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Breaking Through Conference 2006
Mentoring-Developing new and progressive methods for practitioners. See a selection of photos taken at the conference, click here.

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Meeting with Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health & Children Thursday 9th November 2006

A delegation from Breaking Through
(Paul Flynn, Vice Chairman,
James O’Leary, Treasurer,
Karl Mc Gealy, South West Representative and
Marie Halligan, National Development Officer)
met with members of the Joint Committee on Health & Children on Thursday 9th November 2006 at Leinster House.

The meeting was chaired by
Mr. John Moloney T.D. Fianna Fail.
Paul Flynn presented a history of the work of Breaking Through over the last seven years together with details of the plans for the future as outlined in the Strategic Plan 2005-2009. The presentation was followed by a question and answer session.

The members of the Joint Committee thanked the delegation for the presentation and made some recommendations as to how Breaking Through could progress the funding initiative further. The committee gave their support in furthering this process.

Click here to download the Presentation.

For a full transcript of the meeting of Breaking Through and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health & Children

Click here Then click, Breaking Through Network: Presentation.

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Meeting with the Joint Committee of the Oireachtas from Dept. Art, Sport, Tourism, Community & Gaeltacht Affairs. 18th January 2006.

A meeting took place on 18^th January 2006 at Leinster House between a delegation from Breaking Through (Paul Flynn,  Vice Chairman, James O’Leary , Public Relations Officer, and Marie Halligan, Company Secretary ) with members of the Joint Committee of the Oireachtas from Dept. Art, Sport, Tourism, Community & Gaeltacht Affairs.

The meeting was chaired by Cecilia Keaveney T.D. Fianna Fail. Paul Flynn made a presentation on a proposal for resources to fund Breaking Through interventions, he was supported in this by James and Marie in a questions and answers session by the members of the Oireachtas.  

The meeting was received very positively. All  members present were very impressed and interested in the  work  of Breaking Through and in the proposal for which we were seeking funding at this time.

Click here to download the proposal

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For a full transcript of the meeting of Breaking Through and the Joint Committees Click here:

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The Irish Times article refering to the meeting with the Joint Oireachtas Committee.

The Irish Times
19th January 2006

Lack of 24 hour social work service hampering efforts

The lack of a 24 hour social work service is hampering attempts to help marginalised youth, an Oireachtas committee has been told.

The Joint Committee on Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs also heard that too many professionals in the youth work area have nine to five jobs and are not available at night, when young people are more likely to be in trouble.

The claims were made during a presentation of the five year plan, by Breaking Through, a 32 county support network for practitioners working with “young people at risk”

Fine Gael T.D. Jimmy Deenihan praised the group’s work, but said practitioners were “not getting through” to those in need, partly because most of them went off duty at 5 or 6.pm

“Young people are at their most vulnerable between 10pm and 2am, but nobody’s working then” he said

The slack was taken up by unpaid volunteers, often working in isolation, without support or funding.

Vice-Chairman of Breaking Through, Paul Flynn acknowledged that Ireland was, to his knowledge, “the only country in Europe without a 24 hour social work service” He also agreed that many housing estates where the network was active were a “ nightmare” from10pm until 4am and that attempts to help the vulnerable were limited by a shortage of staff and resources

Breaking Through defines young people at risk as those “whose behaviour or life circumstances seriously jeopardise their wellbeing and alienate them from their families, education, training and the community”

It aims to coordinate the work of 300-400 social workers, gardai, teachers, community volunteers and others who strive to identify and help young people in need

Frank McNally

PRESS RELEASE -

Practitioners working with young people at risk need to sharpen their skills.

Practitioners working with young people at risk need to sharpen their skills and keep up with current trends. Recent changes in social and demographic patterns in Ireland means that practitioners working with young people at risk are now encountering a new client group who have different needs. Issues that have arisen include the growth of young people under the age of 25 years, high birth rate of teenage mothers, lack of affordable childcare, presence of young people to non-national parents, lack of appropriate services available within the juvenile justice system and increased incidences of suicide amongst young men in Ireland. Catering for young people with these needs has placed enormous pressures on practitioners. If such issues are handled clumsily by practitioners, young people may grow up in a country in which ethnic clashes, ghettoisation and marginalisation may become a reality.

Practitioners must have access to good resources that offer evidence based information that is relevant to designing and evaluating programmes as well as empowering communities to develop positive youth focused initiatives. To address this challenge, Olwyn Enright T.D. Fine Gael Spokesperson on Education & Science launched Breaking Through’s 6th Annual Conference report “Walking in the Other Person’s Shoes” at Clonliffe College, Dublin 3 on the 22nd September 2005. A key objective of this conference report is to highlight positive practices for practitioners when engaging with young people in areas such as youth justice, drug misuse, suicide prevention and family conflict. It also considers how practitioners from different work settings can be mutually supportive and complementary in meeting young people’s needs.

Breaking Through is an all Ireland network that aims to support practitioner’s ability to anticipate outcomes, interpret legislative framework and build their fundamental knowledge base in the area of youth at risk. It also offers practitioners a unique channel of communication to link with others working in similar areas of work both at regional and national level. Membership for instance, includes individuals from the youth services, gardaí, partnership programmes, health service executive, drug task force initiatives, vocational education training centres and residential care services.

Information from: Eileen Burke,
National Development Officer, Breaking Through.
Tel. 01 6060858;
E-mail: eileen@breakingthrough.org

BREAKING THROUGH’S
POSITION ON ASBO
(ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ORDERS) JUNE 2005:

Breaking Through is requesting practitioners working with young people at risk to strongly oppose the Irish government’s proposals to introduce ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders).

Breaking Through is a voluntary organization established in 1999 to coordinate and develop strong support links for practitioners and influence policy developments that will impact positively on the quality of the lives of young people at risk throughout Ireland.

Arising from a 1999 European Conference titled “Young people, Crime and Disadvantage”, a recommendation was made to establish a Network to develop strong support links for practitioners interested in promoting the quality of policies and practices for young people at risk.

The overall aim of Breaking Through is to provide an all Ireland Support Network for practitioners to promote effective interventions for young people at risk.

Membership is representative of a diverse range of expertise and interests in young people at risk such as youth justice, education, health and social care. The Network is supported in its work by a National Development Officer and an Administrator.

Breaking Through has five core objectives:

1. Facilitate links through local, regional and cross-border networks.
2. Promote partnership and interagency co-operation.
3. Collate, document and share good practice in the area of young people at risk
4. Provide informed support for practitioners within an atmosphere of mutual respect.
5. Influence policy and programme development.

In carrying out its functions, Breaking Through has adopted the Australian Capital Territory (2003) definition of Young People at Risk a measure reiterated in the Irish Youth Work Act, 2001. This definition views
“young people are at risk if their behaviour or life circumstances seriously jeopardize their wellbeing and alienate them from their families, education and training and the community”

This definition views working with “at risk” people primarily focuses on the disengagement from education/training, criminal activity, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness and mental health issues.

In presenting this paper, Breaking Through upholds five core values that guide all aspects of the organization’s work. These values were specified during the National Children’s Strategy (2000) consultation process and reflected in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Multi-agency
• Collaboration
• Self-Help
• Practitioner Focused
• Representation

INTRODUCTION

The Breaking Through Network is a membership-led umbrella organisation that represents a diverse range of interests of practitioners working with young people at risk.

It is strongly opposed to the introduction of an ASBO system on the following three grounds:

1. It will serve to further alienate young people at risk

2. It undermines the key prevention and diversion principles outlined in the Children’s Act, 2001 which aims to divert young people from offending behaviour and from custody.

3. It infringes on young people’s civil rights.

BACKGROUND:

• In December, 2004 the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform announced that he intended to bring forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, to provide for the introduction of an ASBO system. The government proposals were drawn up with reference to the United Kingdom (U.K) ASBO system which was introduced in 1999.
• Anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) is a measure imported from the U.K that aims to prevent an offender’s continuous involvement in specific antisocial acts. These acts have not been clearly defined other than being documented as “any action likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.” Such a definition can be applied to virtually any act. As a result, many examples of ASBOs have been granted for behaviour which is not criminal, such as playing football or the use of sarcastic language.
  • The Irish government’s proposals differ in some important aspects to the U. K system such as:
  • ASBOs will apply for a maximum of two years, unlike the UK where orders are set for a minimum of two years;
  • The definition of antisocial behaviour will be narrower than in Britain, and will encompass serious offences;
  • Only a senior member of the Garda officer can apply for an ASBO’s from the courts, unlike the UK where local authorities and registered social landlords may also do so.
  • A request has been made for the Minister of State for Children, Brian Lenihan, to integrate the ASBO system within the Children's Act, 2001.
  • The Courts will be provided with guidelines in the legislation on considerations to apply to the issue of orders. These guidelines will include principles such as the reasonableness of the complaint, the likelihood of recurrence and the number of occasions on which it is alleged to have occurred.
  • A serious of steps will be put in place before a child and their parents will be obliged to present to the Court for consideration of an ASBO.
  • Special conditions will be provided for children under 14 years who engage in anti-social behaviour which will be referred to “Good Behaviour Orders.”

OPPOSITION TO THE ASBO SYSTEM:
Breaking Through strongly opposes the introduction of an ASBO system on the following three grounds:

1. It will further alienate young people at risk.

2. It undermines the key prevention and diversion principles outlined in the Children’s Act, 2001 which aims to divert young people from offending behaviour and from custody.

3. It infringes on young people’s civil rights.

ALIENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE AT RISK

• There are strong fears that an ABSO system will increase the number of young people at risk entering the Irish justice system – i.e. obtaining a criminal record or being sent to jail for behaviour that in its’ own right is not criminal.
• There is clear evidence from the United Kingdom (U.K) that ASBOs are being employed as a quick-fix solution to deal with young people whose behaviour is deemed undesirable or causing a nuisance.
• This raises concerns for young people’s whose involvement in anti-social behaviour can be attributed psychological problem associated with drug misuse, family poverty, learning difficulty, homelessness or a mental health issues.
• It is vitally important the government support strategies that promote greater understanding and dealing with these issues otherwise these young people at risk will be lost in the criminal justice system.

Recommendations:

• Any intervention to address young people’s involvement in anti-social behaviour needs to consider the high risk circumstances in which some of these individuals are exposed to in their everyday lives.
  Government strategies that promote a greater understanding and deal with “at risk” amongst young people needs to be adequately resourced as a means of deterring young people involvement in anti-social behaviour.

UNDERMINES THE KEY PRINCIPLES OUTLINED IN THE CHILDREN’S ACT, 2001:

• Although the Irish government’s ASBOs proposals are a significant improvement on those imposed in the United Kingdom, these proposals fundamentally undermine the prevention and diversion principles that underpin the Children's Act, 2001. The primary focus of these two principles is to keep young people away from formal criminal justice proceedings and deal with offending behaviour informally.
• The introduction of the ASBO system undermines these two principles by not focusing on the underline cause a young person’s anti-social behaviour and increasing their amount of juvenile offending problem.
  
• There is a risk through the allocation of specific funding for the enforcement of ASBOs will result in less resources being available for the implementation of the Children’s Act, 2001. The legislative framework of the Children’s Act, 2001 offers a wide range of strategies to help young people rationalise their actions. It offers a range of community-based sanctions, including controls over where offenders may go and with whom they may associate. The family conferencing provisions enable these young people and their families to identify options and make decisions to improve the quality of their own lives. In addition, the parental supervision orders require parents, to be treated for alcoholism or to exert control over their children.
• There is pre-existing legislation available to the Garda offering them significant power to effectively deal with anti-social behaviour. Some of the provisions are:
  • The Public Order Act allows the Garda to move groups of young people who are congregating in a threatening manner.
  • The Intoxication Liquor Act which allows for the moving on, under the threat of conviction groups of loitering young.
  • The Criminal Justice Bill, currently under review will give the Gardai extra powers to deal with anti-social behaviour.
    Recommendations
    
• Public concerns regarding young people’s involvement in anti-social behaviour could potentially be addressed through ensuring the full implementation of the various strategies outlined in Children’s Act 2001. Although a lot of progress has been made through the Act to reduce the number of young people being placed in detention centres, community support aspects of this legislation needs to be acted upon.
• A holistic and integrated approach needs to be adopted when dealing with young people who are associated with anti-social behaviour. Any intervention to support young people therefore must offer assistance to their parents and families.
• For this reason, the government needs to adequately resource special preventive and rehabilitative programmes to help individuals change their behaviour and their lifestyles. This requires greater social spending on recreational settings for young people such as leisure centres, swimming pools, youth centres, skateboard parks. Problems with the under-resourced National Educational Welfare Board also urgently need to be addressed. This organisation has a major role to play in keeping children in school and preventing truancy.
• The political party, Fine Gael have documented a series of effective measures on how to combat anti-social behaviour that don’t involve the enforcement of ASBOs. These proposals are outlined on the website www.safestreets.ie. Some of these proposals include the appointment of a Minister of State with the responsibility for anti-social behaviour, on-the-spot fines for the parents of children who engage in anti-social behaviour, empowering communities through the establishment of local level community/Garda presence, changing the way the Garda work, implementing new preventive measures and a requirement for councils to consult with Gardai on proposed developments to prevent the development of anti-social behaviour blackspots. The political party Labour, have also advocated for better resources for community policing and the probation and welfare services instead of implementing ASBOs.
  

INFRINGES ON YOUNG PEOPLE’S HUMAN RIGHTS:

• Under the UN Convention of Human Rights of the Child, the introduction of an ASBO system would pose a significant threat to a young person’s human rights. There are fears that these orders will shift the balance of human rights too far in favour of public interest to the detriment of young people.
• Young people are currently at risk of being criminalized by the enforcement of ASBOs. Although the granting of an ASBO is a civil law issue, breach of an order is a criminal offence which is an arrestable recordable offence that could result in a prison term. Such action will take away a young person’s right to freedom.
• The broad definition of an ASBO means that a lower standard of proof is required than that requested at criminal proceedings thus the enforcement of these measures could potentially be based on hearsay evidence. This implies that the burden of proof is on the balance of probabilities and not beyond reasonable doubt. A balance of probabilities means that the courts can impose an ASBO by merely being satisfied that the accused behaviour is “likely to cause alarm, harassment or distress.” As a result, an ASBO can be served for behaviour that is not in itself criminal and thus an infringement on a young person’s civil rights.
• The identity of young people who receive an ASBO can be circulated to the public/media as a means of assisting the policing of this measure. Normally the courts may not publicly identify young offenders in all stages of legal proceedings. Thus an ASBO system poses a threat to a young person’s right to privacy.
• If the Irish government introduces an ASBO system, it will have to conform to the Irish Constitution, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention of Human Rights.

Recommendations:

• The government needs to fully implement the Children’s Act, 2001, as well as a number of other pre-existing legislation offering the Garda significant power to effectively deal with anti-social behaviour.
• Government efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour needs to ensure the enforcement and monitoring of pre-existing legislation. They also must offer appropriate support services that target new forms of anti-social behaviour.
• An independent body needs to be established to oversee the screening of ASBO applications to prevent excessive use.

Conclusion:

There is strong need for an integrated, interdepartmental and cross-sectoral response to public concerns about a real or perceived rise in anti-social behaviour that promotes and respects the rights of young people at risk. As mentioned in this document, ASBOs can have a disproportionately negative impact on a young people’s civil rights. The government needs to consider alternative initiatives such as the investment in community based crime prevention initiatives for young people at risk. It also requires the full implementation and resourcing of all aspects of the Children Act, 2001. If the ASBO system is introduced in Ireland an independent authority will need to be established to safeguard against excessive use these orders. Finally, there is need for programmes to support parents living in disadvantaged communities who are struggling to access appropriate therapy, counselling and family interventions for their children who are risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour.

Author: Eileen Burke, National Development Officer
June, 2005

Click here to open & download,
in Word Document Format.

LACK OF SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR PRACTITIONERS WORKING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE AT RISK:

Despite changes and improvements, there are still grave deficiencies within youth serving agencies when it comes to supporting practitioners working with young people at risk. Lack of appropriate support systems for these practitioners can contribute to a breakdown in care for vulnerable children who have suffered abuse and neglect.

Practitioners working with such young people at risk are regarded as being extremely committed professionals working in a very difficult and challenging environment. A report to be published by Breaking Through will show that isolation and feelings of helplessness are the main reasons why these practitioners are finding it difficult to perform to their full capacity. This situation is particularly apparent amongst single worker projects.

Breaking Through held a two day conference titled “Walking in the Other Person’s Shoes” to examine the connections between practitioners from different work settings targeting young people at risk and the conditions of everyday work life which have become increasingly difficult.

Mr Brian Lenihan – Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Children officially open this event. The event was held in the Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin on the 11th and 12th of April, 2005. The conference included experts in youth policy from the academic world and youth justice services. Key notes speakers at the conference included Tony Humphreys, Consultant Clinical Psycholgists, who has written extensively on dealing with young people with challenging behaviours. Phil Scraton, Professor of Criminology from Northern Ireland who critically reflect on the experiences of “Anti-Social Behaviour Order” in the U.K and the challenges of introducing such orders within the Irish justice system. Dr. Ella Arensman, Director of Research of National Suicide Research Foundation presented findings of a large scales study on young people’s mental health in Ireland and; Gareth O’Callaghan, a R.T.E Radio 2 presenter shared his experiences of struggling with depression.

A strong focus of this event was placed on self reflection and personal awareness therefore workshops were offering to provide practical support to practitioners on key challenges when working with young people at risk: myths and facts about suicide, drug use; interagency collaboration; dealing with conflict within families; youth sexuality; and good boundaries End …..

Click here to open & download, in Word Document Format.

Information from: Eileen Burke, National Development Officer, Breaking Through.

Phone: 01- 6060852
E-mail: eileen@breakingthrough.org

Breaking Through’s Submission
on Youth Justice. November, 2004:

Breaking Through’s Submission
on Youth Justice. November, 2004:

Click here to open & download, in Word Document Format.

Greater Support Provisions for Practitioners working with Young People at Risk:

Attention Practitioners:

Practitioners working with young people need support, now, more than ever, as the trends in youth suicides, depression, drug abuse and crime continue to rise.

At the launch of Breaking Through’s 5th Annual Conference report, Senator Mary O’ Rourke stated that,

“the promotion of youthful energy, idealism, passion and social conscience will best equip practitioners for working with young people at risk.”

The main recommendations of Breaking Through’s 5th Annual Conference report “the kids are ok, its uz who need to change” are;

• Vulnerability and isolation are at the root of many work practice difficulties. Managers of Youth focused organisations and the Government thus have a significant responsibility to implement work policies to deal with such challenges.
• Comprehensive support structures are required to place practitioners working with young people at centre stage. These supports will acknowledge their vulnerability while creating a safe environment for them to explore their unique individual contribution.
• Increased training opportunities, introduction of flexible working hours and safe peer support provisions are some measures that need to be prioritised.

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