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REPPP Action Research Project: 'Better Together - Developing Relationship Practice to Effect Change in Young People’s Offending Behaviour'

Background and Context 
The Better Together Research Report presents the findings from a Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes and Practice (REPPP) Action Research Project undertaken with 16 Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) over 3 years. The research aimed to establish what effective relationships between youth justice practitioners and young people look like.

Time spent building relationships with young people in YDPs accounts for a substantial proportion of the total youth justice budget in Ireland. Those who work in youth diversion often report, anecdotally, that building relationships is key to the work they do, especially in terms of helping to divert young people from crime. Despite the importance that practitioners place on these relationships, there have been few studies of their role in youth justice and, in particular, of the extent to which they may help divert young people from crime. There has therefore been a significant lack of knowledge of how relationship building may help with crime prevention.  

The REPPP Action Research Project aimed to close this knowledge gap, and co-develop practical, implementable guidance for practitioners in YDPs and support the policy of intervening to divert young people from crime. The project therefore aimed to answer the following questions: 
1.    How can relationships with youth justice practitioners help divert young people from crime?  
2.    What can youth justice practitioners do to build effective relationships? 

Approach and Methodology 

With funding from the Department of Justice, ��ɫ��Ƶ Affairs and Migration (DOJHAM) in Ireland, the Action Research Project built on earlier REPPP research which synthesised international evidence on developing effective relationships between frontline practitioners and young people. 

Synthesising the international evidence with YDP practice experience on the ground, the Action Research Project collaborated with 16 YDP case study sites from a range of urban and rural locations in Ireland. In total, the project worked with 60 youth justice practitioners, their managers and Gardaí connected to the projects. This group worked closely with the research team to share relational practice insights. They also co-designed a practical guidance document for fellow practitioners to use.  The action research approach to the project ensured that the research and guidance were co-designed by practitioners through an exacting process of testing, reviewing, reflecting, and refining, thereby combining ‘on the ground’ practice wisdom with the international evidence. Additionally, 27 young people were interviewed about their perspectives on how their relationships with youth justice workers had impacted them. 

Results 

Based on conversations with the 27 young people involved, the research found that effective professional relationships support six key “soft” outcomes for young people, the development of which may contribute to positive changes in offending behaviour: 

1. Becoming more trusting
2. Developing optimism and a sense of possibility
3. Becoming better at navigating their own relationships
4. Improving their ability to cope with life’s challenges
5. Improving their decision-making and becoming more mature
6. Improving their self-worth and confidence. 

The research found that practitioners developed effective relationships by creating a culture of safety, taking the time to build the relationship, developing trust, and being young person centred. Seven additional skills, attributes and practices that youth justice practitioners use to help them build effective relationships with young people were also identified: 

1. Being fully committed
2. Communicating with empathy
3. Making connections and advocating on behalf of the young person
4. Being flexible
5. Being self-reflective and willing to use their own skills and attributes
6. Being honest and challenging young people constructively
7. Guiding, inspiring hope and building the young person’s sense of agency. 

The findings from the empirical research have led to the development of new guidance for relational working with young people in the youth justice system. 

Relational Guidance Scale Out and Implementation Support 

Since the Action Research Project, many more YDP practitioners have been involved in the subsequent stages to support the scale out and implement the relationship guidance developed from the research. Once the guidance was finalised, it was shared with the YDP network via a series of workshops that were attended by YDP staff from across Ireland. Practitioners then worked closely with a designer to generate ideas and create visual illustrations representing the practitioner experience, including a poster and podcast series being launched with the research report. Another group of practitioners also worked closely with the research team to explore how best REPPP could gather data on the implementation of the guidance. 

Following the formal launch of the report and materials, REPPP will be supporting the scale out and implementation of the guidance across the YDP network by offering a series of relational practice supports. A six series podcast sharing stories, voices and experiences of YDP relational practice will be produced in 2026. The idea for the podcast was developed by practitioners with the aim of sharing practice across the YDP network and beyond. Throughout 2026, YDP staff will also be invited to participate in various webinars, events and research processes on the theme of relational practice. 
 

Relationship Study: Systematic Evidence Review

A Systematic Evidence Review (SER) of the benefits and outcomes of an effective relationship between the frontline professional and a young person (and their families) who has come into conflict with the law.

In 2018, REPPP commenced a project to assemble and synthesise the international research evidence on the frontline professional / young person relationship.

The review describes the research evidence on the benefits and outcomes of an effective relationship between the frontline professional and the young person. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative research that explores young people’s and practitioners’ views and experiences of the worker – young person relationship within different settings (eg, youth justice/probation, youth work, and social work), the review places the lens on the features considered important for effective relationships and the ways on which such relationships are supported / enabled.

The review process followed a modified version of the EMMIE protocol to describe the evidence on effectiveness (E), as well as the mechanisms (M) and moderators (M) important for implementation (I). The review also sought evidence on the economic cost (E) of providing such services.