Elements and Performance Criteria
- Elements define the essential outcomes.
- Identify and address immediate needs and circumstances of young people
- Identify and respond to immediate needs of young people according to nature and degree of urgency
- Provide young people and their families with information tailored to their capacity of understanding and designed to calm and reassure
- Observe and note any signs of distress, anxiety, aggression and apathy
- Look for and note signs of impairment of functioning in individuals and relationships
- Explore and clarify issues facing the young person and the nature of support sought
- Offer the young person adequate opportunity to explore and clarify the issues facing her/him
- Negotiate involvement of other parties as required by young person and worker
- Listen actively and positively to young person’s issues, needs, views and feelings about their issues and accepting support
- Make renewed attempts through appropriately modified approaches or responses where there are communication difficulties
- Describe and analyse the nature and scope of the issues and check with the young person for completeness and accuracy
- Clearly explain to the young person the role and capacity of the worker to provide assistance and support
- Where appropriate, obtain relevant available information from others about the young person’s potential need for support, consistent with the young person’s right to access information and to approve or disapprove of the worker’s actions
- Facilitate goal setting and action planning
- Encourage and support the young person to work out their own goals and priorities and to assess feasibility
- Identify and explain in a supportive manner any risks arising from the young person’s choices
- Offer further options to the young person without imposition or pressure where appropriate
- Emphasise and negotiate clients’ responsibility for determining and achieving their goals
- Encourage clients to identify and prioritise long- and short-term goals based on individual responsibility and personal choice
- Support the young person to develop strategies to act on goals set
- Encourage clients to identify and analyse factors that have contributed to past behaviour and obstacles to achieving individual and family goals
- Identify unrealistic expectations, challenge negative attitudes and unacceptable objectives and re-negotiate plans when required
- Provide targeted assistance and referral
- Discuss availability, type and nature of services and resources in a manner appropriate to the young person’s right of choices
- Encourage young person to use services and resources appropriate to their needs in line with legal, statutory and organisational requirements
- Advise the young person about legal and statutory provisions which might affect their situation and confirm young person’s understanding of information provided
- Establish systems to ensure information and referral sources within organisation are up-to-date, comprehensive, accurate, accessible and relevant to clients
- Continually monitor effectiveness of service delivery and resolve problems of access, services or resources as appropriate
- Ensure all documentation and reporting is in accordance with organisation procedures
- Act as an advocate on request
- Where the young person requests the worker to act as an advocate, identify the scope and goals of the possible role and outline and negotiate these with the young person
- When requested and where possible, support the young person and accompany them during first stages of access to services to enable them to gain confidence to go alone
- Represent the young person’s interests clearly and accurately in a manner consistent with the identified agreement between them and the worker
- Explain to the young person all representations made on their behalf in a manner and language appropriate to their information needs and circumstances and confirm their understanding
- Ensure decisions and/or actions taken on behalf of the young person are consistent with their expressed or implied preferences and interests