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Youth Development & Youth Club Grants

Youth Development

The passing of the Youth Work Act 2001 is a significant landmark in the development of youth work in Ireland.  In the Act youth work is defined as:

“A planned programme of education designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young persons through their voluntary participation, and which is -

• complementary to their formal, academic or vocational education and training;
• provided primarily by voluntary youth work organisations.”

The Act sets out the responsibility of the state to provide strategic direction for the development of youth work and describes the roles and responsibilities of the Minister for Education and the VECs in this regard.  Like its counterparts around the Co. Clare VEC now has a statutory responsibility:

1. To work in co-ordination with local and national voluntary youth organisations to ensure that there is adequate provision of youth work programmes and services in the county;
2. To engage young people, youth work groups and organizations in the preparation of a three-year youth work development plan for the county that will have particular regard to young people between the ages 10 and 21 and those who are socially or economically disadvantaged;
3. To provide assistance, including finance, to youth work groups and to monitor and assess programmes and services funded through the VEC;
4. To ensure co-ordination with other educational services;
5. To research needs;
6. To arrange for the provision of youth work programmes and services where they are not being provided.

In carrying out its role Co. Clare VEC will seek to ensure the following principles are realised:

• The promotion of youth work for all young people;
• The promotion of diversity of provision by a range of youth organizations;
• The encouragement and support of voluntarism at community level;
• The promotion of quality standards in management and youth work practice;
• The active participation of young people in decision making;
• The allocation of resources to meet needs;
• A genuine partnership with the community and voluntary sector.

A Youth Development Officer has been appointed to support the VEC in the carrying out of its role and responsibilities.  Key responsibilities include:

1. Supporting the appointment and maintenance of a Youth Work Committee as a sub-committee of the VEC and as prescribed in the Act. 
2. Supporting the election and maintenance of the Local Voluntary Youth Council (LVYC) as an important forum for the voluntary youth work organizations to inform the three-year development plan and the future development of youth work in Clare. 
3. The registration of youth work organizations so that they will be eligible to participate in the elections to the LVYC and have access to training, networking, support and information sharing.