Key reading:
Young people’s substance misuse services: positioning our services in the children’s agenda.
Lifeline, 2008.This paper argues that the effective and meaningful integration of services is still central to the survival of young people’s substance misuse services.
Web: http://www.lifelineproject.co.uk/feature.php? Young people’s specialist substance misuse treatment: needs assessment guidance
NTA, 2007.
This guidance focuses on the process to identify the needs of young people requiring specialist substance misuse treatment for substance misuse. That is, those young people (under the age of 18) who experience current harm as a result of substance misuse which significantly disrupts the young person’s functionality. Substances are defined as illegal drugs, illicit prescription drugs, alcohol and volatile substances.
Web: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/areas/young_people/
Docs/YP_needs_assessment.pdf (PDF) (271KB)
Assessing young people for substance misuse
NTA, 2007.
This document has been developed for service managers and practitioners delivering specialist substance misuse services to young people under the age of 18. It describes a framework for specialist substance misuse assessment, how specialist substance misuse assessment dovetails with the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) for children and young people (DfES, 2006a) and outlines the context of undertaking an assessment of young people and care planning arrangements.
Download: http://www.nta.nhs.uk/publications/documents/
nta_assessing_young__people__for__substance__misuse_yp1.pdf (PDF 2.34MB) Warning: large file
Drug use prevention among young people:evidence into practice briefing
Sumnall H., McGrath Y., McVeigh J., Burrell K., Wilkinson L., Bellis M. UK. National Health Service. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Liverpool John Moores University. Centre for Public Health. 2006.
This practice briefing provides evidence-based information on interventions that prevent or delay morbidity and mortality, reduce harms associated with drug use and promote cessation.
Web: http://www.publichealth.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=529849
Needle exchange for young people under 18 years old: a framework for providing needle exchange to young people
DrugScope, 2005.
Providing needle exchange services to young drug misusers is complex. Injecting is a dangerous activity, every effort should be made to encourage all young injectors to change their route of administration to a safer one, engage into treatment as urgently as possible and stop using drugs. The principle of reducing harm must not be lost when considering young drug misusers. However, additional harmful factors and the difference in legal status must be carefully considered and balanced.
Download: Full report (PDF 71KB)
Report of the working group on treatment of under-18-year-olds presenting to treatment services with serious drug problems
Department of Health and Children, 2005.
This report emphasises the need for a multi-disciplinary approach and underlines the need for a service design that encourages and retains young people in treatment and rehabilitation services. With this in mind the Working Group recommends a four tiered model of service delivery which provides a realistic, flexible and adaptable framework.
Web: http://www.dohc.ie/publications/drug_treatment_under_18s.html
Services for young people with problematic drug misuse - a guide to principles and practice
Effective Interventions Unit & Nicola Richards, 2003.
WHAT IS IN THIS GUIDE? • Definitions of the target client group and their needs • Key principles underpinning effective services • Key issues to address in delivering services WHAT IS THE AIM? To p ro vide i nfo rma tion and e vidence to suppo rt the de ve lopment of se rvi ces fo r young people experiencing problems due to their own problematic drugs and/or substance misuse. The guide focuses on the needs of DATs in their role as commissioners of services as well as the direct delivery of services. WHO SHOULD USE IT? Anyone involved in developing, designing, implementing o r e valuating services for young people with developed substance misuse problems. Those developing wider services a imed a t vulne rab le chi ld ren and young peop le ma y f ind the in fo rma tion use ful. WHO WROTE THIS GUIDE? This guide is a collaborative piece of work between the Effective Interventions Unit and Nicola Richards, Programme Manager for the Partnership Drugs Initiative, Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland.
Download: Full report (PDF 773KB)
First steps in identifying young people's substance related needs
DrugScope and Home Office, 2003.
This guidance is aimed at professionals who work in statutory or voluntary health, social care, education and the criminal justice system, providing a service to children and young people. This includes: those working in schools and pupil referral units with specific drug and alcohol responsibilities, social workers, education welfare officers, care home workers, youth workers, Connexion’s personal advisers, youth offending team staff, generic counsellors, accident and emergency staff, child and adolescent mental health workers, foster carers, residential care workers, voluntary agency staff and staff at one stop shops.
Download: Full report (PDF 257KB)
Assessing local need: planning services for young people
DrugScope and DPAS, 2002
This document has been written with the intention of helping DATs to work with local treatment providers to provide a combined approach to planning and co-ordinating young people's drug services in response to local needs. This document offers a framework for assessing young people's needs for drug programmes with particular reference to: Young people who maybe more vulnerable to drug misuse, and their parents and carers; the range of services that may be needed to help young people understand and deal with drug taking problems and also identifying any drug-related needs that have not been met.
Download: Full report (pdf 491KB)
