The Young Person’s Advisory Service (YPAS) is part of the Liverpool children and young people’s mental health services pathway, working with a diverse range of providers across youth justice, education, health and social care. They have three bases in Liverpool and deliver a range of support, therapeutic and psychosocial interventions in a stigma free environment. YPAS is a nationally recognised Youth, Information, Advice and Counselling Service (YIACS) provider, with operational frameworks governed by the nationally renowned Youth Access.
The Young Person’s Advisory Service (YPAS) is part of the Liverpool children and young people’s mental health services pathway, working with a diverse range of providers across youth justice, education, health and social care. They have three bases in Liverpool and deliver a range of support, therapeutic and psychosocial interventions in a stigma free environment. YPAS is a nationally recognised Youth, Information, Advice and Counselling Service (YIACS) provider, with operational frameworks governed by the nationally renowned Youth Access.
Access
Children and young people aged 0-25 years can self-refer or access drop-in centres, with the service recently piloting a new multidisciplinary triage and assessment process, involving the ‘Friendly Face Assessment’ (FFA) tool. The use of this tool has significantly reduced waiting times, with assessment provided within 1 week of a referral, and subsequent interventions provided within 4 weeks. Taking about 1.5 hours to complete, the FFA includes signposting to useful resources and is completed by an integrative team of social workers, counsellors, systematic family practitioners and parenting facilitators. The assessor and young person agree on the service that best meets their needs and complete outcome measures if therapy is required. Letters are subsequently sent to the young person outlining the assessment process and agreed actions, while a duty of care letter is sent to any external referrers outlining outcomes of the referral and assessment.
Collaborative working
YPAS has youth and social workers in all secondary schools across Liverpool, and are working with GPs to ensure easy access to YPAS and other partner agencies. YPAS works with a range of organisations to develop care pathways which best support and meet identified needs of children and young people, and consistently demonstrates a positive impact on the overall provision of mental health services.
Co-production and participation
Participation is a vital part of YPAS’s delivery, allowing young people to take ownership of their own situations and goals, thus making their improvements achievable and sustainable. YPAS has a strong participation policy; it is written into all staff job descriptions and is a central element of a staff member’s comprehensive induction. YPAS has a very strong ethos of participation and has an excellent track record of working collaboratively with children, young people, families and carers. Other areas of participation include: policy ratification, service design, delivery of training, website development, local and national consultation and campaigning.
Outcome monitoring
YPAS is a fully engaged member of the Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC) with robust routine outcome monitoring systems and processes in place. As a result of this evidence based culture, CORC has provided YPAS with the opportunity to take part in the CORC accreditation pilot, submitting as an individual organisation prior to the partnership submission later in the year. YPAS has now achieved its accreditation status; one of the first CORC accredited organisations in the country.
YPAS also consistently monitors young people’s feedback through service evaluation, comments / compliments / complaint (CCC) forms, on-line surveys, youth forum and focus groups, accessible interactive websites, and suggestion boxes. Young people’s feedback and outcome measures are used in staff supervisions and annual appraisals.
What makes this service an example of positive practice?
YPAS is a robust Liverpool charity and has a proven track record of working within an evidenced based framework. YPAS consistently demonstrates the impact that non-stigmatised interventions have on young people’s outcomes, which has been pivotal in relation to their sustainability strategy.
YPAS’s strength as a unique, accessible, young person centred organisation ensures it is consistently receptive to the political and environmental changing needs of young people and actively works with a diverse range of cross sector providers from youth justice, education, health and social care.
Further details
Commissioning
LCGG, LCC
Providers
Adler hey Fresh CAMHS, Young Persons Advisory Service (YPAS), PSS Spinning World, ADHD Foundation, Merseyside Youth Association (MYA), ADDvanced Solutions, Barnardos Young Carers, Bullybusters, Merseycare
Workforce (WTE)
18.5 psychiatrists, 1 GP, 12 clinical psychologists, 27 therapistsand counsellors, 2.8 family therapists, 2.6 arts therapists, 0.9 learning disabilities nurse, 2 mental health nurses, 20.1 managers and administration staff, 52.1 other.
Population size
130, 000 CYP
Caseload
In 2016, YPAS worked with 2, 112 young people (11, 848 contacts). Ran 567 drop-ins: accessed by 629 young people (4, 766 contacts) and received 1, 825 referrals for 1:1 support.
Prevention and resilience – universal and early intervention for at risk
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Access and advice – consultation lines, triage and signposting
