Youth work : challenging the soft cop syndrome

What is youth work going to look like in the near future? Much the same as it has in the recent past, according to Scott Poynting and Rob White. Youth workers will still have to confront the challenges of dealing with the ambiguity of the label ‘at risk’ and also the expectation that they will take on the soft cop role. Using the example of young Lebanese Australians in Western Sydney, the authors suggest that young people are creating identities that don’t fit the stereotypes. The challenge for youth workers is, therefore, to step outside their own stereotypes and practice forms of youth work that are relevant to a new generation of young people.