Young People's Substance Misuse Service

Primary aims

The primary aim of the Services is to engage children, young people, young adults and families in effective substance misuse interventions. To support Service Users in stopping or reducing their substance misuse and any associated offending behaviours, improving engagement in education, employment and training, maximising their health and social outcomes and aiding successful reintegration into mainstream services and the wider community. The Supplier is required to proactively engage Service Users in a variety of Sites and successfully engage Service Users with a wide range of wraparound support services. The Supplier must ensure Services are child focussed and be extremely flexible in how they are delivered both to meet individual Service User need and to adapt to changes in the wider services environment.

The Services are an integrated part of a holistic package of care and not stand alone. For the avoidance of doubt, this means that the Supplier Personnel will coordinate both the substance misuse specific and other elements of the prevention, treatment, recovery and reintegration packages, whilst also supporting wraparound activities including, but not limited to, appropriately managing mental health and wellbeing, risky sexual behaviour, smoking cessation, engagement in education, employment or training, diversionary activities and health improvement for Service Users.

Service Purpose

The Young People’s Substance Misuse Service must be a flexible and responsive service for children, young people, young adults and their families. It will:

• provide a range of substance misuse interventions to make Service Users aware of the risks including harm to themselves and others to encourage changes to attitude and behaviour; and
• deliver interventions to children, young people, young adults and their families at the earliest opportunity to prevent onset or escalation of need; and
• support Service Users with additional vulnerabilities either directly or in partnership with other services; and
• ensure Service Users are prepared and appropriately supported as they exit the service; and
• be young person friendly and responsive to the evolving need of individuals both in terms of those already engaged with the service and the wider population; and
• involve young people and Service Users in the development, planning, delivery and review of the service; and
• use technology and digital approaches to enhance and streamline service delivery; and
• provide access to, and directly offer, local opportunities to support Enfield residents.

Strategic Principles of the Service

The key strategic principles related to this Specification are:

• an outcome focussed model for the delivery of the Services which achieves the KPI’s, Service Standard and enhances quality in the provision of the Services to optimum effect and ability; and
• adhering to the Making Every Contact Count approach to behaviour change to contribute to improving the overall health and well-being of residents; and
• ensure interventions engage people at the earliest opportunity to promote prevention and early intervention; and
• taking a trauma informed approach; and
• a child and family friendly approach that puts the child first; and
• a whole systems approach to engagement, delivery of treatment, recovery and reintegration based upon identified and emerging needs; and
• a borough wide outcome orientated approach which aims to reduce risk and increase resilience; and
• a reduction in health inequalities by improving health, education, social and crime reduction outcomes for Service Users; and
• increasing harm reduction initiatives and improving health promotion to reduce illicit drug use and harmful drinking; and
• cost effective interventions delivered from a range of appropriate satellite Sites; and
• evidence based informed practice in the delivery of the Services; and
• flexibility and adaptability in an ever changing local environment; and
• a commitment to delivering the Services within a robust and comprehensive governance framework promoting a culture of openness and ability to learn from practice, Serious Incidents, Never Events and Serious Case Reviews, and the changing evidence base to improve the safety and quality in the provision of the Services: and
• to maintain high access and retention rates for Service Users engaged in the Services; and
• supporting the Council and other organisations in reducing offending and improving engagement in education, employment and training; and
• supporting Service Users to leave the Services through referral pathways with appropriate aftercare ensuring robust continuity of care arrangements are in place to facilitate the effective handover of care.

Values and Principles of the Service

The Services shall:

• provide access and deliver substance misuse support where substance misuse is identified; and
• ensure the Services are responsive and adaptable to the changing needs of the children, young people, young adults and families who require them; and
• provide access to all interventions detailed in this Specification; and
• ensure Service Users are fully involved in the development of their care plans and that discharge planning is embedded right from the start of an intervention; and
• deliver the effective outcomes required by the Council and adopt a robust approach to partnership working with other essential services, including but not limited to children’s mental health services, children’s social care, Looked After Children, the Youth Justice Service, youth services, the Adult Substance Misuse Service, hospitals, housing, JobCentre Plus, work programme providers, schools, colleges, training organisations and employers or any other element as so required by the Council; and
• understand how to deliver young people’s and family services in a way that encourages uptake of interventions and effective outcomes; and
• champion whole family and multi-agency working to support vu…