Issue 68: June 2011 - Youth Work Ireland

CONTENTS:Editorial ......................................................2Teenage Perspectives 2011 .........................3CDYS Youth Work Ireland Profile ........5MY Acoustic Week 2011 ...........................7Let’s Talk About Sex Week .....................9Round Up ..................................................11Young People & VolunteeringActivity Supplement ................................12IWA Best Practice Guidelines ................14Youth Work Week Carlow ....................16IYWC New Library Resources ..............18IYWC Training ......................................20Sector Training .........................................21Youth Work Ireland Final Declaration .22IYWC Recommended Reads ..................23Contributors: Fran Bissett, RichardDorgan, Gina Halpin, Geri Hogarty,Daragh Kennedy, Melissa Mackin,Michael McLoughlin, LorraineThompson and Aoife Walsh.Layout: Gina HalpinPrinting: MetaphorDISCLAIMERIt is open to all our readers to exchangeinformation or to put forward points of view.Send in news, comments, letters or articles tothe editors. Views expressed in this magazineare the contributor’s own and do not reflectthose of the Irish Youth Work Centre or YouthWork Ireland.Production Editors:Fran Bissett & Gina HalpinIrish Youth Work CentreYouth Work Ireland20 Lower Dominick StreetDublin 1Tel: 01‐8584500Fax: 01‐8724183Email: info@iywc.ieWebsite: www.iywc.ieISSN: 0791-6302EditorialLittle Done, A Lot More to Do!by Michael McLoughlin,Assistant Director, Central Services, Youth Work IrelandRegardless of our economic woes any new Governmentinevitably provides some opportunity for a new and fresh start.This can often be in the major areas such as economic policy, jobsand the environment. However, much of the proposed changeplanned by the new Government very definitely relates tochildren and young people. Clearly the establishment of aCabinet level minister for Children and Youth Affairs is a positivemove. For many years youth and children’s groups have advocated for this. Theidea of a “super junior” minister was simply not cutting it in the previousadministration.There has clearly been a bulking up of this cabinet post since its announcementand it will now cover the Irish Youth Justice Service, The NEWB and family support.Another crucial commitment has been the establishment of a new Child andFamily Welfare Agency. This move effectively removes the child welfare and childprotection functions from the HSE. Despite being well flagged this is a radical moveand one which is been seen through with vigour.The establishment of a cabinet minister for children is intended to make sure thesecrucial and important issues are heard at the highest level and do not fall betweendifferent departments. The inclusion of youth affairs in the brief and indeed thetitle of the Minister is a vote of confidence for the sector and the work we do. Oftenwe can convince ourselves that our work is not valued at the highest level so weneed to welcome such a fulsome commitment.For the first time the challenges that youth work faces will be directly representedat the cabinet table. Of course there is always the curse of the answered prayer.With the opportunity of being heard at cabinet level goes the responsibility toexplain and communicate in a simple and clear way what we do and whatdifference we make. Whether it is systems to measure outcomes or better onlinecommunications we all have to raise our game.There is also no guarantee that being included in a cabinet role means our work willalways be front and centre. Minister Andrews unfortunately quickly became theMinister for explaining the latest child protection scandal. Again unfortunatelythere are several more reports in the immediate offing that could elicit the sameresponse. Grappling with reform of parts of the HSE, delivering the children’sreferendum and generally fielding dissatisfaction with inevitable further cuts toservices will be a full time job for the Minister. So it is incumbent on the sector tokeep our issues on the agenda. To do this we need to show the relevance of ourwork.The integrated nature of the OMCYA and the new Department is quite innovativein terms of the Irish public service. Integrated public services continue to be a majorchallenge to our state. Countless reports and initiatives have been written on howto achieve this and a lot of money has been put in to local initiatives to advance thisidea on the ground. However, many youth services already offer such integration.They draw funds from different sources and inevitably are expected to deliver ondifferent policy priorities by departments and agencies. Across the diverse policyareas such as health, education and justice to mention but a few, it is voluntaryyouth services who have lead the way. This is an important message for a newminister to hear and to learn from.Irish Youth Work Scene 2 Issue 68, June 2011