Hertfordshire Young People’s Substance Misuse Review
Task
Hertfordshire County Council hold the responsibility for commissioning drugs, alcohol and tobacco education, prevention and treatment services for children and young people. In order to effectively implement a whole system approach to reduce harm from children and young people misusing substances, Hertfordshire County Council commissioned TONIC to review existing drug and alcohol services. A specific focus was placed on the role played by specialist and universal services for children and young people and their families.
Our Approach
TONIC engaged over 200 service users, young people, parents, commissioners, providers and partner agencies in a series of workshops, interviews and focus groups.
Alongside this, TONIC also conducted a literature review, to find evidence of ‘what works’ and collated relevant data to be analysed to carry out a cost benefit analysis for the proposed new model.
Outcome
As a result of the findings from the fieldwork, TONIC proposed a new model that aimed to tackle the root causes of why children and young people misuse substances. The new suggested model adopts a whole system approach using a life-course model with service delivery, governance and commissioning function at its core.
The two key elements of the model were:
Universal prevention
Interventions, treatment and targeted prevention
TONIC collated all findings, the proposed model and a business case for change into a detailed, comprehensive report for the commissioners.