Engaging Youth at their First YWHO Site Visit / S’assurer la coopération des jeunes lors de leur première visite à un CBEJO

Youth Navigators/Coordinators: Engaging Youth at their First YWHO Site Visit

This is a general sample script that can be referred to by YWHO navigators/coordinators (i.e., the first person a youth meets) to engage and work with youth as they enter sites for the first time. It serves as a companion document to “Tips for Building Rapport with Youth” and “Tips for Building Clinical Rapport with Family Members”. This script aims to provide consistency across YWHO staff members and hub networks. It also aims to ensure young people are appropriately welcomed, and feel comfortable both at the hub as well as in providing information to help staff best meet youth needs.

Welcome youth, introduce yourself, provide information and tour:

• “Hi! Welcome to the [site] Youth Wellness Hub! I’m really happy you decided to come by - thanks so much. Is this your first time here? My name is ____ and I [describe your role at site]. Would you be okay sharing your name/pronoun with me? So nice to meet you. Would you like me to tell you about some services that we offer here, in person and online, and give you a tour?”
  • Provide tour and talk simultaneously.
  • Can engage in stress-free/non-threatening small talk (“Did you walk here today, get a ride? It’s pretty cold out there”).
  • Date of birth and last name to be asked later if youth decide they would like YWHO service.

• “We serve young people ages 12-25 here. We offer services for youth mental health, alcohol and drug use, physical and sexual health (e.g., we have a nurse practitioner/RN), as well as help with employment, education, and housing and other community supports. It’s a new, transformational way of providing service to young people - the hub network is a one-stop shop for youth to access this whole range of services. It’s walk-in or appointment-based, you don’t need a referral from a doctor, it’s free, we offer services in English and French (if some staff speak other languages, such as Cree or Ojibwe, you can mention this), and it’s all focused on young people. All the staff here want to make this a place where you - and all youth - can visit and feel safe and supported. We also offer a family support program, as well as inclusivity-focused wellness activities, such as: …”
  • Please list some wellness activities and culturally-based programs offered through your hub network, such as personal fitness, yoga, beading, resumé writing workshop, “chill space,” newcomer program, art…etc.
  • Please mention the family support program your hub network offers.
  • Please also know when hub opened doors in person and virtually, in case youth ask.

• “All of the services mentioned are located right here and our schedule is here on the wall (if relevant) and on this sheet (*give youth schedule for the week if relevant*), as well as on our website (or on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter if relevant). We also offer remote/virtual services either by phone or video with a service provider, and lots of other great inclusivity-focused wellness and social activities online on Instagram and Facebook (such as movie nights, quizzes). Those are also listed here (if relevant).”

OR

• “Our hub network and services are located across two sites (Rockland, Cornwall) and our schedule is here on the wall (if relevant), and on this sheet (*give youth schedule for the week if relevant*), as well as on our website (or on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter if relevant). We welcome you to attend either of our sites depending on what is more convenient for you and/or what service you’re looking for. We also offer remote/virtual services either by phone or video with a service provider, and lots of other great inclusivity-focused wellness and social activities online on Instagram and Facebook (such as movie nights, quizzes). Those are also listed here (if relevant).”

OR

• “Our hub network and services are located across three sites (the John Howard Society, the Centre de Santé Communautaire, and the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre) and our schedule is here on the wall (if relevant), and on this sheet (*give youth schedule for the week if relevant*), as well as on our website (or on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter if relevant). We welcome you to attend any of our sites depending on what is more convenient for you and/or what service you’re looking for. We also offer remote/virtual services either by phone or video with a service provider, and lots of other great inclusivity-focused wellness and social activities online on Instagram and Facebook (such as movie nights, quizzes). Those are also listed here (if relevant).”

• “We also have peer support workers here to help in general with any questions you have, to welcome you to our space, share their experiences, and to support and assist you. We all work together to help you with what you may be looking for.”

Gather information from youth verbally, and via iPad (if relevant):

• “Can you share what brought you in today? Do you have any questions about what you’ve seen or what we’ve talked about so far?”
  • If youth are not comfortable speaking, they can write/type things down. Be mindful of any communication barriers.
  • Offer to head to less public area in hub, to speak to youth in private, and respond to youth’s questions. Summarize what youth has told you to ensure clarity.
  • Ensure that youth are comfortable not being in the more public/visible area. Public areas may feel safer for some youth (e.g., at a hub kitchen table with the option of food/beverage.)

• If individuals are seeking any service but wellness activities, then first name, last name, preferred name (optional), date of birth, and client type (youth vs. caregiver) must be obtained to create a profile on the data collection platform.
• If youth are seeking therapeutic/clinical service, the completion of forms on the iPad applies. If youth are seeking non-therapeutic (e.g., education, employment, housing/community supports), or a wellness activity, the iPad process does not apply.
• If therapeutic/clinical services are requested, let youth know that you can set up an appointment for them with a service provider (if one has not already been set up) within the next 72 hours, and that they will be asked to complete some brief forms on an iPad (or on paper).
• If youth have a French language preference, connect them to a French language staff member if possible, and use the French version of the iPad forms if this is a clinical service visit. If youth prefer service in another language spoken by a staff member at the hub (e.g., Ojibwe), connect youth with that staff member.

Measurement-Based Care (MBC) MBC is defined as a systemic evaluation of symptoms before or during an encounter, and using the results to inform decision-making about treatment at the individual level. 

• “We will also be asking you to answer some questions on an iPad (or on paper), so that we have some information from you to make sure we provide you with the best and most appropriate services we can. Your participation is voluntary. The questions are just about you, your behaviours, and how you’re feeling. You are the expert of your own life, and we do not want to make any assumptions about you. The questions might seem personal, but it is really important to us that we hear what you have to say about how you’re currently doing and what you might want help with, so that we can provide the best service to you to meet your needs. Basically, we collect only what is needed to figure out how to best support each young person who walks through our doors - the focus is on improving outcomes for young people - while at the same time supporting the ongoing improvement of services for youth.”
• “The forms were chosen to be as brief as possible while also learning enough about how you’re doing (mental health, physical, health, drug use, work, school, housing etc) to be able to decide with you what type of service may be the best fit for you at the hub. They’re also used by YWHO to learn what concerns young people have so we make sure we have the most appropriate programs and services in place.”
  
  • In addition, MBC/collecting information from youth using the screening forms allows for:
    • Youth to self-reflect, set goals, and monitor their progress if relevant
    • More accurate, efficient, and consistent evaluation of youth needs
    • Service providers and youth to better track goal achievement and detect symptom changes
    • Assistance in informing treatment decisions
    • Easier coordination of care, as circle of care members are working from the same standardized information
    • Assessment of whether a program/service is achieving its goal or desired change in the youth who access it
    • Determining where refinements may be needed to the way a program/service has been implemented, or how resources can be better allocated
    • Please note that clinical measures have been selected and tested for their ability to be used interactively with youth in the context of screening and service delivery, and to assist in determining what support young people need, and whether they should be ‘stepped up’ to a more intensive form of intervention.

• “Are you comfortable sitting right here using the iPad to answer questions on your own? We can also sit together and I can read the questions to you and record your answers if you prefer.”
  • Some youth may be self-conscious about literacy levels or other challenges and may not vocalize a need for support.

• “If you prefer to use the iPad here, please ask me if you need any help at all with understanding a question - I’ll be right over here. The questions usually take about 30 minutes to answer; For some people it might take less time, for some people it may take more time - you can go at whatever pace is comfortable for you. The questions are just about you and there is no time limit.”
  • If providing questionnaires in hard copy form, the above still applies.
  • If youth would like or require assistance, staff member/service provider can sit with youth and provide support, or ask the questions verbally to youth and respond for them on the iPad; accommodations for any type of challenge or disability should be made.
  • If youth came with a support person, you can also offer them privacy to answer with that person.
    

Specifics:

• Consent - “This form is a consent form to ask for your agreement to share information about you with the people who provide service here at the hub from different organizations, so that we can all work together as a team to support you.”
  • Hand youth the paper copy of the consent form or point to the form on the iPad and explain what’s on it. As per your own lead agency’s policy on consent, explain situations where you are required to report (i.e., limits to confidentiality). Explain that part of the hub staff’s job is to keep individuals safe.
  • Ensure youth have an opportunity to ask any questions about limits to confidentiality.

• Minimum Data Set (MDS) – For more specific information regarding explaining the sociodemographic data collection, and rationale for each clinical screener questionnaire, please refer to the documents and videos on the YWHO Knowledge Base.
• When youth have completed all forms on the iPad or in hard copy form, thank the youth and follow up with appointment information, how a service provider will go through results with youth, and if there is any brief wait time (usually less than 72 hours). You can offer supplementary supports in the interim (e.g., wellness activities).

Glossary

Inclusivity-focused services and wellness activities:

• Recreation Programs (e.g., board games, video games, “chill space,” movies, music, yoga/mindfulness, personal fitness, nutrition programs/community kitchen, sports - swimming, volleyball)
• Cultural Programs (e.g., Ask Kookum, traditional activities such as beading, Ojibwe language group)
• Arts Programs (e.g., art, dance)
• Guest Speakers (e.g., Education advisor, resumé writing, natural and alternative medicine workshop)
• Food provision
• Quiet study space
  

Services:

• Mental Health
• Substance Use
• Health/Primary Care/Sexual Health
• Employment
• Education
• Housing and other Community Supports
• Family Support
• Psycho-education