BJC: INVOLVEMENT IN NETWORKS & PARTNERSHIPS

Details

In seeking to overcome barriers to employment people tend to experience considerable and multiple difficulties in relation to accessing education, training and employment opportunities.  Associated with this the BJC recognise the need to identify and develop an inter-organisational response to the situation in which the respective resources, capacities and expertise of a number of organisations could be harnessed.

The BJC also recognise that at any given time (but particularly over a period of time) an individual client can be engaged in different ways with a range of organisations.  The BJC client is at the same time a client of other organisations and are therfore considered to be shared clients.

As a result the BJC has over the years developed partnerships with a range of different organisations and has participated in a number of networks, some of which are outlined below:

EQUAL YOUTH INTER-AGENCY NETWORK 

The BJC coordinate the EQUAL Youth interagency initiative, which brings together a number of agencies in the local area working with young people, aged 16–24yrs who are disadvantaged in the labour market. The aim is to encourage an interagency approach to assist this group to access education, training and employment, which they may not achieve should the agencies be working in isolation. The inter-agency process comprising of organisations such as Ballymun Regional Youth Resource, Probation Service, Ballymun Adult Read and Write Scheme, Ballymun Job Centre, Department of Social Protection (formally Department of Social and Family Affairs), Youthreach, Don Bosco (HSE), Community Training Centres (FÁS ) and a local school.

The origin of the Equal Youth Network stems from a 2005 Equal funded pilot project managed by the BJC. The objective of the EU Equal Project was to develop a model of interagency co-operation for organisations working with young people. At the end of the pilot project in 2007 FAS (Social Inclusion Unit) provided funding to enable the continuation of core elements of the pilot identified as good practice. This enabled the BJC to continue on some elements of the work developed as part of the pilot. The interagency approach developed as part of the Equal Project is now imbedded in the day-to-day work of the guidance service for young people in the BJC and is now part of the work of practitioners for a range of different agencies in Ballymun.

As part of the Equal Youth process practitioners from the various agencies involved meet on a monthly basis to discuss clients’ progression and any barriers or issues preventing progression. A comprehensive client list is discussed and if needs be, plans are put into place for these clients. This work is supported by an inter agency database where clients are profiled and their interaction with the various agencies recorded. In this way the database enables each of the agencies to follow the progress of the client and to update on progress. As part of the Equal Youth process clients sign a confidentiality agreement. There are also protocols around the management of data. The development of the relationships between the practitioners involved in the Equal Youth process has facilitated the development of a number of initiatives such as “BallyRunners”, a Cannabis Initiative and Cannabis Information Workshops. These initiatives have been created as a direct result of the close working cooperation between the agencies, and collective agreement around emerging needs in the young people. The role of the staff of the BJC is to carry out the initial profile and assessment of the client, administer the database, co-ordinate and hold the monthly meetings. 

 
PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUIT UNIVERSITY SUPPORT & TRAINING

The Jesuit community has a long association with Ballymun and the BJC has a long association with the Jesuit community. When it was first established the BJC was part funded, over a three year period, from the Jesuit Solidarity Fund. In the early start-up period this funding was very important as it enabled the BJC to establish and consolidate itself. The partnership with the JUST initiative is a continuation of the Jesuit link. The aim of the JUST initiative is to support individuals from Ballymun to benefit as much as possible from 3rd level education. JUST provides supports to individuals at pre-college, certificate/diploma, degree and graduate level. Support is provided in areas such as: study skills, essay writing skills, using library resources, IT support, information on financial support and career guidance. The BJC staff work with the members of JUST to provide career guidance. The BJC also refer clients to JUST for support while in college. 

THE NETWORK FOR ASSISTING CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE 

The Network was set up as an initiative of the Ballymun Local Drugs Task Force in conjunction with agencies in the area working with children and young people aged 10-18. All agencies involved agreed to share information to reduce the risk of the young persons engaging in negative behaviours. This is a case management style mode. Each organisation leads a number of cases and call case meetings involving the agencies relevant to the young person. The network is now supported by youngballymun. 

JIGSAW WRAPAROUND FACILITATION 

Wraparound is part of the Jigsaw Youngballymun Programme. This service centres on working in an interagency format with young people around mental health and well being.The programme is named after a “Wraparound” approach to dealing with young people and their problems. It is based on approaching mental health problems from the perspective of the young person and his or her family rather than imposing a solution based purely on a professional diagnosis of the problem. There are three staff of the Ballymun Job Centre trained in the “Wraparound” process. The training ran from November 2008- May 2009 and covered such areas as resiliency in young people, brief solution focused therapy, the principles of “Wraparound” and the pragmatics of taking a case. The BJC was one of the first organisations to pilot a case with a client. 

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES 

Strengthening Families is an initiative of the Ballymun Network for Assisting Children and Young People which is supported by Ballymun LDTF. The Programme involves a family skills training programme for the whole family. The unique and vital factor in this programme is that it involves working with both parents and young people incorporating a number of different models: parent education, youth work and building on informal networks those families have available to them. All of these strengthen the links between family members. The programme is delivered by practitioners from several different agencies including staff of the Ballymun Job Centre. 

As part of the Trinity Comprehensive School Retention Programme, guidance staff devised a Career Guidance Module that is delivered to Leaving Certificate Applied 6th year students. The module is delivered on weekly basis for 12 weeks. As part of this programme BJC staff instruct in career guidance, compiling CVs, interview techniques, mock interviews, interest and aptitude testing and feedback on mock interviews.

Bridge to Workplace is an employment-based progression option for individuals with a history of problem drug use. Bridge to Workplace is a multi-agency collaborative between the Ballymun Job Centre, Blanchardstown Partnership/LESN, Dublin Inner City Partnership/Inner City Employment Service, FÁS Employment Services, Tolka Area Partnership/LESN, Finglas Cabra Local Drugs Task Force (FCLDTF), HSE Rehabilitation Integration Service (HSE RIS), and Northside Partnership/LESN. 

The initiative operates on the premise that individuals benefit from being engaged in a work experience programme as part of a structured rehabilitation progression plan. Working with a range of employers, the BTW offers clients a high support method of transition into a mainstream employment environment. The process is highly individualised and client centred.

Placements are guided by the client’s interests and abilities and the client has control over agreed days/times of attendance. Support, advice and information is offered to employers involved in the BTW to handle the issues involved in employing recovering drug users, thus breaking down preconceptions regarding the employability of people with a history of drug use. BJC staff act as a key worker for clients from Ballymun involved in the process. 

Staff also work closely with the Bridge to the Workplace coordinator to secure appropriate work experience placements and other supports provided by the process for the clients. BJC staff are also involved in the Operational Management Group for the Initiative. From January 2009, BJC and RIS services in Ballymun referred 17 clients to BTW, twelve clients were successfully placed in work experience. A further eight clients are identified for future referral.

THE MILLENNIUM FUND: SUPPORTING ACCESS TO THIRD LEVEL EDUCATION 

The Millennium Partnership Fund provided financial assistance for further and higher education students. Students could  apply to the Fund to help them with either temporary or ongoing financial difficulties. The BJC administered one element of the Millennium Partnership Fund on behalf of the Ballymun Whitehall Area Partnership between 2003 and 2010.  The role of the BJC was to assist individuals to make an application and assess their eligibility. To date the fund has assisted 1,055 individuals.  This fund is  no longer available in 2011. 

THE YOUNGBALLYMUN LEARNING COMMUNITY FUND 

The purpose of the fund is to support accessible lifelong learning and ongoing professional training and development for residents of Ballymun who work with children and young people in organisations in Ballymun that provide services to children and families. The youngballymun Learning Community Fund has been established by the Board of youngballymun as a contribution to addressing barriers people may face in accessing training/education that is accredited and appropriate to the needs of young people in the local area. This fund is administered and supported by the BJC.

The Mount Street Trust Employment Initiative (MST-EI) is targeted at addressing poverty related to unemployment in the Greater Dublin  Area. The aim of the MST-EI is to make a meaningful contribution to intervening in poverty by supporting organisations to develop and implement specially designed measures to support the labour market integration of specific vulnerable groups. The Initiative will also seek to develop a generic model of inclusive labour market service delivery capable of being adapted for the benefit of other groups and localities.

THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE INITIATIVE ARE TO: 

• Generate positive and durable outcomes for vulnerable groups through an integrated approach to addressing the multiple barriers which such groups experience. 
• Develop innovation and good practice in relation to partnership approaches and integrated working. 
• Contribute to ongoing knowledge and practice in relation to appropriate responses to unemployment at the local level. 
• Generate meaningful learning for policy and appropriate linkage to the policy context.


The Initiative will run for a three year period from 2010 to end 2012.   In December 2009, the Trust formally contracted with three organisations to design and deliver labour market interventions.

THE ORGANISATIONS AND THE INTERVENTIONS THEY ARE DELIVERING ARE: 

• Ballymun Job Centre is piloting a system where access to labour market interventions is based on an individual’s interests, aptitudes or needs as part of an identified short to medium term career plan. Following assessment, participants will be referred directly into existing education or employment programmes or into one of the specially designed Options courses which will provide preparatory training programmes in skill development, employment preparation, education or training preparation and work-based career development. 

• The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is delivering a FETAC accredited training course and associated workplace internships which will draw on participants own life experiences to enable them to become peer educators, trainers and mentors. The project is operating in three areas within Dublin and it is intended that the training course will enhance both the employment prospects of participants and also increase the expertise available to community and voluntary organisations at local level.  

• OPEN is providing FETAC accredited training in horticulture, relevant work experience and the development of a community garden to enable lone parents enter employment or self employment in the horticulture and related sectors. As well as increasing the employment opportunities to participants, the project will seek to have an impact on public land use and ensure that lone parents, and ultimately other vulnerable groups, are not marginalised within the emerging green economy. 

Through an integrated approach to delivering these measures, the three organisations will seek to generate durable employment outcomes for their participants as well as benefits to the community at local level. They will also work collectively to develop a generic model of inclusive labour market service delivery capable of being adapted for the benefit of other groups and localities.  The Initiative will be fully documented and evaluated. The evaluation will capture the impact of the Initiative at the level of participants and their families (including in relation to the experience of poverty), at the level of service delivery and at the policy level. It will also identify the factors which contributed to or hindered the achievement of the objectives. An important aspect of the evaluation will be to identify and assess the capacity to replicate and mainstream the model developed by the Initiative within the prevailing economic, institutional and policy context.

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