Agency Roles

Youth Work

Key Focus: Youth engagement, positive activities, and targeted support

Youth work practitioners play a crucial role in early identification and assessment of children and young people at-risk of CCE, collaborating with various agencies to ensure comprehensive support and safeguarding.

Additionally, they work to disrupt exploitation, coordinate information sharing, and engage in preventative education to address and mitigate risks associated with CCE.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Engage with children and young people in community settings
  • Provide positive activities and safe spaces for children and young people
  • Build trusting relationships to facilitate disclosure of CCE concerns
  • Deliver targeted interventions for children and young people at risk of CCE
  • Support children and young people in accessing appropriate services
  • Advocate for children and young people in multi-agency settings
  • Provide mentoring and positive role modelling
  • Facilitate peer support groups for children and young people
  • Deliver outreach services to engage children and young people to prevent CCE
  • Collaborate with other agencies to provide holistic support

Lead or primary role

Early Preventative Work
  • Youth services engage in early preventative work by raising awareness and educating children, young people, parents, and carers about CCE. They provide support to the child or young person to prevent issues from escalating and have clear pathways for making referrals and delivering appropriate interventions to reduce risk and respond to need.
Early Identification and Assessment
  • Youth services play a key role in the early identification of children and young people who may be targeted by perpetrators of CCE. They assess the needs of the child or young person and provide appropriate support.

Significant input or role

Safeguarding Structures and Thresholds
  • Youth services are involved in safeguarding structures and need to understand where CCE fits within these frameworks. They follow clear guidelines, policies, and procedures for intervention and support. Training for youth workers and other staff is essential.
Multi-Agency Collaboration
  • Youth services collaborate with social workers, police officers, CVS and other agencies to provide comprehensive support. This collaboration ensures that all relevant information is shared and responses are well- coordinated to ensure all parties are aware of the risks and signs of CCE. Youth workers contribute to the development of family support and protection plans. They work with social workers and other agencies to ensure that the needs of the child and young person and their family are addressed.

Supporting role

Disruption of Exploitation
  • Youth services work with the PSNI and other agencies to disrupt those exploiting children and young people.
Coordination of Information and Response
  • Youth services collect and share information related to CCE with other agencies. They ensure that they coordinate with other agencies and that the needs of children and young people are addressed.