What we do? – an overview

AsYSSt
AsYSSt Vocational training operates as the Employment, Skills & Training provision for YSS and its partner organisations.

Unique in its level of personal support and drawing on YSS’s 20 years of supporting the socially excluded, Assist offers flexibility for learners and service users wishing to access vocational training or employment.

With the recent opening of its first dedicated training centre, the construction training unit in Droitwich offers learners the opportunity to train in an environment offering both first class training and high levels of pastoral support.

The centre supports a number of client groups through its range of qualifications. These include entry level, NVQ levels 1 & 2.

Further trainings are planned for opening during 2009, these include Hereford city & Telford, Shropshire.

Complementing its training centres, the service also operates a delivery model across three additional areas:

•  AsYSSt Mobile Training
•  Employment Solutions Unit
•  AsYSST Services Limited – Community Interest Company (CIC)

To read more about this project, please click here


Appropriate Adult
The Police and the Criminal Evidence Act (P.A.C.E.) 1984 and the Youth Justice Board National Standards require that any young person aged 10 and 16 years of age, whilst being interviewed under caution at the police station, must have an Appropriate Adult in attendance.

YSS developed a volunteer Appropriate Adult service for 10-16 year olds being detained in Police Custody in 1999.

To read more about this project, please click here


Volunteer Mentoring (8-17 Years)
YSS runs mentoring programmes for young people aged 8-17 years of age who are considered at risk of being involved with anti-social or criminal behaviour. The programmes are offered on a voluntary basis to the young people in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire. The mentoring forms part of a structured plan that they help develop with a key worker. Often the mentoring part of the plan aims to ensure young people have wider experiences of life and are tailored to meet their specific needs.

To read more about this project, please click here


ARC Project (Accessing Resources in the Community)
The project is aimed at 10-17 year olds who live in Worcester and Hereford . The premise of this project is that there are often numerous activities available for young people in the areas where they live however for a wide range of reasons they do not access these services because ‘it's the wrong side of town', ‘people like me don't go there', ‘its too expensive', ‘the opening times aren't suitable', ‘I've never seen it'.

To read more about this project, please click here


ACCLAIM Mentoring
ACCLAIM mentoring links into the main ACCLAIM project described in Criminal Justice Programmes section. Volunteer mentoring work on ACCLAIM involves supporting people who have been identified as prolific and priority offenders to be motivated and to keep engaging in the programme. They work on key points such as job search, applications, managing finances, independent living skills and general signposting and information. An important aspect to note is that contact with the mentor is normally a mandatory requirement of a court order or licence condition.

To read more about this project, please click here


ACCLAIM
As part of it’s strategy for working with PPOs (Prolific and other Priority Offenders) West Mercia Probation Area (WMPA) commissioned YSS, in line with the Rehabilitate and Resettle strand of this national initiative, to provide intensive supervision of those offenders who are identified as PPOs and who are supervised by WMPA on community orders or post-custody licences.

To read more about this project, please click here


Stoke PPO, Mentoring and Alternative to Custody Mentoring
YSS receives referrals from the Police and Probation teams in Stoke for people who have been identified as prolific and prioity offenders (PPO) and those at risk of being sent to custody. We match volunteer mentors who work alongside offenders through identified action plans.


Bail & Specified Activities
Since 1985 YSS have delivered Specified Activity Programmes for young people at risk of being sent to custody. Since 1998 YSS staff have delivered bail assessment and support services for the Worcestershire and Herefordshire Youth Offending Service, along with Specified Activities. The staff are presently seconded over to the Youth Offending Service and work from YOS offices delivering this work to National Standards. They also provide an out-of-hours on-call help-line for the young people and their families, co-ordinate the Appropriate Adult provision service on evenings and weekends, and provide emergency weekend court cover for young people appearing unexpectedly before courts.


West Mercia ISSP
Intensive Supervision & Surveillance Programme
ISSP is a key directive from the YJB, and provides Intensive Supervision and Surveillance for young people aged 10-17 at risk of a custodial sentence or remand in custody.

To read more about this project, please click here


Supporting Compliance Projects with Probation across the West Midlands region
YSS has just started delivery on three supporting compliance projects with three different Probation Areas. These are West Mercia Probation Trust area, Staffordshire Probation area and West Midlands Probation area. These projects are aimed at motivating and assisting offenders on court orders or who are on license to engage with the conditions imposed upon them, by helping overcome practical barriers, real or perceived to engagement. YSS delivers a series of 6 focussed support sessions per person, of about one hour duration in the community per week backed up with multiple telephone calls and text messages to maintain motivation.


Employment Support for ex-offenders in Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Dudley
YSS is working in partnership with the national employment charity the Shaw Trust and the Department of Work and Pensions to deliver a flexible routeway provision into employment for ex-offenders. Service delivery is expected to start in December 2008. This involves YSS undertaking flexible one to one support based in the community, providing guidance and mentoring to assist ex-offenders back into employment and/or training provision.


Worcestershire Young Carers
This project aims to support children and young people aged between 8 and 18 years who are providing emotional or practical support for an adult member of their family. The project was transferred to YSS in 2003 from Worcestershire Association of Carers' and has grown and developed significantly since that time.

To read more about this project, please click here


Rural Futures
This is a Worcestershire based project that aims to ensure the issues faced by young people who are disadvangated by living in rural areas are highlighted and addressed. This is undertaked by providing them with access to policy makers at parish, district and county level to inform strategic planning. The main policy areas involved are:

•  accommodation
•  transport
•  economic
•  democracy


T2A
YSS has received £750k over a three year period from the Barrow Cadbury Trust to deliver a pilot project called T2A (Transition to Adulthood). YSS will initially deliver T2A across Worcestershire and is one of three pilots being developed nationally and sponsored by Barrow Cadbury. The pilots will aim to develop best practice of working with young people in transition between the youth and adult criminal justice systems. In Worcestershire the project will work closely with West Mercia Probation Trust, Worcestershire Youth Offending Service, Worcestershire Youth Support, Voluntary sector organisations and the Police in addition to a wider range of agencies involved with the support needs of young people. All three projects are based on the recommendations contained within the ‘Lost in Transition’ report published by Barrow Cadbury in 2005 and this is available on their website for download www.bctrust.org.uk The project will be evaluated by Oxford University.

Full details of the project will appear in detail on this web-site early in 2009 to co-inside with the start of service delivery. In the meantime anyone interested in further information should contact Lorraine Preece, Operations Director, at YSS on 01299 252303.