Plans to ensure that Cumbria's young people can get the right services, at the right time, and ways of ensuring those services are 'personalised' have moved a step closer today (Tuesday 9 October) following Cabinet approval for the integration of youth services throughout the county.
Young people's needs for activities, information and support are individual - and they change over time. This means that services for young people need to be flexible. The county council's Children's Services is planning to increase that flexibility by creating 'Integrated Youth Support Services' (IYSS).
IYSS proposes providing young people with access to services in a number of ways:
- a choice of 'gateways' - not all young people can be reached in the same way and in the same place, so a mix of different organisations and locations needs to be available
- information and guidance - the full range of information, advice, guidance and support that a young person might need has to be easily available to them
- local services - such as sports, the arts, youth groups and meetings, along with individual learning opportunities, and
- intensive support - for the more vulnerable young people in the community
The county council, its partners and providers already provide a high quality range of services, but IYSS will allow services to be realigned, reduce duplication, give better value for money and, most importantly, provide the best results for young people.
IYSS plans to bring together, and align the plans of, key services provided by the county council, Connexions, the Youth Offending Service, and School Health, as well as more specialised services such as Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the Care Leavers - Pathways Services.
A vital aspect of the work of IYSS will be that young people will be closely involved in shaping the services that are provided for them.
Speaking at today's Cabinet meeting, Councillor Oliver Pearson, on behalf of councillor Jim Buchanan, said:
"Developing an integrated youth support strategy is one of a number of ways in which the council is moving towards prevention and early intervention, rather than acute, high cost services.
"The aim is to provide more support for children, young people and families at an early stage rather than waiting until a situation becomes critical.
"If we are to provide a totally integrated youth service then we must ensure that no door a young person approaches is the 'wrong' door.
"IYSS will make this happen."
"These plans will now go out to consultation, so that people who use the services and other stakeholders can get involved with creating the shape of the new services."
The aim is to have IYSS up and running by April 2009.
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Further information from Alison Lister, media team, 01228 606334