Youth Access

Youth Access’ Making Tracks Project significantly raises GPs’ awareness of YIACS and the complex needs of 18 to 25 year olds

07 July, 2011

These are some of the findings of an independent evaluation of Youth Access’ Making Tracks Project funded by the Department of Health. The report brings together the results of a small three year pilot project in which Youth Access worked with three local YIACS and GPs in Manchester, Newcastle and Norwich.

The three areas were selected to pilot a distinctive package of holistic support: combining medical, psychological therapies and social welfare advice services to ‘harder to reach’ young adults.

One aspect of the Making Tracks Project involved each of the local YIACS piloting a bespoke package of Making Tracks outcomes tools (drawn from a range of nationally validated tools) and a data collection system. While the project was small, and thus the young people accessing the counselling and advice services within the Making Tracks pilot areas represent just a small sample of those accessing this help annually, nonetheless the data captured on young people’s outcomes was consistent. Young people involved in the Making Tracks project often presented with multiple problems and were all highly positive about the services they received in the YIACS.

Speaking about the findings from the evaluation, Barbara Rayment, Director of Youth Access said:

“Youth Access has long championed the YIACS model and has always believed that it is the combination of counselling and social welfare advice, plus other services in young people friendly settings which can make a vital difference to many young people aged 13 to 25. Making Tracks has added further evidence of the strength of this model, particularly for young adults with some of the most complex needs. Importantly too, there are now GPs who have also become convinced about the value of YIACS. Making Tracks has shown that there is much to be gained in strengthening the relationships between YIACS and GPs. Youth Access hopes to use the learning from this project to foster further collaboration, particularly when so many local youth counselling and advice services are faced with both increasing pressures on the use of their services by young people whilst also coping with reductions in funding.”

The Making Tracks Project was a three-year project (2008-2011) funded by the DH and supported by additional Youth Access staff time, funded via the DfE. It aimed to improve services for young adults (aged 18 to 25) who have complex needs by developing better partnership working between GPs, Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Young People’s Information, Advice, Counselling and Support services (YIACS) operating in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).

The Making Tracks report brings together the results of an external independent evaluation which examined three key areas:

• The difference made by the pilot sites’ interventions to the social, mental and physical health of young adult service users
  
• The impact of the pilot project on raising awareness of young adults’ needs in local PCT and GP commissioning practices
  
• The factors which might enable better partnership working between GPs and the VCS

Click here to view the full report 

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