By David Burck
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Back to new Transitions - Re-Engagement Edition

Introduction

Kaleidoscopes and young people have a great deal in common. The beauty of a kaleidoscope is how it transforms simple fragments of coloured glass into wonderful complex designs. It is not one isolated fragment that brings the kaleidoscope to life, but how all the fragments come together. Similarly, a young person who is disengaged comes with his or her own complex identity constructed by different factors. The youth worker must continually adapt, empower, and support the young person as the picture changes. Ultimately, the challenge is how to work with these different factors in a manner that gives the young person a chance to succeed and grow.

Paradoxically, youth support programs generally focus on one main issue, while providing some support for other secondary issues. This leads to narrowly focussed program guidelines and referring young people to multiple organisations in order to get that young person enough support. As a young person jumps from organisation to organisation there is a greater chance for that person to walk away from support altogether. Such a system forces the young person to fit the program's guidelines for support, as opposed to the program changing to meet the young person's needs. Consequently, the young person transforms from someone with a complex identity with unique needs to solely a "homeless," "depressed," or "disengaged" young person. We, as the community, need to look past these factors in isolation and focus on the young person as an individual.

Systemically, it is crucial for programs to come together and support individual young people and not work in isolation. Young people are not receiving the support they need and a collaborative approach must become the norm when working with young people who are disengaged.

Youth disengagement is so complex; one must look at it piece by piece in order to move forward. Primarily, "youth disengagement" must be clearly defined before addressing the separate factors which lead to it. Then a general evaluation of both state and federal government programs will identify where the support gaps are. Finally, we must advocate for change. Governments and organisations have an opportunity to place the young person above their specific guidelines. Such a system will provide long lasting, positive and effective support.

Who are disengaged young people?

On the face of it, the question of "Who are disengaged young people?" seems quite simple. Everyone forms a mental image of someone when they hear the phrase "disengaged young person." The difficulty is that everyone's image is different. The reader's idea of what a disengaged young person is different from the government's, from my own, and from other young people.

For the sake of discussion, "disengaged young people" will refer to those young people who meet the Dusseldorp Skills Forum' s (DSF) focus, in their discussion paper It's Crunch Time (2007), on young people ages 15 - 24 "not in full - time learning or work" (p15). According to this paper, in May of 2007, 526,000 Australian young people met the previous definition. Even though this entire population size will not seek support, the overall number is still staggering.

What leads to a young person becoming disengaged?

The previously stated number of 526,000 disengaged young people not only illustrates the shear population size involved, but also highlights the vast array of support issues that could face the youth worker. Covering all of these factors warrants its own study; however, one needs a general overview in order to fully grasp that population's support needs.

The Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) commissioned a research project addressing this very issue. Powell's summary explores what young people identified as factors that contributed to their disengagement. This project involved questioning 8 youth workers over the phone and 12 youth workers in a focus group. Questions revolved around reasons for disengagement, support programs to help young people re - engage, mainly in education, and difficulties young people face when seeking support (Powell, 2007).

Some contributing factors identified in the YANQ research included:

• Lack of support from family
• Shame or intense negative feelings of being ‘different'
• Lack of support from schools, including lack of understanding of non - anglo cultures
• Depression and anger
• Poverty
• Homelessness
• Family dysfunction such as drug abuse or domestic violence
• Lack of transport
• Child abuse or neglect
• Difficulty ‘keeping up,' including low literacy / numeracy (p4)

Even though this is just a brief snapshot of the overall issue, one can see the complex issues at work and the intense support needed to work through simply one of these factors; let alone multiple.

Another important experience contributing to young people becoming disengaged is caring for a family member. This group is defined as "young carers." Saul Becker in Young Carers: Evidence and Messages from UK and Australian Research (2005) defines "young carers" as

a specific group of children and young people who take on a quantity or quality of caring tasks which are usually the responsibilities of adults and which, conducted by children, can be associated with negative outcomes for their own health, well - being and development. (p4 - 5)

Moreover, Becker states that "in Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics data for 2003 show a population of 169,000 young carers under 18." (p1) Now, not all young people defined as young carers are going to become disengaged; just as not all young people experiencing the factors identified in the YANQ study are going to become disengaged either. However, a large number will and with that comes a variety of support needs completely different from those not in a young carer's position.

Identifying what contributes to disengagement among young people is important. Young people can present with one or a number of factors briefly touched on in this section. Furthermore, it must be noted that this section in no means does justice to the breadth and depth of factors leading to young people who are disengaged. To get an accurate idea of what it means to be disengaged, one must listen to the young people.

The Mission Australia Survey

The 2007 Mission Australia survey gives great insight into what concerns young people. The survey itself was distributed over a wide array of organisations: Mission Australia services, government institutions and public institutions across Australia. A detailed list of organisations involved in distributing the survey can be found in the report. The actual survey is 15 questions and roughly 29,000 Australian young people between the ages of 11 - 24 completed it. Questions mainly focus on what concerns young people and who they turn to for advice / support (Mission Australia, 2007). Even though the survey's age range begins at a younger age than our definition of disengaged young people, the large sample size and wide age range outweighs this concern.

One important aspect of this survey is who did not respond to it and what that means. Approximately 73.6% of respondents identified themselves as studying full - time, 14.3% identified studying part - time, and 5.7% identified working full - time (p6). Now, percentages vary according to age group; however, it is crucial to note that only 7% or so respondents were not involved in either full - time work or study of some type. It is this 7% who are disengaged and it is this percentage that we can learn a great deal about.

The report goes into depth about what young people value. Overwhelmingly, young people across all ages valued family relationships (76.2%), friendships (60.3%), and feeling needed and valued (25.6%); with very little difference between Indigenous and Non - Indigenous respondents (p20). Moreover, young people stated that they turn to family and friends for advice in similar numbers. This illustrates that large role friends and family play in a young person's life. Furthermore, these percentages underline the desire to feel needed and valued. The twist is that Powell (2007) listed lack of support from family, family dysfunction, lack of social skills, and shame or intense negative feelings about being different as major contributors to youth disengagement. Therefore, young people who are disengaged are lacking the key support that mostly engaged young people stated had the most value in their lives. This leads to feelings of isolation, which makes it more difficult for that young person to re - engage in either education or work. Young people's responses underline the need for support around a variety of factors.

A personal story from a young carer

Research, statistics and surveys can give a good snapshot of what life is like for a disengaged young person; however, nothing gives a true picture of what is happening than hearing from the young person directly. Saul Becker's study of young carers in the UK and Australia involved some young people talking about their stories. Such testimonials gives insight into both what support needs these young people have, as well as how they view their lives.

Below is an excerpt from Georgia's story. She is a 17 year old young carer in Australia when Becker published his study.

Now, I'm 17 years old and I care for her [mum]. Mum was recently in hospital and she came home with a tracheotomy tube. I have been caring for mum for three years now. I left school at the age of 15 years. She has a gastrostomy tube and is unable to walk without help or on some bad days, using a wheelchair. She needs help on the toilet, in the shower, brushing her hair and teeth etc. I'm not normal. I don't go many places. I don't go to school. My life is very different and boring compared to my friends. Mum always tells me I'm too old. (p1)

Georgia's story is an example of how complex the topic of disengagement truly is. It is undeniable that Georgia is disengaged. However, the real question is: Where do you start? An organisation that works with young carers could help support her mother's caring needs, but Georgia might have to be enrolled in school in order to take advantage of that. Well, she could access a program that helps young people enrol in further education and training, but how would she be able to attend a class? Not only that, but Georgia could also want counselling about her deep feelings of isolation and being "not normal." In short, she will require a variety of organisations working with her to give her the support she needs to succeed.

Problems with the current support system for disengaged young people

First of all, the point of this discussion is not to insinuate that support programs do not help young people. Many support programs get great results and help young people succeed. However, it is necessary to highlight the gaps in service in order to give young people like Georgia the support they deserve.

The main problem when young people / families try to access support is the bureaucracy around program guidelines and who is entitled to what type of support. The Dusseldorp Skills Forum (2007) notes that "poor co - ordination between state and Commonwealth jurisdictions...can be confusing and wasteful. It's a minefield for young people, their parents, educators, industry and policy - makers themselves." (p21) This "minefield" causes young people and families to resent support agencies, which leads to refusing support altogether. More alarming, is the notion that people look at the vast array of programs, enrolment forms and government acronyms and simply give - up.

Powell's work on youth services in Queensland (2007) highlights a number of barriers youth workers cited as reasons why disengaged young people are not getting the support they need. The three system deficits most germane to this discussion paper are: "poor coordination between services" and "the referral criteria for some services is too restrictive" and "less ‘difficult' or more ‘mainstream' clients are the focus of most services." (p6) These factors stem from funding requirements and how support programs are measured. Services do not work together enough for fear of doubling up on funding and being in breach of their contracts. Moreover, when a service providers funding depends on certain outcomes, that provider is going to structure their guidelines to select only people who can deliver those outcomes. For example, if a program's funding is based on getting young people into the workforce, the program will naturally take on people who have a good chance of getting a job. Therefore, young people who may need intense support from a variety of services are cast aside for those "less difficult" and more likely to satisfy funding requirements.

Conclusion: How do we move forward?

Understanding what factors lead to disengagement and identifying the gaps that exist in the current support service landscape are only part of the solution. The next step takes leadership and vision. We, as a community who care about young people's well being, must create a holistic support system. In essence, the problem is not what we do, but how we do it.

Youth workers in a variety of organisations do some very positive work. The Dusseldorp report (2007) notes that "the relationships and trust that build between students and their advisers are powerful, and in many instances, life changing." (p35) The question is, how do we change the current support system in order to provide these powerful relationships to all disengaged young people. There are two key systemic changes which can achieve this.

1. Fund programs based on providing support for young people, as opposed to forcing programs to meet arbitrary outcomes.
2. Create flexible guidelines, which encourage different support programs to work together with a young person. This will alleviate the paranoia around losing funding, while ensuring that young people get the best support possible via a coordinated team approach.

The best example of what a coordinated team approach to supporting young people would look like is not in the social welfare sector, but the medical field. There is a move to develop adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology wards in hospitals to work with cancer patients who are either too old to receive appropriate support in a paediatric ward or too young for an adult ward. The overall goal for an AYA ward is to provide age appropriate support for the all the young person's care needs; with an emphasis not only on care within the hospital, but the transition from the hospital back home. The New Zealand Department of Health (2007) developed a working party on this issue. They recently released a progress summary, which contains a holistic care model that can inspire real change when applied to the youth support system here in Australia.

The care model New Zealand proposes consists of multi - disciplinary teams responsible for all aspects of the young person's well being. Moreover, the make - up of these teams have the flexibility to change over time: "The team's composition at any point in a patient's journey would vary and reflect needs at that time. Some professionals would attend all the...meetings whereas others might be engaged intermittently." (p2) Professionals attending these case meetings can be from the health sector, the community, social workers in the hospital, youth support workers from outside the hospital, family workers, and people from the education sector. In other words, the team changes according to the young person's specific needs. This approach insures that young people receive support on a variety of issues when they need it. Support programs working with disengaged young people must follow this example, if they truly want to combat disengagement.

More and more health professionals realise that their patient's well being does not begin and end at the hospital door. The New Zealand AYA model not only gives the team the flexibility to provide holistic care to the young person, but structures their entire support program around the young person. The young person dictates what support the program provides, not the program forcing the young person to fit narrowly defined guidelines. A multi - disciplinary team model, if adopted throughout the youth support sector, will help break down existing barriers between young people and the support they require.

No single program can be all things to all people. Similarly, it is unrealistic for one youth worker to provide counselling, education advice, family mediation and crisis work while also being able to address issues of homelessness and young carers. However, bringing all of those services together in a coordinated manner creates a seamless stream of support. It is time to stop structuring programs around getting outcomes that look good in newspaper headlines and statistics. It is time to recognise the complex nature of disengaged young people.

About the Author

David Burck is a youth worker for the Connections program in Ipswich, Queensland. This is a program that helps disengaged young people access further education / training. He has worked in the US as a secondary English teacher for four years with young people at - risk; mainly coming from detention or drug treatment. David also worked in Australia with CanTeen for two years where he ran programs for young people living with cancer. Areas of interest include working with young people, human rights and young people dealing with grief and loss.

Reference List

Becker, S. 2005. Young Carers: Evidence and Messages from UK and Australian Research. 1 - 24. Retrieved January 14, 2007,
from http://www.carers-sa.asn.au/yc/pdf/Saul_Becker_aus_paper18102005.pdf

Dusseldorp Skills Forum. 2007. It's Crunch Time / Raising Youth Engagement and Attainment - A Discussion Paper. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from www.dsf.org.au.

Mission Australia. 2007. National Survey of Young Australians. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/document-downloads/doc_details/18-2007-youth-survey.

CANTEEN. 2007. New Zealand AYA Service Specification. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2007, from http://www.canteen.org.au/default.asp?menuid=29.

Powell, D. 2007. Support for Young People Disengaged from Education & Work: The Perspectives of Youth Services in Queensland. Retrieved January 14, 2007, from http://www.yanq.org.au/content/view/628/59/.

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