Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast, “Thinking Critically About Youth Work: Part Two”, Aaron continues to speak with Dr. Brian Belton about the need for youth workers to be critically reflective about who we are as professionals. Taking our conversation up to the next level we speak about the need for supervision to help youth workers become more critically reflective. We talk about why we need this for the benefit of the profession and for the young people we support.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast, “Thinking Critically About Youth Work: Part One”, Aaron speaks with Dr. Brian Belton about the need for youth workers to be critically reflective about who we are as professionals. Over the years we have had some really great deep web chats with Brian, but this is the first face-to-face!! I mean he lives in the UK and Aaron is here in Australia! Critically thinking about youth work is something that both Brian and Aaron are very passionate about and we hope these two podcast sessions help you to re-think what you thought you knew about youth work.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast, “Listen to Engage”, Aaron speaks to us about the need for youth workers to listen respectfully to their young people. On of the keys to developing respectful engagement with our young people is the skill of listening to gain understanding of how they view their experiences.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast “Supervision” Aaron speaks to us about the need for youth workers to have good professional supervision. As an industry that claims professional status it is ludicrous that most of our members do not receive a minimum of monthly professional supervision.. Supervision In, the AYAC National Youth Work Snapshot 2013, a survey of youth workers showed that 8.4% of surveyed youth workers had never had a supervision session and around 51.7% receive it less than once every three months. As an industry that claims professional status this is appalling. It is no wonder that the sector in Australia turns over staff at 23% every year. Supervision is important to staff retention.   The best supervisors I have had came from both ends of the qualification spectrum. One was a qualified Social Worker with over a decade of experience who regularly attended courses on supervision. The other was a Youth Worker who had no qualifications but was an avid reader of supervision texts and attended every professional development opportunity focused on supervision. The skill set that both of these supervisors had in common was an eager appetite to better their own practice as supervisors and a great ability to listen and reflect. The styles they used were different, the theoretical focus wide and varied and the outcomes specific to the needs of myself and my clients.   Maidment & Beddoe (2012) believe that supervision must be placed at the core of professional development for staff, “We want to place supervision at the heart of professional development, which is career-long and where, via diverse learning activities, practitioners refine and augment their knowledge, develop skills, and undertake supervision to enhance critically reflective practice”.   The largest cause of burnout within our sector is that of psychological distress with around 23% of work cover claims. Using supervision sessions in the format above creates an opportunity for minimising the distress and maximising longevity in the field. Supervision provides a conduit for communication on specific issues relating to the causes of youth worker burnout. It asks us to be open and responsive to the issues while learning and developing our skills.   But why should youth workers have supervision in the first place???   The short answer is supervision gives us time to reflect and develop our skills to become the best we can be!   The longer answer is as people who are professionals we are required to critically reflect on the work we do through a lens of evidence and research. To do this we need to be held accountable by other practitioners in our field with more experience. The process of professionalisation has changed youth work into an industry which abides by this ethos and expects staff to be held accountable for their work.   What should supervision look like?   We use a model based on the work of Alfred Kadushin where there are at least three distinct spheres to supervision that need to be addressed in each session for effectiveness: understanding the field of practice and how it applies to your tasks, personal support and affect regulation, and the administrative elements to your work within your organisation. As an external supervisor we add the element of professional skills development to this as well.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast "Why research must inform your practice" Aaron speaks to us about the need to use evidence based practice in our youth work. We look at the need for professionals to have a theory base in their industry which informs the way they practice.

In todays podcast "Planning your year ahead" Aaron helps us to think about the areas we need to plan for our best year in 2021. We look at our personal and professional lives and set about planning eight areas to develop the best possible start to the year. Planning for your year ahead One of the most important steps we can take for our own development and to be able to provide the best possible service to our young people is to have a clear plan for our year ahead. Most people go through life hoping things will happen for them. They wing it and then they wonder why their dreams never come to fruition. One of the ways I begin each year is by doing a 'Wheel of Life' assessment. It helps me to look at where I am at and where i would like to be. It also helps us to look at the areas of our lives that we need to work on.

In todays podcast "2021 Resolutions" Aaron muses on the future of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast and all the other goodies that the team are putting together over the next year. We are so excited to see what this year has to unfold. After last year and the huge trial that 2020 was for so many people we believe that 2021 is going to be an awesome year in the youth sector and we hope specifically for the Ultimate Youth Worker tribe that this will be a year of strengthening for you. Ultimate Youth Worker is now a subsidiary of Ultimate Services Australia PTY LTD. This gives us the financial support to further develop the work we have been doing for the last eight years. This gives us the backing we need to take Ultimate Youth Worker to the next level in 2021.

In this episode of the Ultimate youth Worker Podcast 'Child Rights' Aaron and Jessy give us some insight into the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and how youth workers can use the articles within it to sharpen their practice. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 and was entered into force 2 September 1990. The fifty-four articles contained in the convention form the basis of many of the legislative frameworks relating to young people in Australia such as the Child Youth and Families ACT (2005) in Victoria and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. As youth workers it is important for us to understand the articles and reflect on how they influence our practice. 

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘National Principles for Child Safe Organisations' Aaron gives us an overview of the ten principles and where they came from. As youth workers our sector has always championed the rights of the child however there hasn't been a standard that we all were required to meet. The National Principles are a guiding document for all of us in how we are to work with children and young people in Australia. In 2017 the Australian Government asked the National Children's Commissioner to lead the development of National Principles for Child Safe Organisations as part of  the Child Safe Organisations project. The Australian Government also commissioned the Australian Human Rights Commission to develop practical tools to help organisations implement the National Principles. The National Principles were developed under the guidance of Community Services Ministers across Commonwealth, state and territory governments under the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020. The ten National Principles respond to recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The National Principles aim to provide a consistent approach to developing organisational cultures of child safety and wellbeing throughout Australia. This will help to keep children and young people safe and mitigate future harm in organisational settings. The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations reflect the ten child safe standards recommended by the Royal Commission, with a broader scope that covers all forms of harm to children and young people. In June 2018, the Australian Government tabled its response to the Royal Commission's recommendations. As one element of its response, the Australian Government established the National Office for Child Safety in July 2018. As of February 2019, the National Principles were endorsed by members of the Council of Australian Governments, including the Prime Minister and State Premiers and Territory First Ministers.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Raise the age' Aaron speaks with Jessica Sanders from Jesuit Social Services 'Worth a Second Chance' project about how we can understand the legal issue of the age of criminal responsibility and how we might support the campaign to raise it from 10 years of age. Jess is an author, advocate and social worker from Melbourne, Australia. She is incredibly passionate about social justice and supporting young people to be their best selves. Jess has supported Aboriginal women and children fleeing family violence. Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in alliance with African Women fighting for their rights to land and provided workshops to children teaching the importance of consent and respect for self and others. Today Jess manages a youth justice campaign that elevates the stories of young people in the justice system and advocates to create a justice system that uses a therapeutic approach as opposed to a punitive one.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Cultural Intelligence PART 2' Aaron continues to speak with Gregg Morris from Mahana Culture about how we can begin to gain some Cultural Intelligence. As youth workers we have a developing Intelligence or IQ eg. theory that informs our youth work practice. We have good Emotional Intelligence which lets us understand our young peoples feelings and how to respond to them appropriately. Yet we do not spend enough time thinking about Cultural Intelligence. Today Gregg helps us to begin understanding our Cultural Tale.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Cultural Intelligence PART 1' Aaron speaks with Gregg Morris from Mahana Culture about how we can begin to gain some Cultural Intelligence. As youth workers we have a developing Intelligence or IQ eg. theory that informs our youth work practice. We have good Emotional Intelligence which lets us understand our young peoples feelings and how to respond to them appropriately. Yet we do not spend enough time thinking about Cultural Intelligence. Today Gregg helps us to begin understanding our Cultural Tale.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Self Care 201' Aaron chats with us about how we can take our self care journey to the next level. We have run self care training using our balanced life framework for eight years and in almost every session some says something along the lines of this is too basic and we want something more. We usually ask them if they are implementing all the steps we talk about in the level one training and if they have been doing it for at least two years. Most people tell us that they have given it a go and that they had dropped the ball. It is important to get the basics right before moving on to the next level otherwise you will have the same trouble at this level. For the rare youth worker who has got the basics down we send them along to look at the 'Wheel of life' In Youth Work, we often speak about having a "toolbox" to help us become a more rounded person and provide the best possible service to our young people. This could be in the form of a literal box of "tools" always sitting in your work vehicle. Such as toys, books or sports equipment that you can pull out at any time to de-escalate or engage a young person you're working with. Other items that enhance our toolbox are things that encourage us to grow and learn, such as "self-care cards", which can be useful to start conversations in supervision or with other colleagues. We're no strangers to self-care activities here at Ultimate Youth Worker and you've probably spent some time reading one of our many past articles on the topic. Today we are stepping it up a notch and introducing you to the 'wheel of life'. Wheel of life The wheel of life is very similar to our first ever podcast on self-care, where we talk about the self-care stool. However, we are taking it to another level this time and working on eight areas of life that we want to improve. Wheel of Life This is the wheel of life. Well, one version of it. There are many different wheels that have existed over the years, some people even suggesting the original wheel of life was created by the Buddha to teach his followers the eight-fold path to enlightenment. The modern day purpose of the wheel of life is the same, whether you call it enlightenment, wholeness, balance or even flow. When a wheel is not balanced, it will struggle to move freely and with ease... See it is all about balance.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Self Care in Youth Work' Aaron chats with Ex-student panel about self care in youth work. How do youth work practitioners leave work at work? Do relationships, boundaries and practices change when we engage in self care? What supports do youth workers need to be effective at self care? What happens when things go pear shaped?

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Online Youth Work' Aaron chats with us about how to conduct a critical incident debrief. We look at two models and unpack how individuals and teams can best use the debriefing process to look after themselves and reflect on the best ways forward. As youth workers we find ourselves working with young people when they are at the best and when they are in their darkest places. When they are at their best we feel a sense of pride and live on the mountaintop. When they are in their darkest place we can see them in the depths of pain and the heights of anger. In their darkest place young people can be prone to making rash decisions. Sometimes, this can lead to young people lashing out, running away or in extreme cases they may harm themselves. When a young person lashes out or injures themselves as youth workers we find ourselves in the midst of critical incidents. We deal with the circumstances as best we can. We keep as many people safe as we can. We provide first aid to those who need it. We call on emergency services such as the police or ambulance officers as the need arises. After all is said and done we find ourselves in front of the computer. Writing up an incident report. What could have been hours of our lives, probably on our own, whittled down to a few pages in the hands of bureaucrats. For most of us that is about where it finishes. If you are lucky you may get to chat it over with your Team Leader or Manager who may even recommend that you use an Employee Assistance Program. Unfortunately, many EAP's do not understand the work that youth workers are involved in and the sessions end up being less than useless. What we really need in this situation is a proper critical incident debrief. At Ultimate Youth Worker we work with many organisations to implement a strong Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) framework. We use and train others to use two different yet important models within a wider (CISM), the After Action Review and the Critical Incident Stress Debrief.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Online Youth Work' Aaron chats with Wolfgang Vachon from the C2YPodcast about youth work in the virtual realm. How do youth work practitioners work in the virtual realm? Do relationships, boundaries and practices change when interacting with young people online? What supports are available for youth workers online? What does an intervention look like when you have only met the young person virtually?   Its testing times for youth work globally. Austerity measures have cut us down and a global pandemic has crippled us. Yet, youth workers are a resilient bunch. We make do with what we have. recently that has meant moving to the online space to continue building relationships with our young people.  This has been a trying time for many of us. The technical issues, having the right equipment and getting the ok to use different programs from management have all but scared us from the process. For others we dove in with abandon and used everything we could get our hands on...Damn the IT Policies. So what does this mean for good youth work practice? Well, thats the million dollar question. We probably wont know how effective we have been for a long time yet. However, we should find that doing online youth work has been based on our theoretical approach to youth work as usual. Young people are still our primary consideration, We still have a duty of care to exercise, we still have to think about privacy and confidentiality, there are still boundaries and it is reliant on cooperation and collaboration to name but a few of our ethical considerations. 

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘I want to quit' Aaron speaks to us about how to resign from a youth work position well. Regularly at Ultimate Youth Worker we speak with people who are ready to move on from the position they are in. It may be that they are moving on to greener pastures and with the blessing of their manager or it may be that they hate where they work and already have a foot out the door. All of these people get a conversation about how to resign well and now we will give you that information too. In testing times people have one of two ideas about their job. They either dig in and stick it out or they throw in the towel and say 'I want to quit'. We are currently in testing times with the corona virus spread throughout the world and we know that there are youth workers who are ready to quit. When there is an economic downturn we see people hold on to their jobs tightly. When there is an upturn we see people move on. So how do we resign well? There are three stages… Prepare to resign Resign Act professionally in the interim

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Getting your first youth work job' Aaron speaks with the Ex-student panel about how we can get that first youth work job. Every week we get questions at Ultimate Youth Worker about how people can transition from student to youth work employee. So we figured we would ask a bunch of former students who now have a few years in the field to give us their view. What ensues is a mad free-for-all on the ways we all entered the sector. BTW we all did it differently! The days where you could get a youth work job because you had a heartbeat and loved to throw a frisbee are all but over. So now the move is to get a qualification. In Australia the Diploma in youth work is now seen across the sector as the minimum qualification, with more and more organisations wanting a degree. So you spend one to three years of your life getting qualified and now you want to move into the wonderful world of paid employment as a youth worker... but if you are like most students your course has ill prepared you for this transition. So you ask your parents or friends or great uncle Bob and you get every bit of knowledge they have about getting a job... which is great if you want to work at your local Starbucks, Macdonalds or as an electrician. But when it comes to landing a youth work gig you are finding that they want five years experience and a string of accomplishments to even get an interview... (interview is a new word for great uncle Bob). So how do you make the transition to paid youth worker? Well in todays podcast you will hear that you need to make the most of placements and volunteer work, Network like your life depends on it and to get a foot in the door (your dream youth work gig will come). You will also hear five different stories of how to get into the field.

In todays episode Aaron speak about the growing research into stress and how we have been taught to think about it all wrong. We have been told for many decades that stress is bad for us. That we need to run away from stressful situations because stress causes significant physical health concerns. Well in a nutshell the latest research would argue that if we think stress is bad for us then it probably will be. However, if we believe that our stress reactions are there to point us in the direction of getting support then stress is actually a good thing for us. Stress helps us to begin a process of emotion regulation. It helps us by bringing to the forefront of our minds the situation we are in and it asks us to reappraise the resources we have to deal with it. We have internal and external resources at our disposal and we need to use our rational brain to think about how we can use them to deal with the negative issues in our stressful situation. Arousal reappraisal teaches individuals to think of stress arousal as a tool that helps increase performance. By reframing the meaning of the physiological signals that accompany stress, arousal reappraisal breaks the link between our negative experiences and feelings and poorer physical responses.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron speaks with Neil Milton about his journey to founding Positive T-Shirts. We discuss why Neil decided to support the cause of suicide prevention and how you can get a great bit of merchandise to aid the cause. Neil Milton is the founder of Positive T-Shirts which is a social enterprise-giving all profits towards preventing youth suicide. Neil is a public speaker, motivator and novice social media junky. Neil also is the General Manager for another not-for-profit working to prevent harm and abuse of children. He has worked in some of the roughest schools in Adelaide as a youth worker and has also had a stint working for life line. His motto in life is “one day at a time” Neil enjoys hanging out with his wife and children, also exercising, when he gets out of bed! Positive T-Shirts The Positive T-Shirt brand birthed in 2016 out of a passion to create t-shirts and other apparel that literally change lives as you wear it and as others see it. That's why profits of products sold go towards preventing youth suicide. All profits raised are donated to in2life which helps fund the training of volunteers who support young people, through their facebook group ‘coming together to prevent youth suicide‘. Donations also support school programs enabling young people with the skills needed to help their friends, who may be struggling.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Supporting Someone who is Suicidal' Aaron speaks with us about how we as youth workers can support young people who are suicidal.   In todays episode Aaron speak about the current rates of suicide of young people in Australia and then walks us through the suicide action plan. Asking direct questions, assessing the urgency, keeping young people safe, creating safety plans and getting professional help. We hope you never have to use the knowledge in todays cast, but we also want you to have the best plan of action if you ever find yourself in the situation of supporting someone who is suicidal.  

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Is your workplace ChildSafe?' Aaron speaks with Neil Milton about how we as youth workers can support young people by being ChildSafe. Neil Milton is the General Manager of ChildSafe. Neil has worked as a youth worker in schools, churches and Not for Profits across Australia. He has also worked for World Vision and has his own street clothing business helping prevent youth suicide. Neil is passionate about making sure children are protected from abuse and harm and that organisations know their responsibilities in regards to child safety. Neil is a public speaker, motivator and he enjoys exercising and hanging out with his wife and kids.   In todays episode Aaron and Neil speak about the work of ChildSafe Australia and their mission to serve organisations and individuals working with children and vulnerable people, with the goal of improving their well-being and safety. We take our commitment to child safety very seriously at Ultimate Youth Worker and have used many of the resources from ChildSafe to help us in making our commitment tangible. ChildSafe is "a harm prevention charity for the promotion of the prevention and control of behaviour that is harmful or abusive to children and young people when in the care of an organisation". Children and young people deserve the best endeavours of an organisation towards their safety. This involves more than good intentions, or the assumption that harmful incidents will not happen. Organisations working with children are under increased community scrutiny in relation to screening workers, risk management and the quality of care they offer.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Non-Suicidal Self Injury Part Two' Aaron continues to speaks with Dr. Claire Kelly about how we as youth workers can support young people experiencing Non-Suicidal Self Injury. Dr Claire Kelly is the Director of Curriculum at MHFA Australia and an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University. Claire has been involved with MHFA since 2003, when she first became an instructor while completing her Doctorate at the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University in Canberra, where the program was first developed. Prior to her current position, Claire was the Youth MHFA Programs Manager for 10 years and also worked on the MHFA Guidelines used to develop Edition 2 of MHFA and YMHFA. Claire's PhD thesis was written on the mental health literacy of Australian adolescents. Her main passion is the mental health of young people and minimising the impacts that mental health problems can have on development, educational outcomes and long-term functioning. Claire has suffered episodes of depression and anxiety since adolescence, which has been a driver for this work. In todays episode (Part Two of Two) Aaron and Claire speak about the MHFA guidelines for non-Suicidal Self Injury developed by Mental health First Aid Australia after their ‘Delphi study' into this area. Professional youth workers understand that there are many young people who are hurting so bad that they self injure to deal with the turmoil. Unfortunately, not all professional youth workers know how to provide the support these young people need. Todays podcast begins to give us the tools to help the hurt and keep our young people safe.  

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Non-Suicidal Self Injury Part One' Aaron speaks with Dr. Claire Kelly about her work at Mental Health First Aid Australia and in particular her work in the space of Non-Suicidal Self Injury. Dr Claire Kelly is the Director of Curriculum at MHFA Australia and an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University. Claire has been involved with MHFA since 2003, when she first became an instructor while completing her Doctorate at the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University in Canberra, where the program was first developed. Prior to her current position, Claire was the Youth MHFA Programs Manager for 10 years and also worked on the MHFA Guidelines used to develop Edition 2 of MHFA and YMHFA. Claire's PhD thesis was written on the mental health literacy of Australian adolescents. Her main passion is the mental health of young people and minimising the impacts that mental health problems can have on development, educational outcomes and long-term functioning. Claire has suffered episodes of depression and anxiety since adolescence, which has been a driver for this work. In todays episode (Part One of Two) Aaron and Claire speak about Non-Suicidal Self Injury and the MHFA guidelines for non-Suicidal Self Injury developed by Mental health First Aid Australia after their ‘Delphi study' into this area. Professional youth workers understand that there are many young people who are hurting so bad that they self injure to deal with the turmoil. Unfortunately, not all professional youth workers know how to provide the support these young people need. Todays podcast begins to give us the tools to help the hurt and keep our young people safe.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron and Jessy look at the Mental State Exam and how it can help youth workers in recognising mental health issues in their young people and how it can aid in making referrals.

In todays episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron helps us to think about how we do critical reflection in the moment.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Practising Critical Reflection' Aaron speaks with us about the importance of critical reflection and the model put forward by Jan Fook and Fiona Gardner.  This episode explains the three part process for practising critical reflection. This multi-disciplinary model is used across the human services sector world wide and is one that youth workers should be familiar with.

In todays podcast Aaron spends time with the Ultimate Youth Worker teams newest hire. Jessy Hall is the Community Engagement Coordinator within the Ultimate Youth Worker community. He is our go to guy for all things community engagement, writing blog posts, joining us on the podcast and popping in to our events.   Find out more on todays cast.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast ‘Faith and identity' Aaron speaks with Dr. Julie Morsillo about her work focussing on youth identity development and what impact faith has on this.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast 'Youth Work Ethics' Aaron speaks with Professor Howard Sercombe about his over two decade looking at and developing Youth Work Ethics documents. Howard Sercombe is a leading youth work academic and practitioner.  He has been a pioneer internationally in thinking about professional ethics for youth workers, and was involved in drafting codes of ethics for youth workers across Australia and in Scotland, England, South Africa, Zambia and New Zealand.  His book, Youth Work Ethics has been widely influential.  He has also published widely on the sociology of youth, including the construction of youth in the media and the emerging influence of neuroscience.  He and his partner, broadcaster Helen Wolfenden, have just relocated to Sydney after ten years in Glasgow. He currently holds an honorary Professorship in Education with the University of Glasgow, and is doing primary parenting for Oscar, 4 and Timothy, nearly 2. In todays episode Aaron and Howard speak about the development of the Fairbridge code of ethics used by many youth work associations worldwide. How did the code come in to being? Why do youth workers need to think about ethics? How can youth workers think ethically in their day to day practice? Professional youth workers must think about the concept of ethical practice every day. Codes of Ethics are a significant way for the young people we serve to know what we can and cannot do. They also give youth workers a great framework for professional supervision and reflective practice.

In todays episode Aaron and Ben speak about youth work and power. How do youth workers recognise power issues? What can youth workers do when power is imposed by neoliberal structures? How can youth workers show genuine concern in the face of power imbalances? Youth workers must wrestle with the concept of power as it is a significant issue for the young people we serve and in doing youth work with integrity.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron speaks with Dr. Kat Daley from RMIT University about her research into youth drug and alcohol abuse. Particularly, Aaron and Kat speak about why young people tend towards use that is problematic and long term. Don't forget to tell your friends and to subscribe to the cast!

In todays episode, Aaron asks us to consider what we mean when we say the word profession. Aaron speaks to the model most often used in the literature available on youth work professionalisation. Finally, Aaron discusses whether this model reflects the identity of youth work.

Over the years I have had hundreds of people speak to me, email me, message me on Facebook even get their parents to reach out with the basic intent of asking the best way to become a youth worker. Honestly I get asked this question so much that I have decided to put it into a podcast for prosperity sake… and so I had somewhere to point people when they ask. I say this so often it has become a bit of a spiel so stay with me and by the end you will have a clear guide on how to become a great youth worker.

In todays Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast "the sociological imagination", Aaron gets us thinking about the need for youth workers to see more than just the individual young person. We look at the work of Sociologist C. Wright Mills and how it relates to youth work. 

In todays Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast "You need a mentor", Aaron gets us thinking about the need for mentors in youth work. We look at five things we need to do to find and get a mentor.

One of the biggest concerns youth workers have about the job is the lack of career development opportunity to move up the pecking order. Most youth work agencies are rather small or they are a niche within a larger service such as health organisations, education or larger non government conglomerates. This leads youth workers to feel that their career options are severely limited.

Today we want to speak about the definition of youth work that is most accepted in Australia. In Australia we have been debating the core work of youth workers for decades. The earliest clear definition of youth work as a distinct industry came through the Jasper Declaration 1977. The most current definition used within Australia is from the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition 2013. After a consultation that brought together thoughts from all over Australia a whole day was devoted to defining youth work in Australia at the Australian Youth Affairs Conference 2013. The best part of 100 youth workers argued and debated for the day to craft a definition for our sector. After the conference there were a few more consultations and the definition was set.

Youth work is a tough gig. Its probably why you have joined with over 1000 youth workers from all over the world who visit us every month. We truly care about you and your career. We know that you want to be the best youth worker you can be. We know you want training. You want the right knowledge. You want support from management. We also know that you probably aren't getting any of this either. around 10% of youth workers get these things. The remaining 90% range from mediocre to down right criminal levels of support. Its no wonder 21% of workers leave the youth sector every year. What we need is a network of support with some experienced trainers giving their practice wisdom. We need to have a place where we can ask questions without feeling like the village idiot. A place where compassionate colleagues will lend a listening ear to our troubles. A place like the Ultimate Youth Worker Network. Ultimate Youth Worker is an Australian company devoted to strengthening youth workers locally, nationally and internationally. We provide practical support, ongoing professional development and training opportunities for those working with young people between the ages of 12 and 25 and their agencies to build and maintain longevity in the field. Our vision is to see highly trained youth workers experiencing personal and professional development opportunities to grow a strengthened professional youth sector.

Working with involuntary clients is one of the most difficult tasks youth workers will have to do in their career. Youth work by its very nature is a voluntary relationship. So how can youth workers provide service to this client group? In this podcast we begin to share some thoughts on working with involuntary clients as youth workers. This is the first podcast in a series we will do on working with involuntary clients. From youth justice to working in the local church youth workers in every setting need to understand the basics of working with young people who have not voluntarily come to our service. In todays cast Aaron Garth lays a foundation for us from his experience working with a number of clients who did not voluntarily come to his attention. From young people referred to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre as part of their parole conditions to young people who have a parent in prison Aaron has worked with many young people who were coerced into seeing him. It is through these many instances Aaron gained his experience. As a lecturer Aaron brings this experience to his classes and links them to current research on working with this client group. We hope you begin to grapple with the work of youth workers in involuntary settings. More and more our funding is linked to our young people complying with services they don't necessarily want. Services such as education, employment and training which is linked to their welfare payments. Drug and alcohol services linked to their parole conditions. All the while our funding requiring us to engage and support these young people who do not want to be there, with the threat of our service being defunded if we do not comply with the framework of the day.

Group work is one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of our job as youth workers. It comes in many forms and it looks different in every context it is used in. Until the 1950's however, it was a relatively unheard of area of study. Today there are thousands of articles, books and training courses with different ideas on the who, how, what and why of working with groups. With so many different theories and styles it can also make group work one of the scariest parts of our job. Whether you are running a group in a school, church, drug rehab, practically anywhere the rules are the same. But if you don't know the rules groups can be extremely daunting. Knowing the rules of group work will help us as youth workers provide the best facilitation possible. It also lets us help our young people to settle in to the roles that suit them and challenge them to step into new ones. Group work is our bread and butter as youth workers. We don't necessarily do one on one counselling. We don't all run programs. But it is likely that we have all run a group.

What is youth work? It is a question that has haunted our profession for decades. In Australia we have attempted to frame our profession over the past few years however we keep coming up short. In todays podcast the team at Ultimate Youth Work frame this question using the current world wide definitions and our own framework of service. Controversial, probably! But it is a question we need to address if we are to cement ourselves as a profession. We often frame our profession by what we are not rather than who we are. We do this as there is massive diversity. The range of qualifications from none at all to doctorates. The different practice situations. The issues our young people come to us with. Our different philosophical, sociological and ethical bents. We have a lot that can pull us apart. At Ultimate Youth Worker we are less concerned about our differences and more interested in what brings us together. We all care for young people. We want the best for them. Most of all we believe in their innate humanity. Our profession is at a cross roads. Much of our previous held truths are gone. Government funding, gone. Universities protecting our courses, gone. Our very existence is threatened. Much of this because we can not answer the simple question, what is youth work? Until we can answer this question the future of our profession hangs in the balance.

In this weeks Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast we explore the need for youth workers to have a self care plan. Youth work can be highly stressful. Because we care, we take on a lot. Vicarious trauma is a regular event on our calendar. Around 24% of youth workers leave the sector every year. In today's episode Aaron takes us on a journey towards developing our very own self care plan.

Faith and identity by Youth Work podcast from Aaron Garth

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast 'Youth Work Ethics' Aaron speaks with Professor Howard Sercombe about his over two decade looking at and developing Youth Work Ethics documents. Howard Sercombe is a leading youth work academic and practitioner.  He has been a pioneer internationally in thinking about professional ethics for youth workers, and was involved in drafting codes of ethics for youth workers across Australia and in Scotland, England, South Africa, Zambia and New Zealand.  His book, Youth Work Ethics has been widely influential.  He has also published widely on the sociology of youth, including the construction of youth in the media and the emerging influence of neuroscience.  He and his partner, broadcaster Helen Wolfenden, have just relocated to Sydney after ten years in Glasgow. He currently holds an honorary Professorship in Education with the University of Glasgow, and is doing primary parenting for Oscar, 4 and Timothy, nearly 2. In todays episode Aaron and Howard speak about the development of the Fairbridge code of ethics used by many youth work associations worldwide. How did the code come in to being? Why do youth workers need to think about ethics? How can youth workers think ethically in their day to day practice? Professional youth workers must think about the concept of ethical practice every day. Codes of Ethics are a significant way for the young people we serve to know what we can and cannot do. They also give youth workers a great framework for professional supervision and reflective practice.

In todays episode Aaron and Ben speak about youth work and power. How do youth workers recognise power issues? What can youth workers do when power is imposed by neoliberal structures? How can youth workers show genuine concern in the face of power imbalances? Youth workers must wrestle with the concept of power as it is a significant issue for the young people we serve and in doing youth work with integrity.

In this episode of the Ultimate Youth Worker Podcast Aaron speaks with Dr. Kat Daley from RMIT University about her research into youth drug and alcohol abuse. Particularly, Aaron and Kat speak about why young people tend towards use that is problematic and long term. Don't forget to tell your friends and to subscribe to the cast

In todays episode, Aaron asks us to consider what we mean when we say the word profession. Aaron speaks to the model most often used in the literature available on youth work professionalisation. Finally, Aaron discusses whether this model reflects the identity of youth work.