Service Overview for

Youth-at-risk

Introduction

Chow Ching Chi, Edith

R.S.W.

Part-time Instructor

Department of Applied Social Sciences

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1) Familiarize students with the services for

youth at risk.

2) Articulate and critically examine the complex

individual, family, social and environmental

conditions in contemporary societies that

affect youth at risk problems

3) Propose feasible strategies for working with

youth at risk and their significant others in

Hong Kong.

We are here to walk with You

WARM UP EXERCISE:

What is youth at

risk/Marginal youth?

Meet a new classmate and discuss

(https://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/youth/youth_justice/youth_at_risk)

Marginal Youth

Marginal youths refer to those young people identified by

fieldworkers (e.g., social workers of Outreaching Social Work

Teams in Hong Kong, workers of Correctional Schools for Juvenile

Offenders and Vocational Schools in Shanghai and Guangzhou) as

potential or existing clients, displaying some form of problem

behaviors or delinquent activities (Ngai et al., 2001). However,

marginal youths’ involvement in delinquent activities does not take

place in a vacuum.

They draw on a subculture of delinquency, including a set of

precepts that release the delinquent from the constraints, limitations,

and control by law and custom (Downes & Rock, 1995). Thus,

subculture within a gang is attractive to its members for justifying

their crime and delinquency.

Subcultural components of youth gang

Subcultural components likely to arise from the youth

gang include:

(1) approval of crime and delinquency, (2) friends’

approval of crime and delinquency, (3) low self-control,(4)

learning from delinquent peers, (5) low attachment to

social workers/counselors, (6)conflict with police, and (7)

perception of social inequality. They appear as significant

factors leading to the young person or marginal youth’s

delinquency, according to various theories and research

works Ngai, N.P., & Cheung, C.K. (2004). Marginal Youth’s Subcultural Factors

Marginal Youth’s Subcultural Factors Underlying Their Gang Involvement: A Comparative Study

in Three Chinese Metropolitan Cities

The law: law breaking behavior in violation ofcriminal law

Legal definition: crime has referred to acts prohibited, prosecuted, and punished by criminal law

Retributive懲罰的/報應的:

punishment, Jail

"An intentional act”

committed without defense

or justification“ 無可抗辯.

Crime is:

Crime is contextual: Criminal harm takes

different forms depending on the

historical period, specific context, social

setting, location, or situation in which it

occurs.

"There are no purely objective definitions,

all definitions are value laden and biased to

some degree ( Barak, 1998)

Guilty or not guilty?

Crimes are not produced by legislation

alone.

Judicial interpretation also

determines what is or is not crime.

Judicial decisions can also be

appealed, overturned or revised

e.g.：Could the rape women choose to have the abortion? Did they commit a

crime?

Services for young offenders in HK

• Rehabilitation centre

• Detention

• Training centre

• Drug addiction treatment centre

• Care or protection order

• Probation Service

• Community service order scheme

• Residential Service for Young Probationers

• Outreaching social work team

• Extended services for young night drifters

• Youth support scheme (Police

superintendent’s discretion scheme)

• Counselling centres for psychotropic

substance abusers

Correctional

Service

Social

Welfare

Department

NGOs

1 & 2) Policies and Service Nature (https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/social_welfare.pdf)

The Social Welfare Department (SWD) is responsible for

implementing the Government’s policies on social welfare and for

developing and co-ordinating social welfare services. These include

social security, services for the elderly, family and child welfare

services, medical social services, group and community work, services

for young people, rehabilitation services for people with disabilities,

as well as services for offenders.

Target: 6-24 children and youth

Mainly funded by SWD, with Funding Services Agreement (FSA)

Nineteen youth outreaching teams and 18 outreaching service for

young night drifters teams of NGOs provide counselling, guidance

and other social work services to young people who normally do not

participate in conventional social or youth activities and are

vulnerable to undesirable influences.

1 & 2) Policies and Service Naturehttps://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_young/sub_seryouthrisk/id_overnighto/

Since 1 September 2002, District Youth Outreaching Social Work

Teams run by 11 NGOs have been providing outreaching service

to address the needs of high-risk youth and to tackle issues of

juvenile gangs

To address the needs of young night drifters (YNDs) in a more

comprehensive manner, the Government has extended the service

hours and service focus of 18 Integrated Children and Youth

Services Centres for the purpose of providing overnight

outreaching service for YNDs on a territory-wide basis from

September 2001 onwards.

Non-recurrent funding has been provided to purchase 7-seater vans

and mobile phones while organising activities for YND to

facilitate service delivery in extended service hours.

1 & 2) Policies and Service Nature

Through the Community Support Service Scheme, the young

people cautioned under the Police Superintendent’s Discretion

Scheme are served by five NGOs.

with a view to re-integrating them into the mainstream

education or work force and reducing the likelihood of re-

offending. Currently, there are five NGOs operating CSSS over

the territory. For better service synergy, the five CSSS teams

were attached to five existing Integrated Children and Youth

Services Centres.

Others are self-financing services, projects relied on short term

funding, district based or agency’s back up.

1 & 2) Policies and Service Nature

Under the Criminal Justice system of Hong Kong

SWD uses social work approach in providing community-based

statutory supervision and guidance for offenders through

Probation Service, Community Service Orders Scheme, residential

training and aftercare services.

SWD provides residential service and training for

children/juveniles with behavioural problems or involved in

offences in a purpose-built training complex.

SWD works jointly with the Correctional Services Department in

delivering services for offenders. The Young Offender Assessment

Panel formed by the two departments consolidates views of

different professionals and recommends to the court the most

appropriate programme of social rehabilitation for convicted

young offenders.

1 & 2) Policies and Service Nature

The residential child care service is highly related to the

Protection of Children and Juveniles Ordinance (Cap. 213)

which gives authority to court, police officers and social

workers to take action to protect a child or juvenile, who are

aged under 18, in need of care or protection through the

application of the Care or Protection Order from the juvenile

Court.

According to Social Welfare Department (2017), residential

child care services are provided for children and young

persons under the age of 21 who cannot be adequately cared

for by their families because of various reasons such as

behavioural, emotional or relationship problems, or family

crises arising from illness, death and desertion. The service

includes non-institutional care and institutional care.

Services Target group

Non-Institutional

Care

Foster care children under 18 years of age

Small group homes x 112 children from 4 to under 18 years of age

Institutional Care

Residential child care centres

(Residential creches/ Residential

nursery) x 4

children under 3 years of age/ from 3 to

under 6

Children's reception centre x 4 children aged under 18 years of age

Children's homes x 5 children or young persons between 6 and

under 21 years of age

Boys'/ girls' homes x 11

children / young persons (7 to under 21

years of age) with behavioural or

emotional problems who are studying.

Schools for Social Development are run

within some of these homes

Boys'/ girls' hostels x 4

young persons (14 to under 21 years of

age) with behavioural or emotional

problems who are studying or working

The

residential

child care

service

1 & 2) Policies and Service Nature The Narcotics Division (ND) of the Security Bureau is tasked with co-ordinating policies

and measures across the public sector, non-government organisations (NGOs) and the

community to combat the problem of drug abuse

Anti-drug Policy (https://www.nd.gov.hk/en/antidrugstrategy.htm)

acting on the advice of the Action Committee Against Narcotics;

initiating and reviewing legislation and law enforcement measures

against drug trafficking;

implementing and facilitating the provision of preventive education

and publicity programmes, and treatment and rehabilitation

services;

administering the Central Registry of Drug Abuse;

providing funding and planning support for anti-drug community

involvement activities;

co-ordinating drug-related research; and

having international co-operation in anti-drug and anti-money

laundering and countering terrorist financing regime

https://www.nd.gov.hk/en/antidrugstrategy.htm

1 & 2) Policies and Service Nature

(Pls study: https://www.nd.gov.hk/pdf/three_year_plan_2018_2020_ch5_en.pdf)

Drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes include -

Compulsory placement scheme operated by the Correctional Services

Department;

Voluntary out-patient methadone treatment programme provided by the

Department of Health;

Voluntary residential drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes run

by non-governmental organisations. There are 37 drug treatment and

rehabilitation centres and halfway houses in the territory (19 of them

are subvented by Department of Health or Social Welfare Department);

Community-based counselling services, including 11 counselling

centres for psychotropic substance abusers and two centres for drug

counselling under subvention of Social Welfare Department;

Substance abuse clinics operated by the Hospital Authority.

https://www.nd.gov.hk/pdf/three_year_plan_2018_2020_ch5_en.pdf

3) Service Delivery

The youth-at-risk service content includes individual and family

counselling, therapeutic groups, skill training/educational groups,

adventure activities as well as recreational and community services.

The Youth Outreach operates two Crisis Residential Centres (the Boys'

Centre and the Girls' Centre) under the subvention of Social Welfare

Department. The crisis residential service provides professional

intervention and immediate and temporary accommodation lasting from 1

day to a maximum of 2 months for the youth-at-risk who are referred by

the integrated children and youth services centres, the youth outreaching

teams, or other welfare units serving youth-at-risk. .

Back-up shelter service (Holland hostel) provides protection and temporary

accommodation to those Young Night Drifters (YNDs) who are referred by

the integrated children and youth services centres, the youth outreaching

teams or other welfare units serving YNDs. Normally, the period of stay is

7 days.

3) Service Delivery (https://www.nd.gov.hk/pdf/three_year_plan_2018_2020_ch2_en.pdf)

The new FSAs provide CCPSAs with the flexibility to redeploy

resources for strengthening the assistance to these family members.

In addition, as a larger proportion of newly reported drug abusers

are young adults (aged 21 - 35), the scope of the preventive

education and outreaching efforts of CCPSAs is extended to cover

post-secondary education institutions, vocational training

organisations and workplaces. The new FSAs have come into effect

from October 2016.

CCPSAs offer community-based anti-drug counselling services and

assistance to psychotropic substance abusers (PSAs) and young

people at risk to assist them to stay away from drugs. On-site

medical support services are available, including voluntary drug

testing, motivational interviews and basic body checks.

3) Service Delivery(https://www.nd.gov.hk/pdf/three_year_plan_2018_2020_ch2_en.pdf)

Where appropriate, CCPSAs will refer cases to SACs for more intensive and specialist medical treatment. In addition, they provide aftercare services to drug rehabilitees of non-subvented DTRCs without such services.

CCPSAs also offer counselling and support services for family members of drug abusers as well as PE&P programmesfor secondary schools and post-secondary education institutions. Professional training for allied professionals is provided at the district level.

3) Service Delivery Models (depending on the case

assessment and agency work culture)

Gang Work / De-group

Outreaching method

Psychosocial approach

Crisis intervention

Family intervention / therapy

Career’s planning

Experiential Learning

Person centred therapy

Motivational Interviewing

Rational Emotive therapy

Relapse Prevention

Social Skill Training

Positive Psychology

Strength based perspectives

Solution focused therapy

Restorative Justice /

Mediation

Cognitive Behavioral

Therapy

4) Operation and work principles/ culture

Normally three sessions : Morning session,

after noon session and night session

Residential services : 24 hours operational

mode

Bridging services : YND coordinating with

ICYSC, OR and school social work service

teams, Shelter services and 24 hours

hotline, crisis intervention

District based

Mobilized and Reaching out method

Case management and Principle worker

Multi-disciplinary coordination

Identified presenting problems

Intake> Treatment plan > periodic review

Confidentiality

Privacy

Individualism

Parental consent

Risk assessment

Empowerment / Advocacy

Depending on the agency’s

policy and leadership style

Self-discipline!!!!

Accountable RSW!!

5) Tips of working in the service setting Networking

Building rapport

Be aware of centre culture and dynamics

Report to your supervisor and agency IC/mentor

Be grounded, realistic and flexible

Be proactive

Client management

Contact privacy

Time management (Set To-do-list PLEASE, stick to

your Learning Contract )

Dance with your supervisor and teammates

Submitting recordings regularly

Heartfelt reflection

6) Tips of working with specific clientele:

Start where the client is

Listening to the story of the client, Non-judgemental, person centred

Seeing facial expression and non-verbal languages

Hearted devoted – apply empathetic skills, be Humble

Hands – work independently,

search for referencing

Brain – Case conceptualization

Feet –Reaching Out, Walking with your YOUTH

What is Crime Prevention

“the total of all policies, measures and techniques, outside the boundaries of the criminal justice, aiming at the reduction of the various kinds of damage caused by acts defined as criminal by the state.”

Source: Van Dijk (1990: 205)

What is Crime Prevention

“ a pattern of attitudes and behaviourdirected both at reducing the threat of crime and enhancing the sense of safety and security, to positively influence the quality of life in our society and to help develop environments where crime cannot flourish”.

Source: National Crime Prevention Centre (1997:2)

What is crime prevention

Crime prevention is a result of everyday

practices concentrated in different

institutional settings…Yet much of the crime

prevention literature fits quite neatly into

seven major institutional settings: (1)family,

(2) schools, (3) communities, (4) labour

markets, (5) places, (6) police agencies and

(7) courts and corrections. Source: Sherman et al., (2002:5)

Integration of Concepts

Levels:

1) Primary 2)Secondary 3)Tertiary

Main Targets:

(1)Victims; (2) Offenders;

(3) Security staff; (4) Parents/

teachers ; (5) General citizens

Settings:

(1)Families; (2) Schools;

(3) Communities; (4) Labour

markets; (5) Places; (6) Police;

(7) Courts and corrections

Intervention:

(1) Policies; (2) Measures;

(3) Techniques

Objectives:

1. Reduce the number

of crime.

2. Reduce the risk of

crime.

3. Enhance the sense

of safety and security

4. Have a positive

influence on quality

of life.

Level

Tertiary

(to prevent offenders from reconviction)

Secondary

(to prevent high risk groups from embarking upon criminal career)

Primary

( to reduce crime by addressing underlying factors )

Primary prevention

Primary Prevention:

Primary prevention

approaches reduce crime by

addressing underlying

factors that have a basic

influence on everyone,

shaping people, sites, and

situations that are

amendable to criminal

events.

(Brangtingham, Brangtingham, & Taylor,

2005, p. 274)

Police

•Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB):

•e.g. Police Magazine 【警訊】•Junior Police Call (JPC): 190,000

members in 2017, Helping the Police

Fight Youth Crime, JPC Module A

Police Knowledge Training Course

Social Worker

22 children and youth centres in 2017

•There were 139 Integrated children

& youth service centres in 2017

•There were 34 NGOs operating

stationing school social work service

for 464 secondary day schools in 2017.

Others

•Fight Crime Committee (central)

•District Fight Crime Committee (local)

Secondary Prevention

Secondary prevention

focuses more narrowly

on individuals, groups,

or social conditions or

physical settings

known to be at high

risk of becoming

involved in criminal

events.

(Brangtingham , Brangtingham, & Taylor,

2005, p. 274)

Police

• The Police School liaison Program (PSLP) has been one of

community policing strategy since 1974.

• One objective is to “alert school children & school

authorities to the need for crime prevention’

• 117 School Liaison Officers (SLOs) are serving in HK

(2017).

Social Workers

• 19 District Youth Outreach Social Work Teams in 2017

(“they seek to reach out and provide counselling and

guidance to shoe young people aged between 6-24 who

normally do not participate in conventional youth

activities and are vulnerable to undesirable influences.”)

• “To address the needs of young night drifters, the gov’t

has further supported 18 ICYCS for providing overnight

outreaching services for YNDs on a territory-wide basis”

Others

•Fight Crime Committee (central)

•District Fight Crime Committee (local)

Tertiary Prevention

Tertiary prevention is

directed towards the

prevention of criminal

event recurrence. Tertiary

prevention includes, for

instance, physical

modification of repeatedly

victimized buildings,

offender rehabilitation

programmes, help for those

seeking to exit the sex

trade, restorative justice,

site-specific law

enforcement, and hot-spot

deterrence programmes.

(Brangtingham, Brangtingham, & Taylor,

2005, p. 275)

Police

Police Superintendent Discretionary Scheme (PSDS)/Police Caution: Persons under 18 who have committed a criminal offence might be dealt with by a procedure known as Police Superintendent's Discretion. Rather than being brought before a court, the offenders are cautioned. A caution under Police Superintendent's Discretion Scheme is not a criminal conviction. Therefore, there is no obligation to disclose it, and the offender has a clear record. The police, however, keep records of these cautions. (http://youth.clic.org.hk/en/usefulInfo/Criminal-records-and-the-Rehabilitation-of-Offenders-Ordinance/Police-Superintendents-Discretion-Scheme/)

Persons Arrested for Crime : Juveniles (aged 10 - 15) 910 in 2016 as 784 in 2017 Jan-Oct (-13.8%), Young Persons (aged 16 - 20) 1921 in 2016 as1516 in 2017 (-21.1%) (https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/09_statistics/csc.html)

In 2011, 1,987young people were cautioned.(FCC report 31, 2012) .The recidivism rate among the cases handled by PSDS was 18.2% in 2009 (A person is regarded as recidivist if s/he is re-arrested for crime within 2 years from the date of caution, or before s/he reaches 18 years of age).

Social Workers

5 Community Support Service Scheme (CSSS); 2,190cautioned youths were referred to this scheme in 2011 (FCC report 31, 2012).

Correctional Services

In 2016, a total of 10,643(M=7242; F=3,401) prisoners/inmates were admitted to the CSD’s programmes. “Over the past 10 years, based on 2005 and 2014 as the respective years of discharge, Hong Kong’s recidivism rate has decreased from 35.6 % to 25.9 %”. (www.csd.gov.hk)

http://youth.clic.org.hk/usefulInfo/Punishment-and-sentencing-options/17http://youth.clic.org.hk/usefulInfo/Punishment-and-sentencing-options/17http://youth.clic.org.hk/en/usefulInfo/Criminal-records-and-the-Rehabilitation-of-Offenders-Ordinance/Police-Superintendents-Discretion-Scheme/https://www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/09_statistics/csc.htmlhttp://www.csd.gov.hk/

Individual measures and mechanisms Risk factors

Family risk factors

School risk factors

Community risk factors

Individual/ friends/ peer risk factors

Protective factors

Healthy behaviours

Clear standards

Social bonding

Mentoring

Crime reduction programmes

e.g. cognitive behaviour treatment (CBT), drug treatment, etc.

Source: Tilley (2009: 52-79)

Bigblog.org.uk

How can we, as social workers, work with

youth at risk and their significant others ?

The social work profession promotes social change, problem

solving in human relationships and the empowerment and

liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories of

human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the

points where people interact with their environments. Principles of

human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.

(IFSW)

The professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or

communities to enhance or restore their capacity of social

functioning

Creating societal conditions favorable to that goal (NASW)

Evaluation on Effectiveness Sherman et al., (1997)

Reviewed just over 500 crime prevention programmes and looked at:

1.Reductions in delinquency, juvenile crime, youth gang activity, youth substance abuse, and other high-risk factors.

2.Reductions in the risk factors in the community, school, and family environments that contribute to juvenile violence; and

3.Increases in the protective factors that reduce the likelihood of delinquency and criminal behaviour.

What Works in Crime Prevention?

(David Weisburd, David P. Farrington and

Charlotte Gill, 2017)

“our findings reinforce strongly the idea

that criminal justice programs and

interventions can rehabilitate offenders

and prevent crime.

Not everything works, but overall the

portrait of crime prevention and

rehabilitation that our work provides is

extraordinarily optimistic.”

EffectivenessWhat works?

“These are programs that we are

reasonably certain to prevent

crime or reduce risk factors for

crime in the kinds of social

contexts in which they have been

evaluated and for which the

findings can be generalized to

similar settings in other places and

times”(p.9).

What does not work?

“ These are programs that

we are reasonably certain

fail to prevent crime or

reduce risk factors for crime,

using the identical scientific

criteria

What is promising?

“ These are programs for which the

level of certainty from available

evidence is too low to support

generalizable conclusions, but for

which there is some empirical basis for

predicting that further research could

support such conclusions” (p.10).

What is unknown?

“Any program not classified in one of

the three above categories is defined

as having “unknown” effects” (p.10).

(Sherman et al., 2002)

What works?

For example:

For delinquent and at-risk preadolescents: Family therapy and parent training.

For school: communication and reinforcement of clear, consistent norms; Teaching of social competency skills.

For high-risk repeat offenders: Monitoring by specialized police units; Incarceration.

Source: Sherman et al. (1998:1)

What works in Developmental Prevention?

The study “aimed to summarize the long-term effects of prevention programs implemented during early and middle childhood (from infancy up to age 12) on later criminal offending during adulthood (age 18 or older). They also reported effects on positive outcomes such as academic attainment, and found nine evaluations. Taken together, the programs were effective in reducing adult offending (OR=1.26, CI=1.06–1.50). The effects on positive outcomes were somewhat larger (OR=1.36, CI=1.20–1.55).” (Deković et al.,2011)

Deković, M., Slagt, M. I., Asscher, J. J., Boendermaker, L., Eichelsheim, V. I., & Prinzie, P. (2011). Effects of early prevention programs on adult criminal offending: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 532–544.

What works?Weisburd, D., Farrington, D. P., & Gill, C. (2017). What Works in

Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation. Criminology & Public Policy

“Children who were more at risk and those from low socioeconomic

status (SES) families be benefited more. Shorter, more intensive

programs tended to produce larger effects.” (Farrington, D. P., Ttofi,

M. M., and Lösel, F. A., 2017)

33 systematic reviews of developmental prevention programs have

been summarized: “every summary OR effect size was greater than 1,

indicating that the program was effective. Furthermore, the effect size

was statistically significant in 18 out of 22

cases ……………………the family-based interventions were the

most effective.”(David P. Farrington, Maria M. Ttofi and Friedrich A.

Lösel, 2017)

What works?

As “early starters” contribute to a large proportion of total

offending (e.g. Farrington & Welsh, 2007; Moffitt, 1993),

an increased investment in developmental prevention

policies would make an important contribution to reducing

crime and violence. And this investment would also pay off

in financial terms. Typically, the benefits of developmental

prevention greatly outweigh the costs (e.g. Aos, Lieb,

Mayfield, Miller, & Pennucci, 2004; Welsh, Farrington, &

Raffan Gowar, 2015).

Sharing on special service setting in the

local context

1) Policies

2) Service nature

3) Service structure and delivery system

4) Operation and work culture

5) Tips of working in this service setting

6) Tips of working with specific clientele

Useful references and links: Hancock, M. (1997), Principles of social work practice: a generic practice approach. New

York : Haworth Press

Horejsi, C. R., & Horejsi, G. A. ( 1997). Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

YOUTHLAW：ycpc.hkfyg.org.hk/youthlaw

Service for Youth-at-risk https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_young/sub_seryouthrisk/

http://www.hkcss.org.hk/c/business_detail.asp?isnew=1&page_type=cy

https://www.nd.gov.hk/en/antidrug_resources.htm

https://www.nd.gov.hk/pdf/three_year_plan_2018_2020_ch5_en.pdf

Crime Library

http://www.crimelibrary.com/

Bilingual Laws Information System, HK

http://www.legislation.gov.hk/eng/home.htm

Crime prevention studies volume 1 to 25

http://www.popcenter.org/library/CrimePrevention/

https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_young/sub_seryouthrisk/http://www.hkcss.org.hk/c/business_detail.asp?isnew=1&page_type=cyhttps://www.nd.gov.hk/en/antidrug_resources.htmhttps://www.nd.gov.hk/pdf/three_year_plan_2018_2020_ch5_en.pdf

Q and A