Targeted Youth Support and Youth Offending Service, TYS/YOS

Youth Offending Service, YOS: works with 10-17 year olds who are at risk of offending or have offended. The service does this by:
- working with young people to help them understand the consquences of offending on themselves, their families, victims of crime and their local communities
- helping to meet the individual needs of young people; for example, supporting them in school and providing access to specialist support such as substance misuse services
- supporting parents of young people to meet their responsibilities

Targeted Youth Support, TYS: focuses on providing early help to young people aged 10 to 21 years old (12-21 for Youth Counselling), who require additional support to enable them to make informed choices and maintain positive pathways.

TYS is made up of four service areas that provide interlinking support: TYS area teams providing tailored support, 1:1 and group work support, education, detached youth work, Return Home Interviews, and the completion of Triage, an early intervention Out of Court disposal. TYS also has Islington Young People's Drugs and Alcohol Service (IYPDAS); Liaison And Diversion,  TYS Counselling Service, Abianda, St. Giles Trust and Safer London Mentoring Service. TYS also supports helping young people get into education, training and employment.

TYS is specific, tailored interventions aimed at young people and their families who need extra provision on top of universally provided services. TYS  works in youth centres, schools, family homes, community buildings and youth hubs in Islington. It also delivers work on the streets, in parks and on estates through detached and mobile unit - the Y Truck.

TYS staff assess and provide intervention plans to ensure that the young person’s and their families’ needs are identified and lead planned work to address those needs. They work with each young person from their own starting point, drawing in partners, peer and parents as appropriate, challenging and enabling them to understand the consequences of their actions, make changes and build skills.

TYS teams also deliver work in local secondary schools covering issues such as substance misuse, positive and healthy relationships, keeping safe, gangs, weapons awareness and joint enterprise

TYS works with partners such as Children’s Social Care, IFIT and Families First to support the young person within the Children and Families Plan.

TYS retain a strong emphasis on community-based delivery providing support within local community settings and working with local neighbourhood services to enhance community cohesion and prevent escalation of anti-social behaviour (ASB). We deploy our Youth Truck and detached teams across the borough based on intelligence and ASB reports, working with young people where they meet and congregate, encouraging them to participate in group work and connecting them into their local areas.