Cheryl Burgess

Responding to Young Runaways: Problems of Risk and Responsibility

This article examines responses to young runaways in Scotland. Based on the findings of a scoping study commissioned by the Scottish Coalition for Young Runaways, it highlights the challenges of defining young runaways and assessing the scale and nature of running away from home and substitute care. Specifically, the article critically considers constructions of ‘risk’ and ‘responsibility’ that have come to be applied to distinguish ‘genuine’ runaways from others and the problems this distinction creates for appropriate responses aimed at meeting the needs of all young people who run away.

Delivery of alcohol brief interventions in community-based youth work settings: exploring feasibility and acceptability in a qualitative study

BackgroundAlcohol Brief Interventions (ABIs) are increasingly being delivered in community-based youth work settings. However, little attention has been paid to how they are being implemented in such settings, or to their feasibility and acceptability for practitioners or young people. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the context, feasibility and acceptability of ABI delivery in youth work projects across Scotland.MethodsIndividual, paired and group interviews were conducted with practitioners and young people in nine community projects that were either involved in the delivery of ABIs or were considering doing so in the near future. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse data.ResultsABIs were delivered in a diverse range of youth work settings including the side of football pitches, on the streets as part of outreach activities, and in sexual health drop-in centres for young people. ABI delivery differed in a number of important ways from delivery in other health settings such as primary care, particularly in being largely opportunistic and flexible in nature. ABIs were adapted by staff in line with the ethos of their project and their own roles, and to avoid jeopardising their relationships with young people. Young people reacted positively to the idea of having conversations about alcohol with youth project workers, but confirmed practitioners’ views about the importance of these conversations taking place in the context of an existing trusting relationship.ConclusionABIs were feasible in a range of youth work settings with some adaptation. Acceptability to staff was strongly influenced by perceived benefits, and the extent to which ABIs fitted with their project’s ethos. Young people were largely comfortable with such conversations. Future implementation efforts should be based on detailed consideration of current practice and contexts. Flexible models of delivery, where professional judgement can be exercised over defined but adaptable content, may be better appreciated by staff and encourage further development of ABI activity.

Nurture corners in preschool settings: involving and nurturing children and parents

ABSTRACT This article draws on the findings from a small qualitative study which focused on gathering perspectives and accounts of experiences from nursery practitioners, health and third sector professionals and parents. It explored the ways in which parents/carers and practitioners experienced the nurture approach developed in preschool settings in Glasgow, Scotland and their perspectives on the impact that this provision has had on the development and well-being of young children and family engagement in learning. The findings provided some insights into the specific ways in which settings involved parents and worked towards developing a nurturing ethos towards parents themselves, underpinned by the following three elements: a welcoming setting, sensitive and empathic staff and creative practice. The particular characteristics of these three elements seemed to support some parents in developing the parenting skills which were required to consolidate the benefits experienced by their children. These benefits included parents being supported to replicate some of the practices at home and becoming more involved in their children’s learning. The study identified challenges for some nurseries in achieving this, such as the limited scope for nurture corner practitioners in some of the settings to fully utilise their skills with parents due to accommodation constraints.

Alcohol brief interventions in youth and social work settings in Scotland

Scotland has one of the highest liver cirrhosis mortality rates in Western Europe. The Scottish government has invested in a range of policies to address this and the wider harms from alcohol, including a national programme on alcohol brief interventions (ABIs). The initial focus of this work was primary care, accident and emergency care, and antenatal care but it was expanded in 2012 to include ABIs delivered in wider settings and with populations such as social work service users and young people. This process evaluation aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of ABIs delivered to young people and in social work settings. The study involves two phases: one that maps existing projects providing ABIs in these areas and examines barriers and facilitators to their delivery, and a second that explores case study projects in depth and develops proposals for a potential future outcome evaluation. Phase 1 of the study involved conducting 24 semi-structured interviews with 28 professionals from 12 projects providing ABIs in the wider settings of social work and young peoples services between December 2012 and April 2013. Two field visit observations were also completed and documentation/data gathered from all projects, including numbers of clients and ABIs delivered where possible. A framework approach was used for coding and analysis of data. In addition to a detailed thematic analysis, 10 project case summaries were produced to retain the specificity of information about the diversity and similarities across the cases studied. Results from Phase 1 of the study will be presented and implications for policy and practice will be discussed.