Youth Support Workers
Provide support and assistance to young people in the community, residential facilities and correctional settings.
Closing time at the drop-in
You are a youth worker at a drop-in centre, locking up on a Friday night with another staff member and a few young people still around. It is 6:45pm and the centre closes at seven. Most of the kids have gone, but a fifteen-year-old called Jayden is still sitting on the couch and says he is in no hurry to go home.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I'm good here. You can just leave me, I'll lock up. Or can I stay in the back room? I don't really feel like going home tonight. It's nothing, I just don't feel like it. Is that okay?
Say he can stay a little longer, and find a quiet moment to ask how things are at home tonight
Jayden opens up a little, but you have broken the closing rule and no other staff member knows. Your kindness was real, but you left the safety of both of you out of the plan.
Sit with him, gently ask what is going on, and say you will speak to your supervisor
Jayden tells you only a little, and you do not promise to keep it secret. You ring your supervisor and follow the centre's process together. He knows what is happening, and why.
Tell him the centre has to close and he needs to go home, with a friendly smile and a wave goodnight
Jayden shrugs and leaves. You do not see him for three weeks. A friendly word at the door did not match what he was asking for, and you missed the chance to listen.
Some of us want to make the rule that nobody can bring friends from outside. Those kids caused trouble last week. Can we just ban them? You make the rules here, so you can do it, right?
Agree and announce the ban, since the group asked for it and it will keep the peace this month
The ban solves one problem and creates another. The banned kids feel targeted, and some of the regulars start to leave. A quick rule stopped a conversation that needed to happen.
Tell Sophie the staff will think about it and decide, and then leave it at that for the moment
The staff do decide, but Sophie and her friends feel they did not have a say. The rule is sensible, but nobody understands the reason. An answer without them lost a teaching moment.
Run a short chat on what happened, what is fair, and what to do
The young people agree on a sign-in for visitors and a way to speak up. They feel it is their rule. The centre becomes a bit more of theirs.
I heard you took my son to the skate park on the weekend without telling me. I trusted this place. I am furious. Why didn't anyone ask me first? What else don't I know about?
Apologise, explain exactly what happened, and agree a permission process
Mrs Rahman is still upset, but she appreciates the honesty. The centre starts sending a short form before every outing. Trust takes longer to rebuild than to break.
Say it was a casual trip, the kids asked to go, and thankfully nothing went wrong at all
Mrs Rahman is angrier. Whether or not anything went wrong, she was not asked, and your defence sounds like a dismissal. A good outcome does not excuse missing permission.
Say it was a mistake and that the manager will contact her soon, then end the call politely
It is honest, but she is left with unanswered questions and a long wait. The manager has to start from scratch. A direct answer from you would have helped her sooner.
How it went
The centre was locked at seven-thirty, Jayden had a conversation lined up with someone trained to help, and the kids owned a new rule. Youth work asks you to be warm, steady and clear about your limits when young people are testing all three. Do you think you could do that?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The workshop on the inside
A fictional case set in a youth drop-in centre in a regional town, open after school and on weekends.
The situation
Marcus was a youth justice worker at a detention centre. A seventeen-year-old called Andre had been in for a few months and was sullen in classes, but he spent every free moment leaning over the small engine that the centre kept for a mechanics program. Andre was due to be released in six weeks, and he had no plan, no job, and little contact with his family.
What they did
Marcus noticed Andre's interest and arranged for him to take on the small engine project as a regular task. He asked Andre to explain what he was doing to a younger boy. He then contacted a community program that placed young people in work experience, and went through the steps for an application. He kept Andre informed about each stage and asked what he wanted, rather than deciding for him.
How it turned out
Andre was accepted for a work experience placement at a local garage, starting two weeks after his release. It was far from certain, and Marcus told him so. Andre kept the placement for the full period, and the garage owner said he was welcome to apply for an apprenticeship.
What would you do?
- Why do you think noticing what Andre was interested in mattered?
- How would you stay honest with him about the risks without taking away his hope?
- What do you think makes it hard to stay hopeful in this kind of work?