Integrated Team Model for Children and Youth Services: Yes or No?

Abstract

From ten Integrated Teams (ITs) established in late 1994 for the provision of children and youth services, with some eight years of development, in 2001 there were more than 60 ITs in the territory. At the end of June 2003, there were 130 ITs (or Integrated Children and Youth Service Centres — ICYSCs) in the territory. It seems that employing an "Integrated Team Model" of the provision of children and youth services has gained the faith and confidence from the authority. However, the strengths and limitations encountered by youth workers in ITs have not been systematically explored. The present study, a questionnaire survey with all IT workers as target, has mainly explored the workers' opinions on the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing ITs, the difficulties/limitations they have encountered and the suggested ways for improvement. Based on the findings, recommendations are made so that further development of the IT model for children and youth services could be more promising.