Abstract
Background: For youth with multiple severe and enduring problems across various life domains, their needs exceed the expertise and possibilities of a single professional, service, or organization. These youngsters need a workforce in which the expertise of different professionals and organizations is integrated. However, it can be challenging to integrate different types of expertise in practice, especially for these vulnerable youth as their problems are often co-occurring, and interrelated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain insight into the added value and challenges of integrating different types of expertise to the workforce of these vulnerable youth.
Targeted population and stakeholders: The overall study design comprises practice-based action research. The primary focus of this study is on the perspective of Youth Care professionals, policymakers, and vulnerable youth. This study is designed and monitored in co-creation with professionals, policymakers and youth representatives. By organizing learning sessions based on the results of the study, professionals and other stakeholders are stimulated to learn and improve the quality of care for these youngsters.
Method: A total of 28 in-depth interviews were conducted with different stakeholders to gain insight in the added value and challenges regarding the integration of different types of expertise. The stakeholders included professionals and policymakers who work in various organizations for vulnerable youth. We also incorporated the reflections from a youth representative. In order to learn and improve the integration of different types of expertise in practice, a learning session was held with a youth and parent representative, professionals, and policymakers. Transcripts were examined through a thematic analysis.
Results: Integrating different types of expertise within the workforce can be of value on three levels: 1) youth and their families, 2) professional, 3) organization. On the level of youth and their families, expertise contributes to a holistic view of family functioning and helps to provide a shared understanding of the problems these youngsters and their families face. Adding expertise helps professionals through support and reflection, as professionals can be overwhelmed by the complexity of the problems. At an organizational level, combining different types of expertise can lead to a breakthrough by offering clear insights into the array of available treatment options. Simultaneously, each level has multiple challenges that complicate the integration of expertise in the workforce, such as different visions, unfamiliarity with professionals, youth and their family, and uncertainty about the division of tasks and roles.
Conclusion: Overall, integrating different types of expertise when providing care to youth at-risk is a complex multi-layered process that requires careful consideration. Altogether, practical recommendations to integrate additional expertise are to invest in familiarization between professionals from different organizations who provide care to vulnerable youth. Moreover, in order to provide an accessible and clear overview of the available expertise within and between organizations, it is crucial to specify the expertise that each organization has at its disposal. By investing and organizing the integration of different types expertise within the workforce, integrated care for vulnerable youth will be more easily facilitated and better tailored their needs.