This paper is a collaboration between the Connexions Service, the Legal Services Commission and the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The paper shows that through working closely together, the Community Legal Service and Connexions make a vital contribution to tackling many of the serious problems that are faced by young people in their everyday lives. These problems often require legal help and advice.
Connexions is building a modern, multi-disciplinary service aimed at guiding and supporting all young people through their teenage years so that they may reach their full potential and make a successful transition to adulthood and working life. We believe that young people should get whatever help they need to do so, in the most straightforward, cohesive and unfragmented way possible. The vision is an ambitious one, but it is what young people have told us they want and need. There is recognition at a national level that the success of Connexions is vital to all Government initiatives in their aims to help young people. This applies equally at local level, where Connexions comes together with a wide range of existing agencies including the Community Legal Service to deliver services to young people. We will only achieve our shared vision for young people by working together. This is why it is vital that everyone involved in delivering young people's services becomes involved with their Connexions Partnership and Connexions reaches out to other partners who can help deliver the vision.
Aims and Focus of the CLS:
The focus of the CLS is on meeting the type of legal needs that most affect people's lives, particularly advice and guidance on problems in social welfare categories of law, for example housing, debt, employment, welfare benefits, community care and discrimination. Its main aims are:
to increase the number of people from socially excluded groups, receiving timely and suitable advice;
to reduce the number of people needing to attend courts by resolving disputes at an early stage; and
to ensure that everyone has equal and appropriate access to quality legal and advice services.
CLS Partnerships:
CLS Partnerships (CLSPs) bring together both funders and providers of legal and advice services. CLSPs typically comprise representatives of the Legal Services Commission, the Local Authority, private practice solicitors and barristers, Citizens' Advice Bureaux (CABx), Law Centres and other voluntary and community sector organisations. Each partnership is tasked with devising a local Strategic Plan for the development and improvement of CLS services. This maps out both the need and the provision of legal and advice services and provides data to assist the Legal Services Commission, local authorities and other funding partners in their funding decisions. More than 99% of the population of England and Wales is covered by a CLSP (with 100% coverage expected by Spring 2004).
The Quality Mark:
The Quality Mark (QM) is the quality standard underpinning both the CLS and the Criminal Defence Service. It indicates to members of the public that they can rely on a quality assured service. Over 11,000 organisations have been awarded the Quality Mark (including GP surgeries, JobcentrePlus offices, Connexions Centres and solicitors). The QM is a compulsory requirement for organisations that want to obtain funding from the CLS Fund in order to provide legal services.
The QM can be awarded at three levels depending on the type of legal service offered:
The Information level is divided into Self-help information (for organisations such as doctors' surgeries where the public could access information themselves via the CLS Directory and leaflets) and Assisted information (for organisations such as Local Authority Contact Centres that have a dedicated information service).
The General Help level is for organisations (such as CABx and other advice agencies) that deal with clients' problems by offering information or explaining options available, and who provide basic assistance such as form filling. There is also a General Help with Casework level which includes some negotiation or representation on the client's behalf and follow-up work as appropriate.
The Specialist Help level is for Solicitors and Not for Profit agencies who supply legal help on complex matters in specific areas of law and who carry out the full range of legal services which may include representation.
Connexions Vision and Key Principles of Partnership Working:
Connexions is the Government's front line support service for all young people in England aged 13-19. Now available across England, there are 47 Connexions Partnerships (as of April 2003). The Connexions Vision for Youth Support Services to 2006 was signed by eight Ministers in November 2002, including Rosie Winterton when a Minister at the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Connexions offers teenagers integrated advice, guidance and access to personal development opportunities to help them make a smooth transition to adulthood and working life. It joins up the work of Government Departments, their agencies and organisations on the ground, together with private and voluntary sector groups. The headline aim is to reduce the number of young people aged 16-18 not in education, employment or training by 10% by 2004 in the vast majority of Partnerships.
Connexions uses innovative forms of delivery: Connexions Direct is a telephone helpline and internet personal support service and is currently in the process of being fully integrated with the Service across the country. It will become fully operational across England from April 2004. Connexions Direct is open between 8am and 2am, seven days a week (including public holidays) to provide instant advice and guidance. Young people can contact it via a freephone number, webchat, email or text message.
The Role of the Personal Adviser:
Personal Advisers (PAs) are a key feature of the Connexions Service. Based in Connexions Centres, schools, colleges and the wider community, PAs provide advice and support on careers and issues which are important to young people, as well as barriers to learning such as homelessness and substance misuse. They refer young people to specialist support where needed, brokering tailored packages of support that look at the needs and which consider solutions for young people in a holistic way.
PAs must only practice within their levels of competence and within recognised professional boundaries. They should not seek to provide help and support that they are not trained to give. When PAs do find such areas of concern, they should seek advice from line managers or supervisors and broker relationships with other local agencies who can provide the specialist support needed. Working this way in a multi-agency environment is a key element of the service Connexions should provide to young people.
The aim of the PA role is to help make sure that the needs of young people are met so that they are able and motivated to take part in education, training, work and personal development opportunities and achieve their full potential.
All fully qualified PAs must be able to deliver the range of core services to young people in one-to-one interventions or other settings and must do so whenever the need arises. PAs work in a variety of settings including:
one-stop shops: which offer quick access to a wide range of advice and guidance for young people;
schools;
further education colleges; and
community based projects and initiatives, where they provide an outreach service to young people and work in a variety of locations.
Working together helps bring about a wider understanding because good ideas are more likely to come from a greater variety of strategic and practical viewpoints and professional backgrounds. This results in an increased awareness of availability of information and advice about rights and entitlements that could be accessed by young people. Additionally joint working breaks down professional barriers, promotes the development of long term strategic relationships and will help to:
provide a multidisciplinary approach for individual support and access to impartial information, advice and guidance including specific advice on legal rights and responsibilities;
provide a range of high quality, complementary and appropriate services and support to young people;
remove the barriers young people face to enable them to achieve their potential and to (re-)engage in learning.
Young people are far more likely than other age groups to experience legal problems, yet are far less likely to obtain legal advice. Youth Access's 'Rights to Access' Report (2002) drew attention to the issue of 18-24 year olds who had experienced legal problems being considerably less likely than older age groups to have obtained advice about those problems. The report cites research which "found that only one young person out of 213 12-18 year olds surveyed in Scotland had ever approached a CAB and only eight a Solicitor, about anything at all." It is clear from this report that problems with housing, tenancies, debt, welfare benefits, employment rights or immigration can constitute serious obstacles to engagement in education, training or employment for young people.
Early recognition that difficulties have a legal dimension increases the likelihood of a positive outcome. By not seeking help or delaying seeking help, the problems can be much harder to resolve. So to combine this capability with a consistent means to deliver the most suitable legal help to meet the young person's needs would seem a useful approach. Collaboration between the Connexions Service and CLS Partnerships helps deliver a joint approach to the provision of accessible and quality assured advice services which are appropriate for young people.
Rosie Winterton (then Parliamentary Secretary for the Lord Chancellor's Department) and Ivan Lewis (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Education and Skills and then Minister with responsibility for Connexions) met on 30 January 2003 as part of a round of bilateral Ministerial meetings on Connexions with Ministers who had signed up to the Connexions vision, to promote closer working between the CLS and Connexions and to share best practice. Following this meeting, it was decided that the CLS and Connexions would work jointly on projects in four regions: Greater Merseyside; North East Somerset; Tees Valley; and Norfolk. They provided information to the Department for Constitutional Affairs (who hold the policy responsibility for the CLS) and the Connexions Service National Unit (CSNU).
The Greater Merseyside project comprised three separate parts: Developing a Partnership Agreement (between the CLS and Connexions), the 'Friendly Faces' Project and an 'Action Card' ('By Uz 4 Uz'). The Partnership Agreement aimed to provide a strategic framework to provide a range of high quality, complementary and appropriate support services to young people and to remove the barriers preventing young people from achieving their potential. The project involved regular joint meetings and ongoing communication between Connexions and the CLS.
The second area of joint working is 'Friendly Faces' in Walton Prison (Liverpool). Pre-release advice and guidance for prisoners is available from a team of advisers covering 24 different agencies including CLS, CABx, YMCA, Connexions and Probation. Contact and assistance (crucially) continues post-release, which provides coherence and progression for these young people (case studies relevant to this project can be found in the Annex to this report). Connexions work with young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) up to the age of 25 which is the case with many of the younger prisoners in Walton Prison. This broad ranging advice and guidance provision, now being delivered by a number of partners working co-operatively together aims to prevent re-offending by giving prisoners information about their rights and obligations and the skills to apply them in the community. The partner agencies will have to negotiate and agree the extent and limits of each agency in the advice process and make effective use of referrals and joint training programme to ensure the needs of the individuals are met. Funding has been secured from the European Social Fund for this project to help offenders and ex-offenders rehabilitate themselves in the community. Joint working is also crucial to the long-term success of the project, enabling 4 Prison Officers to receive training in advice and guidance, thus ensuring sustainability of support. The success of the project has meant that the Project Management Team has received expressions of interest from other prisons.
An 'Action Card' is being developed by the Connexions Service. This is a multimedia CD card which has been designed by young people for young people to provide virtual advice and information from key partners including the CLS. Designed to fit into a pocket and credit card sized, this innovative device is packed full of information (from education, health and benefits to housing) and has interviews with key partners and young people. An earlier version, 'By Uz 4 Uz' was originally developed by Connexions with care leavers in Liverpool. This recently won an award for the innovative use of IT in the National Career Awards (2003). Funding is being sought to enable the Action Card to be rolled out to every young person across Greater Merseyside. In addition Greater Merseyside Connexions are in the process of applying for the QM as Assisted Information Points.
The North East Somerset project (in the Connexions West of England Partnership area) consisted of three types of activities: getting information about advice services into Connexions Information Points; getting information about advice services into Connexions publications; and a training workshop for Connexions staff in June 2003. The purpose of this training was to raise the awareness about local advice services and different types of 'legal advice' problems.
The three advice providers who participated in the workshop were Wards (a firm of private practice solicitors); North Somerset Citizens' Advice Bureau; and North Somerset Mencap Advice and Advocacy Project. The programme consisted of a general presentation about the importance of legal advice and then the attendees were divided into groups. The groups focussed on topics such as barriers to advice, good advice and young people's needs for advice. Each of the advice providers gave a ten-minute presentation on their service and gave out handouts. Finally the Legal Services Commission covered the work of the CLS, signposting and JustAsk! (the CLS website).
The Connexions/CLS collaboration in Tees Valley provides funding to Middlesbrough Local Management Group (part of Middlesbrough Borough Council) to employ an Advice Worker to enhance the understanding of young people in Middlesbrough of their rights and entitlements in order to ensure they maximise their full potential to succeed in Education, Training and/or Employment. This is to address the issue of young people finding themselves unable to either start or continue with their chosen Education or Career path due to their inability and/or reluctance to access appropriate sources of information and advice in relation to, for example, welfare benefits, housing, employment and debt related issues. Young people contacting the service also have access to an e-mail facility enabling them to receive advice without having to visit the Connexions office. This is a wide-ranging and holistic project which aims to:
provide a network of agencies which will support young people in achieving their chosen Academic and/or Career aspirations;
provide training to Connexions Personal Advisers and other appropriate parties; and
develop an IT facility for use by young people to address appropriate sources of Information and Advice electronically e.g. by e-mail and by accessing relevant websites.
The focus is very much on providing support and guidance to young people in a non-threatening, user-friendly and confidential environment. Mutual signposting and referral arrangements have been agreed between the Project and a number of agencies, including Middlesbrough JobcentrePlus and local schools and colleges. A total of 41 Young People have already been enabled to continue in Education as a direct result of the support and guidance provided by the Project's Advice Worker.
A further example of joint working is based in Darlington where a Young Persons' Advice Worker employed by Darlington CAB (with funding from the Legal Services Commission) is based one day each week in the Darlington One-Stop Shop located in the town centre. The aims of the project are very similar to that in Middlesbrough.
The Project has been operational for a short period and although in its infancy, the project is already seeing a number of referrals between PAs and the Advice Worker. While the Project is still in its early stages, a commitment has already been made by Tees Valley Connexions service to apply for a CLS General Help Level Quality Mark (GHQM) for all five of its offices.
The CLSP is also working with Connexions Darlington to expand the surgeries in the One-Stop shop to include solicitors firms and other advice agencies. Other specialist legal advisers have been identified who will commence work in the One-Stop Shop very shortly.
Work is in progress to produce booklets using the Connexions Service Young People's Marketing Team.
In Norfolk, the principal focus for the pilot is to support operations of the Norfolk Connexions Service Centres and other relevant CLS providers. Norfolk Connexions has agreed to commit to the CLS QM as a standard for their service provision and to facilitate their five Connexions Service Centres to attain the CLS GHQM. The centre in Kings Lynn is currently undertaking a quality mapping exercise to establish work required to progress towards the CLS QM.
For its part, the local CLSP agreed to set up expert support and training arrangements between the CLS Supplier Development Group (SDG) and the five Connexions Service Centres; broker special arrangements between the Inclusive Quality Project (further details of which can be found in that section) and the Connexions Service Centres (this has now been set up); and facilitate arrangements between the Advice Services Alliance's Community Legal Support Service (CLSS) and the Connexions Service Centres. It was also agreed that there would be a core set of leaflet material aimed at young people that would be sustained as the standard at all Connexions service centres: preparatory work has been undertaken.
Norfolk Connexions' commitment to the CLS Quality Mark as a service standard has opened further doors for supplier development as well as the possibilities inherent in developing a seamless service. Norfolk Partnership felt that their organisation of adviser services facilitated co-operation with CLS - all advisers working in the five centres have a core of generic skills and have or are developing in addition certain specialist skills, for example in relation to careers and learning options or on issues like homelessness and benefits.
The Connexions Service in North Walsham has attained the GHQM, while the centres run by Norfolk Community and Youth Services in Thetford and Great Yarmouth are ready for accreditation and aim to have the QM in time for the new academic year. The Director of CLSS has expressed interest in working with Connexions Centres under this pilot (and so increase the profile of independent support on offer to non-CLS contracted agencies). The referral system in operation by the CLS has been shared with Norfolk Connexions.
Further steps are now planned: training sessions will be arranged between CLS Specialist Support contracts and Norfolk Connexions specialist teams; the Legal Services Commission and Connexions will propose that Learning Support in the Government Office for the Eastern Region (GO-East) set up a Regional Service Advisory Forum; and a multi-agency seminar at Norfolk will take place either under or separate to GO-East auspices (the intention is to develop this regionally).
The pilots have found that there is much common ground in improving services for all young people:
Raising awareness - being aware of other professionals in the field and of the range of services available by Connexions, CLS and other key partners.
Promoting and publicising joint working between Connexions and CLS.
Ensuring that young people who approach Connexions and/or CLS get appropriate support including signposting and referrals.
Promoting quality services through shared training opportunities, through best practice and through joint promotion of the CLS Quality Mark and Connexions.
Together the CLS and Connexions can offer teenagers high quality integrated advice that will provide them with the knowledge and guidance they need about personal development opportunities, and can overcome barriers to taking up these opportunities posed by issues like debt or lack of access to benefits or housing.
This is key in helping them to overcome barriers to participating in learning and make a smooth transition to adulthood and working life. Providing young people with information about the many different support services will vastly increase the chances of their being motivated to follow the career paths they want. When given the experienced guidance they need these young people will believe that there is a real reason for personal development and will feel that they have a safety net in case things go wrong.
Many young people do not seek the support of legal advice services, simply because they are unsure about what to expect from the staff. Giving them the opportunity to discuss their concerns with an adviser who will listen, take their concerns seriously and act as a signpost to practical help will give them confidence to reveal their aspirations for their careers. IT facilities are another helpful way to encourage teenagers to seek help: once they see a website with case studies of others who have successfully received help (often in difficult personal situations) they may realise that they need to be proactive about their situation and do something about it. Websites may also provide those without a definite idea about their future with information about suitable careers or courses.
Clearly related to this is ensuring that the professional working with young people (such as Connexions staff) are made aware of all advice and guidance services in the area so that, with confidence, they may refer any teenagers seeking advice onto the relevant provider. Training workshops for staff are key, as demonstrated by the North East Somerset project.
In these early stages of these projects, it is not possible to produce an extensive list. However, some elements, if successful, will significantly enhance outcomes for young people. These are:
Connexions Service membership of their local CLSP (and CLS representation on the Connexions Local Management Group);
the skills enhancement of Connexions specialists through CLS training;
the growing capability of generalist advisers to refer casework to more appropriate specialist service suppliers and to know when it is appropriate to do so;
a link to CLS specialist support by telephone on complex cases;
better understanding for roles of respective agencies so that each can make appropriate connections and referrals in dealing with young people;
linking in with projects at a practical level to fulfil respective plans for both Connexions and the CLS;
the adoption (by the Connexions Service) of CLS signposting and referral arrangements to ensure that young people are always directed to Quality Assured sources of advice; and
a tiered and definitive core leaflet set which has been subject to Quality Assurance and is fit for purpose.
Other best practice to date includes practical measures such as:
securing the early strategic interest of the Inclusive Quality Project (which has enhanced the pace and sustainability of CLS quality standards);
training Personal Advisers about entitlements at team meetings;
a (pass-worded) intranet between practitioners; and
holding an active and regular forum for networking (for sharing best practice, discussion on practical issues, the avoidance of duplication and the development of approaches that could lead to economy of scale savings).
Maintaining project continuity through the summer holiday period is also a key challenge to be met. This is often a time of maximum demand from young people who have just received examination results and, which if not as good as anticipated, can mean they need to consider other learning options.
There is the need for both generalist and specialist provision within the Connexions setting, because providing only one of these can be problematic in terms of continuity and seamless service. An allied issue is ensuring that the relevant level of provision is available at the right time, a key issue when helping young people. Consideration could also be given as to how Legal Services Commission contracts could be sufficiently flexible in order to assist with drop-in arrangements (a key feature of provision to young people).
There is also a clear need for materials regarding rights and access to advice information services to be produced in a way that appeals to young people. Much existing material contains too much jargon and has unengaging layouts (or, alternatively, is patronising).
There is scope for joint working at a national level. DCA/ Legal Services Commission and the CSNU could:
promote the need and value for collaborative working between CLS and Connexions to other managers in the Youth Sector;
provide and maintain the make up of core leaflet sets through co-ordination at national level (CSNU are developing guidance on material in Connexions Resource Centres and an information strategy for Connexions Partnerships);
encourage Connexions Services at a local level to join and play an active role in the relevant CLSPs (and to promote reciprocal involvement by the CLS in Connexions Service Local Management Groups);
promote the CLS Quality Mark at the General Help level as an appropriate Quality Standard for Connexions nationally; and
use the QM-compliant procedures developed within this pilot as a framework for other Connexions services to avoid duplication of effort.
The Norfolk Pilot has reported that levels of co-operation have been excellent. This has been possible through the interest and commitment of the Chief Executive at Norfolk Connexions and her senior officers, as well as from senior CLS management in the Eastern Region, Supplier Development Group in London, and other CLS partners.
Training issues featured prominently in the aims of several of the projects. One of the North East Somerset project's main initiatives was the training workshop for Connexions staff, which aimed to further inform them about other advice agencies.
The Tees Valley project has been operational since October 2002 and progress to date has been encouraging. For example, there is the delivery of training and awareness-raising sessions to Connexions Personal Advisers on a regular basis. A variety of leaflets and promotional materials have been produced to provide both Connexions Personal Advisers and Young People with useful Information and Advice on a wide range of Legal and Social Welfare related issues.
The CLS is increasingly moving towards having a comprehensive network of accredited advice providers in all geographic areas and all categories of law. As well as solicitors, advice agencies and libraries, the CLS Quality Mark is held by doctor's surgeries, job centres and Connexions offices.
The Inclusive Quality Project (IQP) is an independent partnership of three national advice networks (Dial UK, Youth Access and Advice UK) and is funded by the Legal Services Commission. It works throughout England and Wales to support disadvantaged community groups and agencies to develop their quality assurance infrastructure, enabling them to build their capacity to achieve the CLS Quality Mark.
IQP works to ensure that people from priority disadvantaged and socially excluded groups in England and Wales can access high quality advice. IQP does this by ensuring that community based agencies and groups providing advice services are supported to develop a sustainable quality assurance infrastructure and are enabled to become and remain part of the CLS. It normally works with voluntary and community bodies but has also agreed to work with Connexions Partnerships to help them work towards the Quality Mark.
Groups who are contacted or who approach IQP are asked to complete a simple self-assessment. If it is clear that they are an organisation that could benefit from IQP's support, they are asked to sign an agreement which sets out the responsibilities of both sides and the need for them to complete ongoing work in order to remain part of the project. A Development Worker visits them and agrees an action plan with the organisation to enable them to improve their quality assurance infrastructure and to successfully obtain the CLS Quality Mark. IQP insists that a member of the user group's Management Committee is involved in the process as a way of showing the organisation's commitment to the process.
IQP will work with groups through to success at the CLS QM preliminary audit stage and will also assist priority groups requesting help with quality concerns raised at preliminary audit.
The joint working (in the four pilot areas) has proved positive and the case studies highlight the clear results working together can achieve. By producing this report, CLS and Connexions Partnerships across the country will hopefully be encouraged to work in a similar way to maximise benefits to the young people who really need it.
Circumstances:
PB was originally from Bootle in Liverpool. When he was a child, his family moved to Australia. He never settled into school as he was bullied about his accent. He began to play truant, hanging round with gangs of older boys. As a young teenager he was introduced to cocaine and heroine and was soon stealing to fund his growing habit. Having progressed onto more serious crimes including bank robbery, he was deported to England. Alone and friendless, he spent the money sent to him by his family on funding his heroin addiction and ended up in prison again.
Guidance Process:
PB requested to go through a detoxification programme and was moved onto J Wing, a drug-free Wing in the prison (segregated from the rest of the prison, inmates can apply to go on here if they want to become drug free), where he met the Friendly Face Team. PB attended a total of 35 Friendly Face group sessions and received over 15 interviews. During that time, he developed from being a rather reticent, shy member of the group into an active, confident group member who made a valuable contribution to sessions.
Outcomes:
PB moved in with a fellow prisoner on his release, but his friend started abusing alcohol and heroin, so PB moved out. He travelled to Liverpool and contacted ARK (a local support agency) who referred him to the Social Partnership, an agency that PB had contacted whilst on the Friendly Face Project in prison. They transferred PB into Bed and Breakfast Accommodation and even took his washing home and did his laundry.
PB is currently attending the Merseyside Drugs Council "Alternatives" Programme in Huyton: the programme offers training in welding skills. PB is also attending drug counselling through Merseyside Drugs Council.
CW aged 18 (and 25 weeks pregnant) came into a Connexions Centre in a distressed state and asked to see someone about her housing difficulty. She was seen immediately by a Connexions housing advice worker who supported her in identifying all the key issues. It quickly became clear that she hadn't received appropriate support elsewhere and so with her consent, much work was carried out advocating with the housing department of the local authority.
It transpired that CW had been placed in a caravan in very poor condition under a supported housing scheme and when offered a flat two weeks later was told she could not take it because she was no longer homeless.
In an attempt to resolve this unsatisfactory situation the Connexions housing advice worker felt that additional specialist advice was now needed because of the obvious legal complexities. CW again gave her consent for this and a referral was made to a CLS specialist contract holder for housing advice.
The Connexions housing advice worker accompanied CW to her first appointment. At this appointment it was agreed to joint case work CW with the CLS specialist adviser addressing the housing issues and the Connexions housing advice worker focusing on the welfare benefit aspects of the case.
After much work, CW eventually moved into an appropriate flat two weeks before giving birth to her baby daughter. Her welfare benefit issues were also satisfactorily resolved. CW is now being supported by a Connexions PA and attends her local Sure Start Centre.