16 January
NO 1252
Hard to serve youths
A handful of high profile "hard-to-serve" youth generates enormous public, judicial and political concern. While this group represents less than one percent of the population of youth receiving services, it disproportionately uses and abuses the resources available. The continual state of crisis with these youths accentuates the weaknesses in and between treatment agencies among service ministries, e.g., Health, Welfare, Education and the Attorney General. Both the courts and the public experience the service delivery agencies as unresponsive to the treatment needs of these youth. As a consequence, it increasingly becomes a common practice to seek resolution politically or by public embarrassment through the press. Who is responsible or who will take responsibility for primary case management continually surfaces as the unresolved question.
Many community resources have reputedly been "burned-out" by these "hard-to-serve" youth. Community care workers, in desperation, often react to continual community crises by placing "hard-to-serve" youths in these community resources knowing they are not the most suitable placement. Consequently, once available community resources drift away as potential resources because admission guidelines that exclude "hard-to-serve" youths get established.
Held out by many as the panacea to these circumstances is the need for secure treatment. Paradoxically, however, the system seems to be of two minds over this issue. On the one hand some ask for "lock-ups" whereas others shudder at the thought of forcing treatment and its questionable efficacy. Not fully understanding how to transform crisis and social disequilibrium the system seemingly prefers to fall back on exhausted psychotechnologies that anaesthetize, isolate and manipulate the problem. Under some of these circumstances the cures are often worse than the original ailment.
PHILIP PERRY AND FRANCES RICKS
Perry, P. and Ricks, F. (1983). Hard to serve youths: A new way. Journal of Child Care, 1, 4, p.37.
