Fiona Blacke's indignation at the Cinderella status of youth work is well justified, but there's no point in going to see local authorities to get a ticket to the ball; she needs to confront the ugly sisters of spiritual and secular cynicism.
Technically it should be fairly straightforward to resolve the problem of dysfunctional, disappointed and disorderly young people; all they need is regular and affectionate attention from reliable adults. These used to be called parents. However, as Camden and many others have shown, street workers are a pretty good substitute.
The real issue however, as Blacke highlights in her SocietyGuardian interview is the Cinderella status of working with young people. There are two ugly sisters responsible for this.
The first sister is a spiritual beauty who has a specific explanation of humanity, that we are the product of "original sin", disposed where given the choice to take the bad option. This is common to every faith on the planet.
The second is a secular sister who gains her authority from the first; for her, there is no point in intervening with the "bad" young person, because that's how they are, tabloid "evil".
This creates a national metamood which can be heard at dinner parties throughout the land that today's young are irredeemable.
It is challenged by conversations with young people and their actions taking place on the streets throughout that same land. It just needs more of it.
