LE CHÉILE STRATEGY 2015 - 2018 SUMMARY

Inspiring Change, Transforming Lives

Le Chéile is funded by the Irish Youth Justice Service through the Probation Service, as part

of Ireland’s European Structural and Investment Funds Programmes 2014-2020, which is

co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union. Our Restorative Justice Project

receives joint funding from the Probation Service and Limerick City and County Council.

Contents

Foreword 1

Message From Our CEO 2

Who We Are 3

Our Vision, Our Mission, Our Values 4

The Le Chéile Approach 5

What We Do 6

The Effectiveness Of Mentoring 7

Strategy 2015-2018 8

The Policy and Legal Context 12

1

Foreword

I’m delighted to introduce Le Chéile’s Strategy for 2015-2018, ‘Inspiring Change, Transforming Lives,’ which sets out our aims for the future and highlights our priorities for what Le Chéile wishes to achieve as an organisation.

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of Le Chéile, and provides us with an opportunity to reflect with pride on all we’ve achieved over the past decade - expanding from one youth mentoring pilot project to 8 projects providing

a wide range of youth and parent mentoring, tailored family support options, and an innovative restorative justice project. We now look to the future, setting ambitious goals to ensure that the young people and families with whom we work receive the best services.

Le Chéile’s strengths lie in its dedication to best practice approaches to working with young people, and the volunteers and staff who carry out this work. The fact that mentors are volunteers is highlighted time and time again by the young people and parents as a factor that makes Le Chéile so effective. This strategy reflects this – outlining our commitment of continuing service development and also ensuring that the volunteers are supported and valued in their work.

This strategy embodies Le Chéile’s commitment to young people who offend and affirms our belief that their previous actions do not determine their future. With the right supports young people can make positive changes in their lives, inspiring new opportunities and reducing offending behaviour.

Denise MacDermottChairperson

“I enjoy

getting something to do

and talking to Mike [Mentor].

Being involved in mentoring keeps

me from hanging around the

streets.”

Young Person

2

Message from our CEO

Welcome to Inspiring Change, Transforming Lives. Le Cheile’s new strategy has been compiled following extensive consultation with young people and parents who have used our services as well as volunteers, staff, Board members, the Probation Service, the Irish Youth Justice Service and agencies and individuals who have an interest in youth justice issues.

We know from research and from experience that youth offending is related to social and economic disadvantage as well as family circumstances,

however we believe that young people can be supported to make positive changes in their lives. Le Chéile works to make positive changes in the lives of young people who offend and their families, through the provision of Mentoring, Family Support and Restorative Justice Services. Our slogan is ‘Change a life’.

Inspiring Change, Transforming Lives is ambitious and challenging and focuses on 3 key areas

• Improving the quality and effectiveness of what we do;

• Expanding our services and reaching more young people and their families in more locations;

• Communicating better who we are and what we do.

The annual cost to the State of one young offender in detention in 2013 was €314,000. Working constructively with young people involved in or at risk of offending is beneficial for young people, their families, their communities as well as the economic benefit to society of reducing crime and youth detention rates.

Finally I want to acknowledge the volunteers, the Board and staff of Le Chéile who have greatly contributed to the development of this strategy and who will be instrumental in its implementation. Together we are committed to enhancing our services so as to achieve better outcomes for the young people, their families and their communities.

Anne ConroyCEO

3

Who We Are

Le Chéile Mentoring and Youth Justice Support Services works to make positive changes in the lives of young people who offend and their families, through the provision of Mentoring, Family Support and Restorative Justice Services. We provide tailored and flexible services with young people at the core. We work in partnership with Young Persons Probation to reduce the level of crime in the community.

Le Chéile recruits, trains and supports volunteers from local communities around Ireland who act as positive role models and provide a supportive relationship for the young person. Each week mentors and young people meet and work together on goals, supporting the young person in their community.

Established in 2005 in North County Dublin as the Le Chéile Mentoring Project, we were set up to fulfil the requirements of the Mentor (Family Support) Order of the Children Act 2001, to provide mentoring services to children under the age of 18 who are involved with the Probation Service. Le Chéile has since expanded to provide services in Dublin, Kildare, Offaly, Laois, Meath, Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Cork, Carlow, and have expanded the age range of young people with whom we work to 21.

In 2008, Le Chéile expanded our youth mentoring service to work with parents of young people who offend and families as a whole. We now provide a range of family support services to the family of the young person including Parent Mentoring, Parenting Programmes and individualised Family Support Interventions - all designed to meet each family’s needs.

Le Chéile is responsible for the national coordination and funding of the Strengthening Families Programme on behalf of Young Persons Probation. This programme works with families as a whole – parents/carers and children - and has been proven to help build communication skills, decrease risk factors in families and reduce negative behaviours in children.

Le Chéile’s Restorative Justice Project in Limerick provides a range of restorative justice programmes to young people who have been involved in crime. Restorative justice brings together all the people affected by the crime and focuses on repairing the harm. We are the first non-statutory youth restorative justice service in the Republic of Ireland. The project was independently evaluated in 2014, and was found to have significant benefits not only for young people but also for the families and the victims of crime¹.

Le Chéile is governed by a Board of Management, is structured as a company limited by guarantee and is registered with the Charity Regulator.

“The best

thing about mentoring is

that I got to meet Paula [mentor].

I love meeting her and look

forward to it every week.”

Young Person

1. Quigley, M. Martynowicz, A. and Gardner, C. (2014) Building Bridges: An Evaluation and Social Return on Investment Study of the Le Chéile Restorative Justice Project in Limerick. Le Chéile. Ireland

4

Our Vision

For every young person at risk – the right supports at the right time,

to make the most of their lives.

Our Values

We listen – respect – empower.We are non-judgemental and believe in

the potential of every young person.We work collaboratively with young people, families and other agencies.We use a restorative practice ethos.

We deliver quality services.

Our Mission

Le Chéile is a community-based volunteer mentoring and family

support service, which works with young people involved in or at

risk of offending.

5

The Le Chéile Approach

While youth offending is related to social and economic disadvantage as well as family circumstances, we believe that all young people can be supported to make positives changes in their lives.

At the heart of our work is the young person, and also their family. We support young people and families to help address offending behaviour. We don’t give up on our young people. Mentoring helps people make different choices and changes lives. The needs of the young person determine the focus of the mentoring. For a young person at risk of offending, or who has offended, it is a vital support.

Our services are provided by Le Chéile mentors - volunteers drawn from communities across the country, who work one to one with young people and with parents. Our mentors bring life experience, skills and a wholehearted belief in the capacity of young people to change. The young people and parents with whom we work tell us that it makes a difference that the mentors are volunteers and give their time and effort on a voluntary basis. Involving local communities in working with young people who offend helps build a more inclusive and safer society.

We believe a restorative approach is an effective way of working with young people. We believe in working with people rather than doing things for them. It is about offering high levels of support, encouraging acceptance of responsibility and setting clear boundaries.

Le Chéile works in collaboration with other agencies so that young people and families get the best opportunities and support to make positive changes in their lives.

“My mentor always kept me

thinking about my goals. Even when

I messed up. She made me want to have a

better life when I listened to her stories about

travelling all over the world. It was good to have

someone outside your own family and friends to

talk to every week. She never gave up on me.

That helped when things were bad.”

Young Person

6

What We Do

Youth Mentoring• Youth Mentoring is a one-to-one

relationship-based support which provides a positive role model to a young person. Mentors help young people improve their self-esteem, working on relationships and communications skills, and addressing anti-social behaviour.

Family support Parent Mentoring

• Parent mentoring helps parents develop their own parenting skills and gives support with parenting issues. Parent mentoring gives a non-judgemental time and space outside the family home to parents under pressure.

Parenting Programmes• Le Chéile provides a range of parenting programmes and can link parents to locally available

parenting programmes such as Parenting Plus, Strengthening Families Programme, and Non-Violent Resistance parenting programme for parents experiencing child to parent violence.

Family Support Interventions• Family Support Interventions are tailored supports designed for each individual family’s

needs and complement the mentoring sessions. Family Support Interventions aim to improve communications within the family and promote the importance of family relationships. Examples might include family mediation or a family meal.

Strengthening Families Programme • Le Chéile coordinates and funds Strengthening

Families Programme (SFP) on behalf of the Probation Service, providing support and advice to local steering committees. SFP is an evidence-based whole family skills training programme, designed to work with high stress families, including families with drug and alcohol issues.

Restorative Justice• Restorative Justice works with people who have been

affected by crime (offenders, victims, families and communities) to repair the harm caused. We use a number of different approaches, tailor-made to the needs of the young person and the victims.

“It’s matched to

their specific needs. It goes

at their pace, rather than the

young person having to fit into

the service.”

Probation Officer

“I learned about

the consequences of my

behaviour and how other

people feel.”

Young Person, who took part in

Restorative Justice Project

7

The Effectiveness Of Mentoring

Le Chéile is committed to using programmes and approaches which have been proven to result in better outcomes for young people and their families.

International research 2 has found that mentoring of young people who have offended has positive effects on at least one of the following: crime, behaviour, attitude, alcohol and drugs, school and relationships. Mentoring has greatest impact on the factors which contribute to crime such as substance abuse and school attendance, rather than crime itself.

Le Chéile fulfils all the criteria for effective mentoring as set out in the research referred to above:

P Mentoring interventions and leisure-time programmes are combined;

P Mentoring is long-lasting, intense, and at least a year in duration;

P Includes a personal and committed relationship with an adult;

P Stresses the importance of the young person’s psychological and social development;

P Includes parental involvement;

P Volunteer mentoring best if there are professionals who provide screening, training, matching, support and supervision of volunteers.

A recent Irish study 3 of over 14,000 young people aged 12-25 found that the presence of ‘one good adult’ was a key indicator of how well a young person is connected, self-confident, future looking and can cope with problems. Having one good adult in a young person’s life is shown to be important to the mental well being and confidence of all young people, from the time they start secondary school to the time they are looking for their first job. Feedback from young people, parents and Young Persons Probation identified Le Chéile’s Mentors as fulfilling this role for many of the young people referred to our services.

“It’s the

potential to develop

a very different relationship

with the young person. A Le Chéile

mentor does not focus on the negative

behaviours of the young person and

this can be a ‘breath of fresh air’ for

the young person.”

Probation Officer

2. The Effectiveness of Mentoring & Leisure-time Activities for Youth at Risk. The Danish Crime Prevention Council, 2012.3. Dooley, Barbara A., Fitzgerald, Amanda : My World Survey: National Study of Youth Mental Health in Ireland. Headstrong and UCD School of Psychology, 2012.

8

Le Chéile Strategy 2015-2018

OBJECTIVE 1

Develop the quality and effectiveness of Le Chéile’s Mentoring and Family Support Services for young people at risk, in the justice system.

Goals

1.1 Develop the Le Chéile service model - Mentoring, Family Support and Restorative Justice – to be the leading model in the youth justice system.

1.2 Work collaboratively with other agencies, promote understanding of the role of the Le Chéile service model, identifying Le Chéile’s role in the delivery of effective, integrated services in a family and community context.

1.3 Achieve consistent delivery of Le Chéile services to excellent standards.

Some actions by which we will achieve this will include:

• Developing specialist mentoring (e.g. for young fathers, young people with mental health needs);

• Promoting aftercare and community supports for young people and parents;

• Supporting the delivery of SFP programmes nationally;

• Increasing youth participation in Le Chéile;

• Revising our outcomes and data collection tools to accurately measure outcomes;

• Commissioning an independent evaluation of our mentoring service.

“It was deadly,

I really liked meeting up.

I had fun and I learned a lot.

Now I have lots of things

to put on my CV.”

Young Person

“He always

comes back grounded

and in good form.”

Parent’s feedback about son who took part in

mentoring.

9

“My mentor helped me

stay positive, focused and

got me to problem solve for

myself.”

Parent, who took part in Perent Mentoring

OBJECTIVE 2

Provide greater access to Le Cheile services so that more young people may benefit

Goals

2.1 Provide the Le Chéile Mentoring, Family Support and Restorative Justice services in more

locations in line with available resources.

2.2 Develop the referral arrangements with agencies working with young people in detention and post-detention, supporting integration into the community.

2.3 Increase the provision of Mentoring, Family Support and Restorative Justice for 18 to 21 year olds, in line with Young Persons Probation strategy.

2.4 Explore the opportunity and resource requirements to enable provision of Le Chéile Mentoring services to young people (12+) involved in the justice system.

Some actions by which we will achieve this will include:

• Expanding the provision of Mentoring and Family Support services to locations with an identified need;

• Liaising with relevant agencies with a common interest to develop services for young people involved in the justice system;

• Delivering a mentoring service to young people and to parents of young people in detention;

• Continuing to provide a quality Restorative Justice service for young people.

“My mentor

likes me and helps me

to think what to do best

when I’m upset.”

Young Person

10

OBJECTIVE 3

Develop Le Chéile to ensure the effective achievement of its mission and strategic objectives

Goals

3.1 Develop a national volunteer recruitment strategy to attract a diverse range of people as

mentors.

3.2 Promote and develop the volunteer team at the centre of the Le Chéile service model.

3.3 Ensure that the Le Chéile staff team is competent, resourced and supported to deliver quality services working with young people and families, the mentor team and partner agencies.

3.4 Ensure that Le Chéile’s Governance & Management framework is accountable, transparent and compliant.

3.5 Ensure a comprehensive financial management strategy is in place, which ensures that Le Chéile is cost efficient and provides value for money.

Some actions by which we will achieve this will include:

• Ensuring our team of volunteers is diverse, with an increased number of male mentors, located in rural and urban locations which match the need for mentoring;

• Promoting volunteering by young people who have successfully completed mentoring;

• Continuing to develop the training support and engagement of volunteers within Le Chéile;

• Adopting the Governance Code, implementing SORP accounting standards and meeting appropriate requirements of the Charity Regulator.

“Someone who really

understands my problems – it’s

so easy to chat with my mentor

because she gets me.”

Parent, who took part in Perent Mentoring

11

OBJECTIVE 4

Communicate and promote the value of Le Cheile as a distinct and leading service in working with young people in the justice system

Goals

4.1 Promote awareness and understanding of Le Chéile, its value and impact – with potential

volunteers, referral and partner agencies, funders as well as the wider justice system and

the public.

4.2 Ensure young people and parents/carers understand Le Chéile’s services and ethos.

4.3 Ensure that the impact and learning from Le Chéile’s work is available to support the development of practice and policy in the youth justice area.

Some actions by which we will achieve this will include:

• Developing and implementing a communications plan;

• Enhancing the range of information for young people and parents/carers about Le Chéile’s services;

• Sharing our experience of best practice and learning via external presentations and publications;

• Recruiting Le Chéile champions to support volunteer recruitment and a stronger Le Chéile profile.

“He came

back from the meeting very

emotional. He told me the victim’s

story and how sad it was, he felt it himself.

I’d like to thank you, you did a

great job with him and I appreciate it.”

Parent of young person, Restorative Justice project

12

The Policy and Legal Context

The development of this strategy has been informed by the following legal and policy documents:

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

• Children Act 2001

• Children First 2011

• Tackling Youth Crime – Youth Justice Action Plan, 2014 – 2018 IYJS

• Probation Service Restorative Justice Strategy 2013

• Better Outcomes Better Futures 2014-2020. Department of Children and Youth Affairs

• Victims Directive 2012/29/EU

• Probation Service Strategic Plan 2015 to 2017

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Le Chéile Mentoring & Youth Justice Support Services24 Tivoli Terrace SouthDún LaoghaireCo. Dublin

01 214 4334

info@lecheile.ie

www.lecheile.ie

@Le_Cheile

LeCheileYouthJustice