In March 2002 an evaluation report was produced on the details of the work undertaken by Barnardo's Young People's Therapeutic Project (YPTP)during its initial 3-year pilot phase. One of the aims of the report was to demonstrate the effectiveness of intervention in this sensitive area of work with young people and to evaluate activity levels. The challenge is to build on the findings of this report to inform policy, practice and strategic planning for this group of young people. The full report contains the findings of the pilot phase of the project, October 1998-June 2001. It considers the origins of the project and why it remains so valuable. It examines the young people referred to the project, the behaviour that led to the referral, the work that was undertaken with the young people, and measures some pre-involvement and post-involvement outcomes. The report then presents the views of young people, parents, carers and professionals before finally seeking to draw out of the analysis some key findings, discussion points and recommendations for the future work of the YPTP, or for other similar projects. This article provides a summary of this report.