Impact of Cuts to Youth Service on Youth - Essay Example

?Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The Economic Crisis 3 Neoliberalism Forces 4 Impact of cuts on Worth Unlimited 6 Conclusion 10 Recommendations 10 References 12 Report on the Impact of Cuts to Youth Service on Young People and the Quality of Youth Service Abstract This report analyses the impact of cuts to youth service on young people and the quality of youth service provision at Worth Unlimited; the report findings suggest that the cuts to youth service have inevitably resulted to the deterioration of quality in youth service provision. Consequently, many youth support programs have grounded to a halt due to limited funding and the youth have lost opportunities for both personal and social development particularly because they can no longer access quality service in terms of training and employment. Youth service personnel training at Worth Unlimited has equally been frustrated by the cuts implying that youth workers are not adequately prepared to deal with the complex situations facing young people today. Communities are encountering a youth problem since there is rampant adolescent and teenage delinquency, besides the serious shortage of skills and talents that can offer innovative solutions to society because of insufficient youth services in the country. Introduction Youth is an unstable period of transition to adulthood (Spence, 2005) therefore, youth work promotes and supports the growth of young people through dependence to interdependence. Youth work achieves this objective by encouraging young people to grow both in personal and social perspectives through a platform that enables them to have a voice (Department for children, Schools, and families, 2009), influence, and place in society (Cutler, 2003). However, following the recent global financial crisis that led to the meltdown in the international financial markets, many governments found it hard to service their large budgets, and they had to reduce their spending on public services to avoid budget deficits. In this respect, the deficit reduction exercise had profound ramifications for public services, particularly to youth services on young people; Worth Unlimited, which provides services to young people, is presently in an acute depression because it does not have enough funds to support its youth service programs (Smith and Doyle, 2002). In the absence of quality youth services, there is bound to be a youth problem manifest in pervasive adolescence and teenage delinquency, and given the substantial rise in the numbers of young people, there is a serious concern over the implications of the cuts to youth services. There is no doubt whatsoever, that the possible ramifications of cuts to youth services warrants investigation; in that respect, this report provides details of the analysis of the impact of cuts to Youth Services on young people and on the quality of youth service provision at Worth Unlimited. The Economic Crisis The integration of international markets today, thanks to the globalization forces (Bitzenis, & Marangos, 2007), has resulted to the free flow of trade and factors of production between national frontiers, thereby establishing linkages between national states. However, this interconnection and interdependence of markets has also heightened the risk of trade (Islamaj 2011p1341), particularly because whatever happens in one market inevitably affects all other players. This was the case in the 2009 financial crisis that led to the devastating global meltdown in the financial markets (Uslaner, E M 2010 p110), thereby thoroughly constraining trade, and government services all over the world. The financial crisis inevitably revealed the weaknesses in the structures of international financial institutions (Cerovic, Petrovic, and Cerovic, 2013), leading to large budget deficits because the government could not support all its public services yet there were no alternative sources of funding. In this respect, there was an urgent need to implement cuts in government services to facilitate recovery, since economic crises offer political space to pursue insurmountable reforms (Pirie, 2012); Worth Unlimited has fallen on the losing end, with the large cuts on government spending on youth services. Nonetheless, the crisis has led to a profound social crisis (Mew, 2013), because the changes in government policies in response to the economic crisis have had profound influence on the state of youth services in the country. In this regard, because different governments have always had different policies concerning the youth and youth services in the country, the attention given to young people and the youth services in the country have always varied over the years. Neoliberalism Forces The financial meltdown in 2008 inevitably exposed the unstable and unbalanced model of economic growth in a country built on unsustainable public and private sector borrowing (Cahill, 2010); the implication, therefore, is that government spending exceeds its revenues through taxation. In this respect, the government has been forced to borrow heavily to continuously meet is fiscal deficits, to support its welfare services across the board, and this has inevitably led to the accumulation of a huge fiscal deficit that threatens the stability of the economy. Deficit reduction became the single most important task of the government to restore the economic system back to its once glorious position, and to avoid plunging into a recession and creating instability in the global market system. Deficit reduction was the proposed as an urgent measure for restructuring the economic system to achieve a balanced growth that is not only stable, but also sustainable in the end, and to instil confidence in the market. The government has taken a number of actions concerning deficit reduction, particularly because the spending on public services was no longer sustainable due to the accumulation of a huge public sector debt. These actions included cuts in government spending on public services, particularly on services for the young people; the youth services in the country are now in sheer depression because Worth Unlimited is highly constrained financially, and can no longer provide diverse youth services to the young people it serves. The huge spending cuts in the public sector aim to avoid further escalation in the deficit, making it unmanageable in the end; as it stands, the government runs a risk of rising interest rates, and debt default. It is apparent that changes in youth policy are ideological (Martin, 2007); these deficit reduction actions such as the huge cuts in government spending have been motivated by neoliberalism, the dominant ideology shaping our world today (Thorsen, 2010). Neoliberalism refers to the theory of political and economic activities that promote the well-being of humans by unleashing human being independence and abilities through an institutional structure (Thorsen, and Amund 2010). Strong property rights, free markets, and free trade, in that case, become crucial prerequisites to neoliberalism; the government’s role in the neoliberalism age, therefore, is to create and maintain an institutional framework that is appropriate for the above-mentioned practices. For instance, the state must ensure the quality and integrity of money, as well as establish the institutional structures and functions that guarantee the proper functioning of markets through regulatory market interventions. However, the only legitimate purpose of the state is to safeguard individual commercial freedoms and property rights, and such interventions must be minimal because freely adopted market mechanisms are the primary forces responsible for organizing the exchange of goods and services. Free markets and free trade aims to achieve individual well-being, commercial liberty and equitable allocation of resources by unleashing the creative potential and entrepreneurial spirit within society (Thorsen and Amund 2009). Individuals in free markets and trade are accountable for the consequences of the decisions they freely make, and in that case, neoliberalism inevitable permits, to some extent, instances of blatant social injustice and social inequality. In this respect, the government’s decision in implementing the deficit reduction actions such as cuts in spending on public services are preventive interventions aimed at regulating the market to ensure that it functions properly to promote individual well-being, commercial liberty, and equitable allocation of resources. The cuts on spending to reduce fiscal deficit is meant to reassure markets that the UK is a safe haven for investment and trade in the free market system, thereby avoiding escalation in interest rates on the government debt. Impact of cuts on Worth Unlimited Worth Unlimited benefits from government funding; for instance, in the first year of the coalition government, the agency received 80,000 pounds from the council; however, these funds reduced drastically between 2012 and 2013 from 80,000 to 60,000 pounds, and it is projected that they might go further down to 30,000 in 2014. In this respect, the scarcity of the funds has largely constrained the agency that now they only run targeted youth programs, which offer services to vulnerable and marginalized young people only. Recreation is educative to the adolescents because it promotes the intellectual and moral development, promoting teenagers’ maturity to responsible adults with a voice, influence, and position in society (Ansell, 2005). This report analyses the impact of the cuts on Worth Unlimited in general, and how they affected the young people, the staff, or the community in particular, among other practitioners. The findings of the impact of cuts on the Worth Unlimited are crucial because they will shade light on the present situation concerning the quality of youth service in the country; consequently, this will form a strong basis for the argument in favor of policy change concerning youth services in the country. Before the cuts, Worth Unlimited Mobile Venue used to go to ten different places weekly, but following the cuts, it only goes to two different places weekly; if the projected cuts next year are in place, the agency might be forced to stop going out altogether. Additionally, facilitation and designing planned programs of education, training, and vocational preparation with specific outcomes in response to needs identified by youths is highly frustrated due to limited funds, thereby downgrading services offered by Worth Unlimited accordingly. The underlying ideology at work in the agency is the provision of quality youth services to the community it serves; however, this ideology has been thoroughly constrained by the cuts since the agency no longer goes extra miles with the youths by working with them to promote their hope and assertiveness. Response from young people has been moderate; despite their struggles, they understand the gravity of the matter, thus, they protest against the coalition government’s agenda while constructively seeking to articulate their issues. The government’s agenda to prioritize services whose outcomes are measurable at every stage of funding has undermined youth services deeming them less beneficial; on the contrary, youths articulate their protest by highlighting the multiple benefits of the youth services. For instance, Worth Unlimited offers diverse services to young people, covering themes such as curiosity, involvement, achievement, and autonomy; the whole community can benefit from having confident young people who can develop meaningful and trusting relationships. Young people need youth workers now more than ever before, to help expand their opportunities in achieving their optimum potential (Banks, 1999), which is UNICEF’s mission that is bound by the provisions and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Unicef, 2013). Youth workers help young people in their personal and social development by equipping them with appropriate skills that enable them to become resilient in challenging environments (Roche, et al, 2004) and to contribute positively to economic growth. However, the cuts have reduced the diversity of youth services provided by Worth Unlimited and reduced outcomes for the young people as well; the quality of service offered to the young people determines the outcomes they achieve in their transition to adulthood (Smith, 2001). The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services has expressed concerns over the impact of cuts on young people and its survey supports the assertion that government austerity programs have negatively affected the youth in the country. For instance, many charity organizations that deal with the young people have reduced their programs effectively (NCVYS, 2000), and those that are badly affected are considering closure due to the cuts, therefore implying that a huge proportion of young people have lost opportunities, support, and advice they need to get on in society (HM Treasury, 2010). In many cases, young people suffer from complex needs and limited opportunities, thus, the cuts imply that the youth have been predisposed to double blows because the services they have been accessing through voluntary organizations are no longer available to them. Young people have lost considerable opportunities to develop the relevant survival skills and a positive outlook they need to be competitive in changing global market environments (Kehily, 2007); for instance, the cuts led to the end of the Future Jobs Fund, which sponsored the creation of jobs for the unemployed young people. Many pilot programs that provided the youth with intensive support and incentives to take part in activities that can help them access employment and training opportunities in the country are ending. For instance, the Activity Agreement that successfully engaged with the most vulnerable, inaccessible young people that are not in education, employment, or training, commonly referred to as the Neets came to a sudden end (Batsleer, 2008; HM Government, 2004). In addition, the cuts have curtailed staff development since Worth Unlimited can no longer continue to invest in staff development (NCVYS, 2000); this means that the staff providing youth services is not adequately prepared to deal with a complex situation of increasingly difficult situations facing young people in the country. The communities served by Worth Unlimited now have a serious youth problem as a result to the cuts affecting youth service in the country since they have resulted to an unprecedented rise in teenage and adolescent delinquency as well as, a shortage of skills and knowledge to address its problems. The youth can yield innovative solutions that can help communities address present challenges if supported effectively through quality youth service (Smith, 2007); a rise in adolescent and teenage delinquency today is attributable to the deteriorating youth service. Young people need constant advice and support through positive engagement in youth service programs to be able to transit successfully into mature adults with responsible roles in society, contributing to social change (Miles, 2000; Department for Education, 2013). Conclusion The cuts in youth services have had profound impacts not only on the youth, but also on the communities in general; the cuts to youth services have largely constrained the quality of services offered to young people by Worth Unlimited, thereby further constraining outcomes, which are highly determined by quality of service provision (National Youth Agency, 2013). The youth have been deprived opportunities for both personal and social development thereby becoming unfit to function in increasingly challenging environments in communities. Youth services equip young people with the relevant skills, knowledge, and talents that help them become resilient even in fast-changing market environments (Smith, 2005); however, with the cuts, a large proportion of youth programs have grounded to a halt thereby limiting employment and training opportunities for young people. Investment in workforce training has also been frustrated thereby implying that youth service personnel are increasingly becoming unfit to deal with the overwhelming youth needs in changing times (Young, 1999). The implication for communities is the increasing youth problem due to rampant adolescent and teenage delinquency, and the serious shortage of skills and talents that can offer innovative solutions to social challenges. Recommendations To balance off the impact of the cuts to the young people, local authorities should seek existing partnerships and review areas where both the voluntary and community youth work can yield practical solutions for service delivery in communities. A cross sector approach must also come into play in order for the negative and damaging impact of the cuts to young people to be averted; young people must be given priority in funds from the Big Society Bank (Department for Education and Skills, 2002) and youth values need to be articulated in the curriculum (Ord, 2008). Longer-term contracts and small grants can also help to sustain crucial services that young people and communities rely on in the challenging financial environment; the only way to empower local communities is to empower young people, and cutting youth services is predisposing the most vulnerable youth to damaging conditions. References Uslaner, E. M. 2010. 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