The responsibility of the Youth Affairs Department is to fulfill the government's mandate as it relates to youth development and it was set up to operate through three programming channels:
- The Barbados Youth Service (BYS)
- The Youth Development Programme (YDP)
- The Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES)
Given the relatively well-developed social services network in Barbados, much of the work of the Youth Affairs Department is facilitatory i.e. the determination of social need among the client population and the facilitation of access to the appropriate resources within the social services. In this regard the Department works with governmental, non-governmental organisations, international agencies, the private sector and individuals to create and sustain the positive environment needed, in the words of its operating theme, for 'building tomorrow today'. The Department is also structured to respond directly to a number of specific areas of social need through its technical staff, or where necessary to source and deliver specialized services to its client population.
Vision statement:
'To facilitate the development of confident, proud, self-reliant and creative individuals through involvement in productive activity that contributes to personal, community and national development.'