2024–2025 Services delivered: prevention — youth and community programs — Youth Outreach Worker Program

Component: Youth initiatives

Legislation: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA)

Purpose of program

The purpose of the Youth Outreach Worker (YOW) Program is to help at-risk youth and high-risk youth and their families better navigate and connect with services and pro-social opportunities in their communities to improve youth outcomes.

Service objectives

The YOW Program is a prevention and intervention program that focuses on at-risk and high-risk youth who live in an identified priority community and/or belong to a distinct priority population (e.g., Indigenous, Black, visible minority, 2SLGBTQQIA+). These youth may experience increased barriers in accessing the opportunities that can help them to develop their capacity to make healthy life choices and achieve their goals.

Service description

Youth outreach workers

Based on a positive youth development model, Youth Outreach Workers (YOWs) build relationships with youth to:

1. Help youth identify and articulate their needs
2. Use an evidence-based process to support youth to make positive changes in their lives
3. Raise awareness of, and facilitate access to, locally available prevention and intervention resources through information-sharing and referrals that respond to individual needs and risk factors and reinforce strengths
4. Foster communication and linkages among community agencies/ organizations (e.g., health care providers, employment services, schools) to improve access and reduce barriers to services and supports

The program is oriented to empowering youth to act on their own behalf. YOWs act as mentors to youth and advocate to improve access to services. They do not offer clinical or counselling services and are expected to refer youth to appropriate resources and services in the community and/or engage the support of an EYOWs (in communities where EYOWs are located).

Enhanced youth outreach workers

Enhanced Youth Outreach Workers (EYOWs) share the same objectives and adhere to the same service delivery model as a YOW but have increased training and capacity to serve high-risk youth requiring intensive intervention and support . Youth may engage an EYOW independently or may be referred by a YOW or community agency. With training acquired through a Bachelor or Master of Social Work and relevant experience, EYOWs may engage youth participants for longer periods and more intensively than a YOW.

EYOWs:

• Provide interim, short-term counselling and support services   as a clinical “bridge” in situations where a youth is in crisis and services are not immediately available or a youth requires support in accessing further community services.
• Support youth to develop and enhance their identity, culture and sense of belonging to their community as a protective factor, including by using culturally-specific approaches to meet this expectation
• Refer youth to appropriate counselling, resources and supports in the community

YOWs and EYOWs also support families and caregivers. They help build the capacity of the adults in the youth participant’s life to support the participating youth to act and achieve goals. Youth and family members who interact with YOWs/EYOWs are considered “participants” in the YOW program. A family member may be counted as a participant where the first significant one-to-one interaction is with the family member rather than a youth.

YOW and EYOW services will be

• Reflective of, and responsive to, individual, family and community strengths and needs
• Accountable to the individual, family and community
• Responsive to the social, linguistic and cultural diversity of families and communities; and
• Staffed by individuals with the appropriate range of skills and abilities necessary to respond effectively to the needs of youth and their families

Target population

The Program’s target population is at-risk and high-risk youth ages 12-21, however, YOWs and EYOWs may use their discretion to serve at-risk and high-risk youth ages 6 to 11, and up to the age of 25. Youth served by the YOW Program are often disconnected from mainstream services/hard to reach and serve and have multiple risk factors and limited protective factors.

YOWs target at-risk youth who

• Face multiple barriers to success and/or are disengaged from their communities (e.g. lack of school engagement or not in education, employment or training; at risk of, or have been, in conflict with the law, etc.)
• Are in an identified priority community and/or belong to a distinct priority population approved by the ministry’s Regional Office

EYOWs specifically target high-risk youth who require intensive intervention and support. This includes youth who

• May experience challenges related to mental health, addictions, trauma, relationship violence, human/sex trafficking and/or may be engaged in criminal activity; and
• Have multiple risk factors, limited protective factors and have been engaged in specific incidents (e.g. fight at school, sibling in conflict with the law) that further increase their risks.

YOWs and EYOWs are expected to have in-depth knowledge about youth populations and the communities that they serve (e.g. local resources available).

Black Youth Action Plan

The Black Youth Action Plan (BYAP) works toward eliminating systemic, race-based disparities by increasing opportunities for Black children, youth and families across the province. Some agencies are designated to deliver the Youth Outreach Worker Program as part of BYAP.

Outreach

YOWs and EYOWs engage in planned, coordinated and responsive outreach strategies and activities that are intended to identify, capture the attention and interest of, and foster involvement of, youth and their families for specific purposes, including :

• Eliciting, receiving and sharing information about the youth’s interests, concerns and needs in accordance with the Stages of Change model
• Providing information and referrals regarding relevant programs, services and opportunities
• Guiding/mentoring and facilitating access to programs, services and opportunities that may be of assistance or responsive to articulated needs or requests
• Enabling positive civic participation in their neighbourhood/community

Outreach is intended to strengthen protective factors such as school engagement; peer-group associations; community attachment; positive adult relationships; and access to services. It is also intended to reduce risk factors, such as marginalization; lack of school engagement; anti-social peer group associations; low community attachment; lack of positive relationships with supportive adults; and lack of services and supports for youth

Outreach strategies may include but are not limited to:

• Attending and/or participating in community events to make contact with and build trust with youth. YOWs/EYOWs may also organize events, attend group activities organized by others and conduct such activities themselves to build relationships with youth
• Engaging with youth in places where youth congregate (eg., public housing, youth drop-in centres, shopping malls, parks, schools).
• Connecting with other agencies or organizations who might provide referrals from others such as school personnel and service providers (e.g., Children’s Aid Societies, probation officers, police, youth shelter workers)

Activities undertaken by YOWs/EYOWs are intended to be primarily individual person-to-person interactions, based on youth-identified needs. These activities occur in community, online (e.g. email, social media), by telephone or in neighbourhood locations or It is recognized that YOWs/EYOWs need to build relationships with youth for them to make progress toward attaining positive outcomes. This may involve several interactions over a period of time and may be facilitated by regular interactions with youth in group/activity settings

YOW/EYOW activities must be balanced so that conducting group activities with youth, organizing events, program promotion, community development and neighbourhood/community capacity-building activities do not predominate over one-to-one interactions with youth

Building neighbourhood and community capacity

YOWs may contribute to neighbourhood and community capacity by participating in community planning networks or committees. Neighbourhood services and infrastructure are enhanced and improved by the information shared by the YOWs at neighbourhood/community planning tables.

The activities of the YOW/EYOW are flexible and responsive but should be planned and delivered within a larger neighbourhood and/or community service context and, if available, a strategy for service and neighbourhood improvement.

The agencies provide the structure within which YOWs’/EYOWs’ planned activities are delivered and contribute to the larger strategy of enhancing the capacity of neighbourhood services to engage and serve youth through better service coordination and/or integration/partnerships that transcend service sectors (e.g. health, social services, education, etc.).

EYOWs also engage in activities to build neighbourhood and community capacity, but to a lesser extent than YOWs. EYOWs focus their efforts on providing intensive, one-on-one supports to high-risk youth and their families.

Program goals

The YOW Program seeks to improve outcomes for Ontario’s at-risk and high-risk youth.

Objective #1: Promote youth and family engagement in their communities.

Desired outcomes

• Youth participants are engaged in their communities; and
• Youth participants have families and/or caring adults equipped to help them thrive

Objective #2: Facilitate better access for youth to services and pro-social opportunities.

Desired outcomes

• Youth participants know about and easily navigate resources in their communities; and
• Youth participants make choices that support healthy and safe development

Progress may be measured through Stages of Change framework. There are 5 stages

1. Pre-Contemplation – before you’re ready to make a change
2. Contemplation – considering the pros and cons
3. Preparation – getting ready to make a change
4. Action – making the actual change
5. Maintenance – converting the change into a positive

Governance, accountability and service system requirements

The Agency (service agreement holder with the ministry) will establish and build both informal and formal inter-agency linkages and/or partnerships to strengthen/enhance neighbourhood/community service infrastructure. The Agency is expected to:

• Deliver the programs and services in accordance with the requirements as outlined in the Youth Outreach Worker Program – Program guidelines
• Provide financial and service performance reporting, including submission of required and requested reports within established time frames. This includes quantitative and/or qualitative data (including Identity- based Data) requested by the ministry or Provincial Lead Agency. If requested, participate in program and service evaluation initiatives established by the ministry or Provincial Lead Agency.
• Provide or ensure supervision of YOWs/EYOWs. Funding used to provide staffing for oversight/ coordination of the YOW program must be approved by the ministry Regional Office.
• Develop policies and procedures for protecting the privacy of personal information with respect to the collection, use, disclosure and access to such information contained in records. The policies and procedures that are developed by the Agency shall comply with Part 6 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2002 (YCJA) when the information and records relate to young persons as defined by the YCJA, and the confidentiality provisions relating to children who are the subject of a child welfare proceeding under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) and the privacy provisions under Part X of the CYFSA.

If employing and/or purchasing services through service delivery partners for the agreed number of full-time equivalent (FTE) YOW/EYOW positions, day-to-day supervision of the YOWs/EYOWs employed through the partner is provided by the partner. The Agency will establish and document (e.g., via memoranda of agreement) the roles and responsibilities of the parties (i.e., division of labour and respective accountability, etc.), and processes and procedures to address any issues or disputes that may arise, as well as amendments, renewal, withdrawal or termination of the partnership.

The Provincial Lead Agency is expected to:

• Provide or ensure training of YOWs/EYOWs and, if appropriate, program volunteers, including training relating to the Stages of Change model and YOW/EYOW personal and community participant/contact safety
• Synthesize information gathered by YOWs/EYOWs and sharing it with Agencies and within community planning processes, as appropriate
• Develop policies and procedures for protecting the privacy of personal information contained in TREAT with respect to the collection, use, disclosure and access to such information contained in records within
• The policies and procedures that are developed by the Provincial Lead Agency shall comply with Part 6 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, 2002 (YCJA) when the information and records relate to young persons as defined by the YCJA, and the confidentiality provisions relating to children who are the subject of a child welfare proceeding under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA), and the privacy provisions under Part X of the CYFSA

Reporting requirements

The following service data will be collected during the fiscal/reporting year (from April 1 to March 31) and reported through the Interim and Final Reports.