Aim of Detached Youth Work

Detached Youth Work should aim to:

• Be an agent of social change and social action rather than social control
• Respect the voluntary nature of the relationship between the worker and young person
• Through negotiation and dialogue, challenge young people’s attitudes and behaviour where they impact negatively on themselves and others
• Support meaningful participation of young people in political decision making processes and ensure their voices are heard
• Model such participatory values in all its interactions with young people
• Support the progressive personal development of all young people towards self advocacy through learning.

While it does not aim to:

• ‘Sell’ existing centre-based provision or other services to young people not accessing these services (seen as outreach work) although if young people want to gain access to services, detached youth workers have a role to facilitate this.
• ‘Get young people off the streets’. It is easy to see detached youth work as a solution to a problem and a method for reducing the offending rates of young people by curbing or controlling their behaviour. These outcomes may occur as a result of detached youth work interventions, however the Federation sees detached youth workers first and foremost as informal educators. Detached
  workers can contribute to other agenda, but it is because they are not tasked with crime or anti-social behaviour reduction or reintegration of young people into the mainstream that they can build relationships that have the potential to have that effect.