about youth service
supporting our taiohi to achieve their dreams and aspirations
about youth service
Youth Service was established on 20 August 2012 and is a contracted service whereby community-based providers are funded to work with unemployed or disengaged 16 to 19 year olds.
Youth Service is delivered across Aotearoa, New Zealand by our ‘Youth Service providers’ who are a mixture of community organisations, iwi/Māori, private training institutions and two Work and Income sites based in Wellington and Whanganui. Youth Service has over 350 youth coaches who deliver the service.
Youth Service providers have the external community networks and capability to work intensively with young people to equip them with the tools to support them to achieve their goals and aspirations. These interventions and activities are tailored to the needs of the young person that adopts a strengths-based, strong youth mentoring approach in their practice.
welfare reform
Stage one of welfare reform changes was the induction of Youth Service. In August 2011, Cabinet agreed that Youth Service needs to:
- discourage an early reliance on the benefit system
- require young people to remain in education or training, or to be in work, in return for assistance
- ensure that they learn good budgeting skills so that they are better able to manage their money, and have the strategies to cope when resources are limited
- support the development of their parenting skills (teen parents only)
- ensure that cost is not a barrier to children of teen parents accessing childcare
- support teens to access services including, where appropriate, family planning services, to address a range of needs that will enhance longer-term outcomes
- provide wrap-around support to improve social outcomes for young people and their children
- introduce a sharing agreement between ministries to target school leavers.
The Youth Service Master Outcome Agreement sets out the performance and contractual requirements in achieving outcomes for young people.
The Youth Service provider website sets out the operational processes for youth service providers supporting young people enrolled in Youth Service.
yp/ypp/young partner
Those in Youth Service who are eligible for a benefit:
- receive Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment;
- have youth activity obligations (education, budgeting and, for parents, parenting) and can receive incentive payments where they meet these obligations; and
- have their money managed by MSD with an associated sanctions regime, and for young parents, receive additional support to cover childcare costs (Guaranteed Childcare Assistance payment (GCAP)).
Youth Service supports 16 to 17 year old's who can't live with their family, be supported by them or anyone else as a result of exceptional circumstances such as family breakdown (YP), and 16 to 19 year old parents who are receiving financial assistance (YPP).
Youth Service also includes young partners and young parent partners of a main beneficiary. Young partners of a main beneficiary are identified as young people who are either aged 16 to 17 (with no dependent child or children) or aged 16 to 19 (with a dependent child or children).
Young partners receive a working age benefit (e.g., Jobseeker Support) and are referred to our Youth Service providers to meet their youth activity obligations.
neet (not in education employment or training)
Young people in Youth Service who are 16 or 17 years old and are not receiving financial assistance from the Government and need help to re-engage or remain in education, employment, or training can participate in Youth Service NEET.
Participation for NEET is voluntary, and these young people are assessed as high or very high Service Level Intensity (SLI). Where a young person does not identify as a high or very high SLI, they are not referred to the service. They are referred to other community organisations or government agencies.
SLI modelling factors include (but are not limited to) education level, reason for leaving school, and whether they have had contact with Oranga Tamariki. This is supported by information sharing between government agencies (the Ministry, Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki). You can view the Approved Information Sharing Agreement on our Youth Service website.