Building Better Connections: Interagency Work and the Connexions Service Book

This highly topical report provides much-needed evidence to inform the reconfiguration of services for children and young people. Focusing on the Connexions Strategy and service in England, it explores the effectiveness of interagency working in this area. Building better connections is based on two years' research in three contrasting Connexions Partnerships and around 300 hours of interviews with key stakeholders, young people's Personal Advisers and young people themselves. It examines the interagency strategies developed by the Partnerships and, most importantly, what impact they have had on the interventions made with young people facing acute and complex needs. Specifically the report: assesses different approaches to partnership development; examines interagency work in depth; provides detailed case studies to examine the interface of interagency work with young people's daily lives; analyses key issues in interagency work such as referral, assessment of need, roles, responsibilities and protocols, brokerage of services, advocacy, information sharing and management; draws out the implications of the findings for policy and practice. It will be of particular interest to Connexions professionals and managers, others involved in partnership working, those involved in the development and implementation of Children and Young People's Strategic Partnerships and Children's Trusts, as well as youth researchers and policy makers.Read More