/ CEO from each of the Member
Youth Services meet on a regular basis to co-ordinate activities at a national level,
to support each other, to exchange best practice and to agree inputs into both
internal policy and public policy. While this body is not a decision-making body in
terms of governance within the Federation, its deliberations inform the National
Board policy making and the work plan for National Office Staff. The Regional
Directors Network also ensures that all stakeholders in the organisation are aware
of local needs in all of the communities in which we operate: They assist the
National Board to devise strategies to collectively respond to these needs.
In 2018 the National Office National hosted four 4 one day meetings of this group.
Cluster Meetings
The Chair of the National Board and the Chief Executive Officer meet with the Local
Boards and Staff of Member Youth Services in Clusters. These are important events
for consultation and information sharing. In 2018 the following Cluster meetings
took place:
North-West County Longford Youth Service 22nd March 2018
Donegal Youth Service
Youth Work Ireland Galway,
Youth Work Ireland Midlands,
Youth Work Ireland North Connaught
South-East Carlow Regional Youth Service
FDYS Wexford 26th September
Ossory Youth
Waterford & South Tipperary Community Youth Service
Youth Work Ireland Tipperary
South Mid- KDYS 17th May 2018
West Limerick Youth Service
Clare Youth Service
CDYS Youth Work Ireland
Youth Work Ireland Cork
North-East Youth Work Ireland Louth 6th June 2018
Youth Work Ireland Meath
Youth Work Ireland Cavan Monaghan
Mid-East Kildare Youth Services 24 May 2018
Youth Work Ireland Laois
Canal Communities Regional Youth Service
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Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Empowering Young People in Sexual Health Youth Work Ireland’s consensus process begins in cycle at our Annual National Consensus Conference. Young people, volunteers and staff have the opportunity select a theme which Youth Work Ireland and its members will collective work on in the following year. Relevant external agencies are invited to partner with us on those themes. Through out the year a National Youth Group is put in place to guide the process, design material and organise events. Throughout 2018 Youth Work Ireland has been working on the theme of Positive Sexual Health. This topic was chosen from a consensus process in 2017 which included workshops, surveys, online campaign and finally a vote at our national conference in October. National Survey on Sexual Health Issues In March 2018 we conducted an online survey with over 1,000 young people aged 14- 24 in Ireland and asked them their opinions and attitudes towards healthy sexual relationships, consent and inappropriate sexual behaviour. The survey findings show that young people are turning to social media, the internet and worryingly, pornography for information on sexual health. The survey also highlighted the positive role of youth workers in the provision of advice and support on healthy sexual relationships. Media Campaign The results from our national survey were featured widely in Irish national and local newspapers and media outlets. Michael McLouglin and Deborah Fakeye spent a day going from one radio studio to another speaking with RTE's Sean O'Rourke's Morning Ireland show. Newstalks Dr. Ciara Kelly and Matt Cooper at Today FMs The Last Word. Katherine Zappone TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs said: “A watershed moment has been reached. As an Independent Minister I am actively engaged with young people, parents and frontline agencies on how we can do better in combating sexual abuse and harassment. The involvement and voices of young people is crucial to raise awareness about issues such as consent. This is key. We must also listen to the concerns, fears and experiences of children and teenagers - they are crucial if we are to find solutions which work. TUSLA the child and family agency is also working with Rape Crisis Centres to pilot healthy relationship and sexual health education in transition year. I look forward to -building this partnership and progressing that work further.” 9
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Young People's Consultation on Sexual Health We continued with the theme of Sexual Health in April & May, and during Youth Work Ireland Week local youth services around the country ran a Positive Sexual Health consultation activity with youth people from 37 youth groups. The purpose of this activity was to again narrow down issues in relation to sexual health and relationships that young people wanted to LEARN MORE about, BE HEARD ON and CHANGE. The results show that young people want more reliable information about sexual health, what they are getting now is not adequate or consistent and not provided in a manner which encourages them to ask and learn more. Young people identified the areas of health & safety, sex education & laws around sex as being the issues they want to learn more about, be heard on and change. They also expressed a desire to be part of decision making around issues relating to sex, and input into curriculum design. These issues will now guide us in the next steps of our Positive Sexual Health Campaign for the rest of 2018 and into 2019. National Reform Network The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is currently reforming its target youth funding schemes. In order to prepare our members for this important change we instigated a national Reform Network for our members. In addition to the normal Regional Directors Network Meeting the National Office hosted 3 meetings of our new National Reform Network. This network was established to support our members to engage in a collegial and informed way in the new Target Youth Funding Scheme being rolled out by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and it has proved very helpful to our members with high participation levels at all meeting. Supporting Youth Clubs In 2018, we continued to improve the quality of the experience of youth club members and volunteers. Work was progressed on a Governance Document and a Clubs Handbook for our club work. Both these documents will be published in 2019. NQSFVLYG for clubs This is an acronym for National Quality Standards for Voluntary Led Youth Groups. It is a set of national standards for local volunteer-led youth groups and clubs developed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. These national standards have been developed and refined in consultation with young people, volunteers, youth organisations, the National Youth Work Advisory Committee, the Irish Vocational Education Association and VEC Youth Officers. The Standards present an opportunity for youth groups to demonstrate their commitment to good practice and to the delivery of quality programmes and activities which meet the needs and expectations of its young members. In 2017 we made it compulsory that all Youth Clubs in the Federation of Youth Work Ireland now complete the NQSFVLYG. Our Members provided support to their clubs to engage in this process. 10
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 The Youth Club insurances scheme In 2018 we continued working with our Brokers, to provide the best value youth club insurance package possible. In 2018 210 club policies were provided at €276 each club. The cheapest market rate available for a similar product was €325-500. Registering Youth Clubs with the Charities Regulatory Authority Most of our youth clubs have incomes and expenditure under €10,000 each year and are considered small charities under the Charities Act 2009. To assist both our clubs and the Charities Regulatory Authority we file a current list of these clubs with details such as their incomes, addresses and trustees each year in time for their 31 October activity report filing deadline. In 2018 we filed the 31 December 2018 list for 202 clubs on the 5th October 2017. This was out of a total of 248 clubs. Clubs in the Kerry Diocesan Youth Services make have their own arrangement with the Charities Regulator. Aim2. Improving and Sharing our Youth Work Practice: We in Youth Work Ireland pride ourselves in the long trading of excellence in Youth Work Practice. Our Youth Work Practice refers to how we work with young people through our network of workers and volunteers. Our practice continues to be based on high levels of professional qualifications, expectations of quality and proven impact. Our Youth Work Practice is delivered in the context of our Integrated Youth Services Model and is strengths based. We work with young people as assets in their community as opposed to the seeing them in a deficit model as many other agencies 11
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 and organisations often do. Our work with young people is also characterized by a rights based approach to the delivery of supports and services to them. Below are the main activities we completed in 2018 that we believe have strengthened and improved our Youth Work Practice. Youth Work – Music and Cultural Entrepreneurship project – Erasmus KA2 The project was funded by the Erasmus + programme with the support of Leargas. Youth Work Ireland (Lead partner) and six other European partners; UK Youth, Youth CYMRU (Wales), Samfés (Iceland), Youth Scotland, Lithuanian Children and Youth Centre and Youth Action Northern Ireland participated in the project. The project developed an online toolkit aimed at supporting those looking to use music as a tool for engaging and retaining young people in youth services while also supporting them to learn new skills. The project saw three multiplier events, four international partners meetings including ones Belfast, Iceland and Dublin and the production of a significantly online resource which is available at http://youthmusictoolkit.org/ Over the course of the project 364 young people and staff from the seven partner countries participated and hosted eight joint meetings & shared learning events. The toolkit has been circulated across each of the seven countries social media networks with a combined reach of 180,000 followers across Twitter and Facebook. On a European level the project was shared and disseminated by ECYC (European Confederation Of Youth Clubs) and ERYICA (The European Youth Information and Counselling agency) and Leargas, the Irish National Agency. The toolkit has been showcased and promoted at various events throughout the year. 12
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Peace IV Programme This project is a cross border project supported by the European Union’s Peace IV programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes body (SEUPB) in Northern Ireland. We are involved in the two project streams of the programme alongside several other youth organisations. Youth Network For Peace partners include thirteen partners from north and south of the island of Ireland including Youth Action Northern Ireland as lead partner, Youth Work Ireland, Northern Ireland Youth forum, CoOperation Ireland and many more. Amplify partners include YouthAction Northern Ireland, Youth Work Ireland, Foróige, Northern Ireland Youth Forum and Patrician Youth Centre. Amplify We have set up Amplify hubs in Youth Work Ireland Monaghan and Youth Work Ireland Louth which are managed and supported by a Youth Work Ireland National office staff member. We have completed phase one of the project and are now commencing phase two. A wide range of activities and skills have been given to the young people recruited for the project as well as encouraging cross border collaboration and integration. Youth Network for Peace: Youth Work Ireland has been involved in several aspects of this part of the Peace IV programme including the campaigns and conventions strand and social action. Our National office staff member has been involved in establishing a youth lead cross border steering committee for the campaigns and conventions strand which has successful launched campaigns around Marriage Equality and Brexit. On Saturday 24th of November Youth Work Ireland hosted the Youth Network for Peace’s convention with our member youth service, Youth Work Ireland Louth in the 13
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Carnbeg hotel in Dundalk. The theme for the convention was Youth Network for Peace: Keeping youth democracy alive through cross border youth work. The convention saw over 150 young people and youth leaders engage in presentations and discussions throughout the day with local TD’s and councillors in attendance and a panel of policy makers including; -Koulla Yiasouma (NI Commissioner for Children and YP) -Peter Hall (Clerk to the Committee for the Economy, NI Assembly) -Liam Hannaway (CEO Newry, Mourne and Down Council) - Dr Carmel Corrigan (Head of Participation & Education, Ombudsman for Children) -Katherina Nugent (Dundalk Institute of Technology) -Paul Boylan (SEUPB) Answering and discussing issues raised by young people attending the convention. Young people travelled from throughout Ireland to attend including young people from our British Irish Parliamentary Party (BIPA) Group traveling over to attend this included representative from our partner organizations UK Youth, Youth Scotland, Youth Cymru (Wales), Youth Action NI and also included young representatives from Youth Work Ireland. As part of the convention a pop-up radio studio was created with Radio YNP broadcasting live throughout the day and interviewing attendees. The event also featured performances by Irish Youth Music Awards performers Ryan Byrne from Dundalk and Daragh Mc Sloy from Newry. 14
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Pride/LGBTI+ Work In the past Ireland was a difficult place to be different. It was immeasurably difficult to have a different sexual identity. Today that has changed hugely for the better. Youth work played a major role in this change and Youth Work Ireland was to the fore in this. Most particularly while different types of sexual identity have become more accepted and mainstream in recent years, this was not uniform and even today young people struggle with their sexual identity, coming out and basically been accepted as who they are. This was often more difficult in remote areas. Youth Work Ireland’s network of LGBTI+ projects provided a critical facility in many areas of the country where people struggled with being accepted for who they are. While this process is far from complete LGBTI+ youth projects played a major part in ensuring the greater commitment to equality was present in all parts of Ireland. The high point of the work of these projects is often participation by young people in the national PRIDE Breakfast event and Parade in Dublin. Since 2015 Youth Work Ireland has opened its doors for hundreds of young people to have breakfast ahead of their participation in the parade. This has been an important rallying point for these projects, this work and all the young people who take part. It is an opportunity for many to celebrate openly with their peers and those who they work with locally 15
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 at the highest national level. It is also a celebration of the partnership between Youth Work Ireland, BelongTo and all those working in this field. This year we welcomed over 450 young people and youth workers to Dominick Street for a pre parade breakfast in the sunshine. This event gives young people the opportunity to meet and get Pride ready. Senator David Norris popped in and regaled young people with stories of growing up in Ireland as a gay young person in the 40s and 50s. In 2018 we were particularly pleased to have an extra dimension to our PRIDE Breakfast with the provision of a dedicated LUAS Tram from Transdev Ireland, free for participants directly from Dominick Street to the start of the parade in St. Stephens Green. We filled the tram with young LGBTI+ people from our projects and created a real carnival atmosphere. On arrival at Stephens Green, the group were met off the tram by Minister for Children & Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone. The PRIDE LUAS has been a great addition to our annual celebration, and we hope to make it a regular feature. Future Youth Information Toolbox Through participation in an Erasmus+ KA2 project entitled Future Youth Information Toolbox, funding has been made available for the deployment, analysis and publication of a survey on youth information needs in Europe. The survey evidences the preference by young people for Youth Information Services and identified a particular need for more supports in the area of Youth Employment. In response, Youth Work Ireland cooperated with member services to develop a new tool, Everyone Is Employable, which can be used by youth workers or youth leaders to develop skills and knowledge of young people in relation to employment seeking, preparation and workplace rights. 16
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 FRIENDS Resilience Programme Youth Work Ireland in association with its local member youth service, Carlow Regional Youth Service, has taken the lead in addressing youth anxiety by launching the national roll out of FRIENDs Resilience Programme. The programme takes the form of 10 weekly CBT sessions of one hour, with two booster sessions recommended at 4 and 12 weeks after programme completion. The sessions provide children and young people with opportunities to understand how feelings affect behaviors; learn relaxation techniques; recognise and understand different emotions; learn how to change negative thoughts into helpful thoughts; develop problem solving skills and coping skills and build the support of teams. There is a structured manual for both the children and youth versions which specifies the goals of each session and gives advice on delivery. The FRIENDS programme comes with a wealth of empirical literature that supports its effectiveness and efficacy. Most notably the programme has been endorsed by the WHO (2004) who states that ‘FRIENDS’ is the only anxiety intervention that ‘appears to be efficacious across the entire spectrum, as a universal prevention programme, as a targeted prevention programme as a treatment’ (p.43). The Friends Programme has been piloted and adapted in youth work settings by Carlow Regional Youth Service. Funding for the programme licence has been provided by the National Youth Health Programme. Ongoing support for the national roll out, training, promotion and development of the Friends Programme is provided by Youth Work Ireland. 17
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Youth Information
Youth Work Ireland’s work in the arear of Youth Information is in facilitating its
members to share best practice, develop consistency and excellence in provision,
ensure value for money, and support mutual work to develop innovation to meet the
needs of young people.
Youth Work Ireland works with Youth Work Ireland member services and takes a
leadership role in the sector through coordinating a Youth Information partnership
involving YMCA, Crosscare, Spunout and Youth Work Ireland Member services.
Activities in the area of Youth Information in 2017/2018 included the development
of a Youth Information Strategy/Policy Document. An internal Youth Work Ireland
working group was convened to develop a policy document to set out a model of
practice and programme of development for Youth Info in Youth Work Ireland.
• Work with members and partners to develop a strategy document on youth
information
• Support staff to undertake youth mobility training
• Support staff to undertake advanced Youth Information training
• Develop an analysis document showing the needs and interest of young people
in youth information over the past four years
• Develop monitoring and evaluation plan for 2018 and implement/report on
this plan
• facilitate, ‘communities of practice’ sessions, and to use reflective practice
to drive the continuing improvement of service delivery and to support the
continuing professional development of service providers;
• Support service providers in the development and implementation of new
services and ensure the programmes are delivered as intended in terms of
ethos, manual and policy content
• Develop frameworks and support service providers in the production of
portfolios for quality assurance
• Promote awareness and engagement in the programme through the
development and implementation of a communications plan
18Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 A key activity in 2018 was an international symposium event on Youth Information in Ireland and Europe The Symposium Event took place on 7th of November 2018. It was Chaired by Dr. Patrick Burke CEO Youth Work Ireland) and it featured and featured inputs from Professor Maurice Devlin, Maynooth University; Audrey Frith - Youth Information and Youth Mobility/Eurodesk; Eva Reina, Director of EYRICA and Manuel Sanchez Garcia, Director of EYCA and Ian Power, CEO of Spunout. The Government was represented at the event by Minister David Stanton, Minister of State for Justice at the Department of Justice and Equality with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration, and Integration The event promoted and evidenced the value of European and national youth information services for young people in the context of Eurodesk and youth information services’ role in the implementation of the EU youth strategy. It also provided delegates with an opportunity for networking and learning. At the Symposium Event, examples of dynamic youth information practice were presented, and 75 delegates heard about effective cooperation and unity of vision from both European and Irish youth information providers. Presenters spoke to the alignment between youth information policy and youth information provision and the ongoing efforts to develop and ensure quality of youth information provision in Ireland. Critically the symposium called for a national coordination post for youth information to be reestablished and for new Youth Information services to be established in areas of the country where no such services exist. The Detached Programme The Youth Work Ireland National Detached programme aims to develop, implement and sustain a national programme of detached service delivery focused on locating and supporting young people currently on the periphery of the services they need. A Detached Youth Work approach seeks to work with young people in the public spaces and places they chose to congregate, using the principles and practices of informal education to engage with them. 19
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 This programme address the needs of young people identified as vulnerable or at risk, by connecting them with the supports and services that are currently missing from their lives. The program is being delivered by Youth Work Ireland Member Services in 10 locations where there is an identified population of young people who are in need of support and not connected into other mainstream or generic services. This initiative has been designed around the Detached Model successfully developed in YWI Cavan Monaghan. It was chosen as a programme to fund nationally as a primary outcome from the 2017 Consensus Year, Equality 17. Young people and the board of Youth Work Ireland, considered the Detached Programme as an ideal equality initiative as its main focus is to engage the most marginalized young people and those least connected to the services they need. As part of the work of Youth Work Ireland to promote Equality 17 a proposal was submitted to an anonymous donor for the National Detached Programme. As a result, YWI was awarded a three-year programme of work with 2 years of service delivery provision totaling €450,000 euro of funding. Work to Learn Work to Learn is a work experience programme for young people who have struggled in mainstream education and who engaged in the juvenile criminal justice system. The programme employs a youth work approach to support marginalised young people in developing self-esteem, finding pathways to work and strengthening their engagement in mainstream education. Due to its success the programme was extended to a number of new sites in 2018. The programme exposes participants to the world of work and the skills required to operate effectively in it, through a structured and supported process involving preparation, placement and reflection. The programme challenges the young person involved to undertake a paid part-time job with all the responsibilities that that entails Work to Learn was developed by Ossory Youth, promoted by Youth Work Ireland and is supported with the assistance of State Street Bank and the Irish Youth Justice Service. 20
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Integrated Youth Service Research
An ongoing project to research and evidence the Integrated Youth Service Model
took it penultimate step in 2018. The research project has the following objectives:
• To describe in detail, the Integrated Youth Service Model including its
constituent parts
• To compare the model with an appropriate internationally accepted similar
model or approach
• In the context of the national outcomes identified in Better Outcomes
Brighter Futures for Young People to assess the capacity of the Integrated
Youth Services Model to deliver on these outcomes.
• To investigate and make and assessment of the Value of Money of the
Integrated Youth Services Model approach
• To quantify, describe and enumerate the current input and outcomes of the
Integrated Youth Services model and the implications of the multiplicity of
inputs on Member Youth Services
In 2018 we completed the research phase of the with a draft document produced
early in the year. Numerous draft of the research were reviewed and discussed by
Member Youth Services. A final draft was ready for board review in the closing
months of the year. 2019 will see the board approval of this document and the launch
and promotion of the research.
Integrated Youth Services Research – Theory of Change
21Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
Aim 3 Youth Participation
Youth Participation
Young people have the right to have their say on matters which affect them. This is
a core value of Youth Work Ireland and our Member Youth Services. This right is
enshrined under Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Youth
Work Ireland supports young people to have their voices heard on issues that affect
them. We seek to involve young people in making decisions both within our
organisation and in decisions in their own lives, communities and Irish society.
Our work in 2018 to support Youth Participation had the objective of ensuring that:
• Young people realise their rights as per article 12
• Young people experience services that are fit for purpose
• Young people gain personal development opportunities
•
Our key activities to support these objectives in 2018 included:
• Three working group meetings
• Collating case studies of good participation practice
• Designing new section of Youth Work Ireland website to highlight and
celebrate the good participation practice within the organisation
Child and Young People Participation Team
Youth Work Ireland team up with
Foróige to support the Youth
Participation unit of the Department of
Children and Youth Affairs in their
delivery of National Youth Participation
activities including the Comhairle na
nÓg programme.
Amongst the highlights of 2018 was the
National Showcase Event in Croke Park
which celebrated the work of the 31
Comhairle na nÓg groups.
Comhairle Showcase 2018 took place in
Croke Park on Thursday 22nd November.
Over 400 Comhairle members from all
over the country were in attendance to
showcase the work and the projects
they’ve been involved with over the past
two years. The event was formally
opened by Minister for Children & Youth
Affairs Dr Katherine Zappone and MC for
22Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 the event was TV presenter Kathryn Thomas. The team also supported the work of the National Executive throughout 2018 as they developed their workplan. They have a term of office of two years and meet once a month with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Participation Team in DCYA offices in Dublin to progress their topic. This group are working on the theme of Equality with a specific focus on equality in a school setting. After a number of meetings, they have narrowed down their focus to two specific areas of equality in school: individuality and student voice. The team also organized and facilitated a number of networking events and opportunities for the organisers of Comhairle na nÓg and the young members of the Comhairle na nÓgs around the country. The purpose of these events was to give the 31 Comhairle na nÓg opportunities to share information and ways to run an effective group. The Participation Officer supported the work of 10 Comhairle na nÓg groups who were working on diverse issues of significance to young people ranging from mental health projects and initiatives to concerns with Brexit and the education system. National Youth Action Group Youth Work Irelands National Youth Action group continued to contribute to our activities, advocacy, and governance. The group held a residential to plan its work at the start of 2018, the group decided rather than have a theme it would work on its own processes and structures during the year. They key to this process was the holding of 3 “core” meetings during the year which were to be the main planning and reflection meetings, their sub activities were to be planned and reviewed here. These meetings took place in March, June and October. The group also reviewed its Terms of Reference and designated members in to key officer roles. The Group continued to support the major Youth Work Ireland activities such as the Political Briefing and the Programmes Review. The group once more worked fully with our Five Nations partner organisations in developing common advocacy messages and engaging with the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly. This involved six young members taking part in three workshops on current issues for young people in London, Dundalk and Edinburgh. The group also took part in other international activities with ERYICA, ECYC and the ECYA such as trainings on rural youth work, EU Youth Strategy, work on the European elections and as youth ambassadors. The group led Youth Work Ireland’s delegation to the Aras Garden Party with President Michael D. Higgins in June as well as assisting with Youth Work Ireland events such as Youth Factor, the Political Briefing and the IYMA’s. 23
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 The group also acted as spokespersons for Youth Work Ireland’s highly impactful Sexual Health Survey. Meaghan Mc Carthy, Conor Horgan and Deborah Fakeye led on many national news items and Deborah wrote an Opinion Piece for The Irish Times. Coverage was also featured in the international magazine, Harpers. Deborah also contributed to the NCCA review of the RSE programme in schools. Group members supported the private members bill on Votes at 16 which was unfortunately defeated in the Senate. Aim 4. Speaking up for Youth People and Youth Services Youth Work Ireland continues to actively seek to shape and influence policy by making our views and those of young people heard. We have been working hard on a number of relevant policy issues over the last year. Youth funding The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) has initiated a number of review and reform processes in relation to youth funding streams. The new Reform Programme for targeted youth work was piloted by the DCYA in 2918. The planned review of the Youth Service Grant was postponed to 2020). We have worked at examining the history of this funding and highlighting the important aspect of infrastructural funding it supports in communities all around Ireland. We have maintained our quarterly Policy Brief aimed at our Member Youth Services and the broader youth sector to keep them abreast of relevant policy developments in the field of youth and children. 24
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 Submissions & Policy Issues During 2018 we made a number of submissions on relevant policy issues for young, people in Ireland. LGBTI Strategy Youth Strategy Ireland recently became the first country in the world to develop a National LGBTI+ Youth Strategy. Naturally as we have so many LGBTI+ Youth Projects amongst our membership, we made a full submission to the process. We emphasised the issue of homophobic bullying in schools and the potential for self-esteem issues amongst young LGBTI+ people. We drew attention to the need to ensure that all youth work interventions are LGBTI+ friendly and this is particularly the case in remote areas, where these may be the only non-school services for young people. We highlighted the fact that the informal and out of school nature of youth work can encourage all young people to be more open and tolerant, and this can be done in partnership with volunteers and staff in a community setting. We highlighted need to support current and new LGBTI+ youth projects which can provide safe spaces for 25
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 young people and for support for youth work interventions to work with LGBTI+ young people Commission on the Future of Policing The need for high quality policing that respects the needs of young people is critical to our society, as are the various aspects of the diversionary approach to policing. In our submission to the Commission on the Future of Policing Reform , we highlighted our believe there is an important need to improve relationships between the Gardai and young people particularly in disadvantaged communities. Poor relationships often surface at particular points of time, such as weekends and Halloween when there can be particular pressure on all emergency services. However, improved relations between the General will be dependent on a year- round effort by both sides which much be grounded in mutual respect. We also emphasised it was important not to place a major emphasis on crime and young people as offenders, rather than some of the international thinking on prevention and community-based solutions. Indeed, the plan does evidence the success of such a preventative approach in its forward. Central to the operation of the youth justice system in our view is the JLO system. This is in keeping with best international practice in terms of diverting young people away from the criminal justice system including the courts and detention. Youth Service Grant Review While this review is forthcoming, we felt the issue was of such grave importance that we have been preparing our thoughts in advance. It is our view that the Youth Service Grant (YSG) has now served its function, and during its time frame there was limited vision or ideas from the State as to what youth work, or indeed work with young people, should be. The voluntary sector on many respects filled this vacuum. 26
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 This has now clearly changed, and any new arrangements cannot be developed in the absence of an in-depth analysis and appreciation as to why experienced professionals, at the coalface, have done things in a particular way. We believe that the concept of a “Youth Service” rather than free floating uncoordinated projects is a valuable one. Youth Work Ireland members work through an Integrated Youth Service Model. This means that one regional based service provides for all the needs of young people in a catchment area, in an accessible way, consistent with the five national outcomes of Better Outcomes Brighter Futures. The service provides for these needs in a seamless fashion starting with the young person. This enables them to engage in appropriate services and be signposted through relevant services in a community setting. The Integrated Youth Service adds considerable value over and above the approach of uncoordinated projects and interventions, often overlapping or indeed promoted by different public agencies or Departments. Value for Money Process - now called the Reform Programme While the Value for Money Review of Youth Programmes was carried out some time ago this “approach” is now the main one for new targeted youth projects. There has been a change management process in place in relation to this work, which has entailed a lot of policy and practice work on our behalf. In response to discussions, we have been producing submissions outlining our approach to service opening hours and best practice in this area. We have been examining how management fees are calculated and the practice of apportioning costs and we have been setting out how travel and subsistence is approached. Gender Recognition In our submission on this issue we set out that our thoughts on the question of gender recognition under the 2015 Gender Recognition Act are informed by thinking on issues of consent for young people and best practice in terms of the law and childhood development. Generally, we believe this is well set out in the Law Reform Commission 2011 Report on Children and the Law: Medical Treatment. We did however emphasise that we do not in any way compare the civil registration process to any medical treatment and indeed this will be subject to separate professional codes and oversight. Joint Committee on Education and Skills Due to our interest in issues of educational disadvantage, we made a submission to the Joint Committee on Education and Skills on this topic. We highlighted the fact that there is still a problem of early school leaving in Ireland. While the DEIS process has been most welcome and provides dedicated supports and funding for schools it needs to recognise that a number of disadvantaged young people will not be in DEIS schools and more generally there may be limits to what a school itself can achieve in this area. Other wrap around supports are needed and community-based providers including youth services have a role to play here. Data is also important here and, in this regard, the ESRI School Levers Survey needs to be restored. 27
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 We felt increasing access to third level will inevitably involve a combination of the current “access programme” model targeting relevant young people for access to existing places and courses. More publicity and career guidance is needed around non-traditional access routes such as PLC provision. Finally, courses again may be delivered in a community setting and youth services have some experience of this. QQI provisions now provide for flexibility in certification and assessment, youth and community providers have experience in this regard. Budget 2019 We continue to make our annual Budget Submission highlighting a variety of issues relevant to young peoples' lives. We deliberately follow the format of the main government policy Document Better Outcomes Brighter Futures. We continue to highlight the need to invest properly in education and training for young people. The need to deliver on the Governments Substance Misuse Policy and Public Health Alcohol Bill, with the latter actually producing extra important revenue. We also believe the National Lottery needs to produce a guaranteed percentage for good causes including youth work. Other Advocacy and Communications Work The Advocacy and Communications function also contributes to our compliance work by supporting and informing members and National Office of the most up to date thinking on compliance and legal issues pertaining to the sector. We have also engaged with the Wheel on many areas if its practice and advocacy for the third sector. We are active in the National Youth Council with representation on the board and in many other aspects of its work on behalf of the sector. We continue to produce a quarterly Policy Brief for our members and other relevant stakeholders this ensures all staff, volunteers, members and supporters are kept up to date on relevant policy developments in their fields with short summaries of the latest developments with further links for those who want them available. Youth Work Ireland is a partner in the European Youth Card Association’s campaign to engage with young people to promote greater turnout amongst this group in the forthcoming European Elections. This work involves youth activists, local debates and interaction with candidates. Our Head of Advocacy (Michael Mc Loughlin) continues as an Irish member of the European Economic and Social Committee, the EU’s Consultative body for civil 28
Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
society. The Committee produces reports on all EU legislation and initiatives and
liaises closely with the European Commission and European Parliament. Michael has
focussed very much on areas relevant to young people in this time. He has rapporteur
on the EU Youth Strategy organising youth led hearings and consultations in Brussels
and Dublin. He similarly wrote reports on the EU Employment Guidelines and the
revised Solidarity Corps. The role also involves ongoing liaison with the European
Youth Forum the main EU platform for youth organisations in Brussels.
We continue to oversee and work on the PEACE IV programme with young people to
advocate on issues of common concern. We also worked with the NYCI and others on
identifying good youth work practice with refugees this year. We worked with the
Children’s Rights Alliance to connect locally on their Access to Justice for Young
People Programme.
We followed up on our annual Political Briefing with several Oireachtas members
with PQ’s and other advocacy matters. We are registered with lobbying.ie and make
quarterly returns. Our Head of Advocacy continues as chair of Leargas overseeing
the management of the ERASMU+ and other programmes for the benefit of the sector
and others.
We have played a prominent role in the organisation of the World Media Summit for
Children which is due to be held in Dublin. Our work on the Constitutional
Convention was highlighted during the year with its inclusion in the Leaving Cert
Power and People Politics textbook
Communication
Youth Work Ireland has an active programme of work to communicate the work of
National Office and the Members to our stakeholders. Communications activities
have the following objectives:
• Provide information to young people, volunteers and youth workers on events
and youth work initiatives
• Promote the benefits of youth work to the wider sector
• Publicise opportunities for young people to become involved in youth work
initiatives
• Share good news stories on youth work
• Share and distribute activities -videos, music, art, events - carried out in
youth groups among our social network
• Ensure all images used in literature, website & social media portray a positive
representation of young people.
In meeting these objectives, we undertook the following activities:
• Produced 12 editions of an online newsletter
• Increased our reach on social media and other online platforms
• Raised the awareness of MYS though social media platforms
29Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018
• Communicated the message, vision and objectives of Youth Work Ireland
• Networked with partners & other sectoral organisations through shared
communications
• Produced literature on Youth Work Ireland programmes, events and
initiatives.
• Raised the profile of MYS through the website.
Website Development
Youth Work Ireland’s website aims to provide information for young people, youth
workers and members of the public on our work and that of the sector. The
website is updated regularly to reflect the work that we do, events that are
happening and to promote the work of our services.
In term of analytics – the following is an overview of traffic, views and behaviour
for the website for the time frame January 1st – December 31st 2018.
Activity and Users
Users - 31,031
Sessions – 42,359
Pages viewed per session – 2.41
Page Views – 101,875
The demographic for website users is as follows
18-24 years – 27.5%
25-34 years – 33.50%
35-44 years – 15.5%
45-54 years – 12.5%
55+ - 10%
30Youth Work Ireland Trustees Report 2018 The majority of users were male (54.15%) with female users slightly below (45.85%). The vast majority of users are from Ireland (77.22%) and visiting the site primarily from Google Chrome (59.60%). The majority of our users visit directly from a desktop (60.38%) with the remainder coming via a mobile (35.84%) or tablet (3.79%). Page Views From the landing or home page visitor went to What We Do (33.10%) with Who Are We next (32.22%). The average time spent on a page was 1.27 minutes. Aim 5. Finance and Resources: During the recession Youth Work organisations along with many other groups suffered inordinately from the economic collapse and Government cutbacks resulting from this. These levels of funding have not yet been restored. Youth Work Ireland recognizes the pressing necessity to secure and improve state funding to support the vital work we do in local communities and at the same time to build new income streams. The majority of the funding for Youth Work Ireland National Office comes from the state (the majority of which is the Department of Children and Youth Affairs) and is spoken about in detail in section 3 below. The Member Youth Services also received a more diverse range of State funding from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Irish Youth Justice Service, The Department of Social Protection, the Department of Education and Local Government etc. Both at National and Local Level the Federation of Youth Work Ireland and National Office continues to develop strategies to diversifying income streams. Youth Work Ireland has always been committed to both Best Practice and the Best Governance 31
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