internal evaluation
SUMMARY OUTCOMES 2011-2019
Outcomes are recorded for young people over four domains: Self, Family, Education/Employment or Training & Safety/Offending Behaviour. The outcome rating is on a scale of 1 – 9, with 1 indicating significant issues, 4 some difficulties, 5 is a medium point and 6 – 9 showing some or significant improvements.
The national outcomes summary below includes information for 2,083 young people worked with between January 2011 and October 2019. The longitudinal figures show that the programme remains effective in all the main factors with very little variation. The system measures the views of young people, families, referrers, advocates and managers when matched and then at the 6 month exit on a range of indicators.
See the Outcomes Summary below ↓
SELF
- 81% improvement in Relationship with Peers
- 82% in Self Esteem/Confidence
- 77% in Withdrawn/Isolated
FAMILY
- 78% improvement in Parenting Skills
- 79% in Social Supports/Family
- 87% in Home Environment – Physical/Financial
EDUCATION
- 80% improvement in General Behaviour
- 78% in Attendance
- 80% in Aspirations
SAFETY/RISKY BEHAVIOUR
- 82% improvement in Risky Behaviour
- 78% in Impulsivity
- 93% in Co-operation with JLO/Gardaí
QUALITY CALLS / QUESTIONNAIRES
Parents, Young People & Referrers
We carry out quality questionnaires with parents/carers, young people and referrers to assess how their involvement with YAP is progressing and to input into service development and improvement. For parents/carers & young people this questionnaire is carried out over the phone midway through the case or by way of a questionnaire sent to them if we are unable to reach them by phone. For referrers, this questionnaire is sent to them at the end of each referral.
Feedback from Parents: In 2019 we received feedback from 80 parents/carers. 86% resulted in positive feedback, 91% felt that they were well informed and involved in their child’s programme. 94% of participants gave YAP a satisfaction level score of 4 or more out of 5.
“Our advocate is in contact all the time. I really feel like I can give her a call if I need to as well. I can talk to her about things and she really takes the time to talk to me.”
“My child is mixing well and coming out of his shell since we started with YAP.”
Quotes from YAP Parents
Young People’s Quality Questionnaire
In 2019 48 Young People took part in the Quality Questionnaire. 93% of Young People had a positive comment on the service. 87% said that they sometimes or always have a say in their own service and 96% gave YAP a satisfaction rating of 4 or more out of 5. We asked young people to name one good thing that happened due to their engagement with the YAP Programme.
Going out with my Advocate and doing activities is great!
I got an assessment for my learning difficulty
I have a bit more confidence
I am a referee now
Quotes from the Young People’s Quality Questionnaire
Referrers Feedback
In 2019 98% of referrers said that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service, 91% said they would recommend YAP to a colleague and 100% responded ‘Yes’ to the question – Would you refer again?
YAP offers both the Young Person and their Family practical and therapeutic advice support. YAP works very well supporting other services involved with the young person and family. YAP works at the young persons pace and with their input into how the programme is structured. YAP has proved to be flexible in meeting the Young Person’s needs. The feedback from families is generally very positive.
TUSLA Social Worker
The advocates ability to engage with hard to engage young people. The team leader’s professionalism in planning and attending meetings. The system for selection and pairing young people to Advocates. The flexibility of the advocate around arranging contact with children and families.
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
(SDQ’s) is a brief emotional and behavioural screening questionnaire for Young people and parents/carers. This standardised tool helps to identify how Young people and parents/guardians view their difficulties and measure improvements over time. The five Strengths and Difficulties measured are; Pro-social Behaviours, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity,Emotional Symptoms and Peer Problems. The questionnaire is completed by Young people and parents at the beginning of the programme, at the mid-way point and on completion at 6 months.
We continuously gather SDQs and analyse the scores at interim periods throughout the year. At the end of 2019, the analysis showed that there was a decrease in young people’s scores across the four difficulties themes from the beginning of the YAP programme to the end of the programme. In addition, there is an increase in prosocial strengths scores at the end. The young people are scoring themselves as experiencing less difficulties in their lives by the end of the YAP programmes as compared to when they started on the YAP programme.
Similar trends are found in the questionnaires gathered from parents/guardians. There is a consistent decrease in difficulties scores across the four difficulties themes from the beginning of the YAP programme to the end. Furthermore, there is an increase in prosocial strengths scores at the end. Parents/guardians also scored the young people as experiencing less difficulties in their lives by the end of the programme and saw a greater improvement for young people when they completed the YAP programme.