Happily retired' is the phrase. There is little doubt that the Fellowship enhanced my career. In 1981 I was working in youth justice – it was in its infancy in this country. The USA offered a variety of approaches to working with troubled youngsters in the community. New York, Boston, San Francisco and Sacramento all offered a rich range of organisations that created programmes of diversion aimed at prevention.

All this enabled me to lead a day and residential centre for young people, work as a childcare inspector, concluding my career as Director of Social Services in Wales. I was also appointed as the Welsh Member of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales – a position I held for eight years. The experience gained through the Fellowship confirmed my belief that alternatives could bring about change if they were purposeful and focused. The Fellowship experience provided me with the courage and confirmed it was possible to create a range of alternative approaches to assisting young people in trouble.

I was late joining the social work profession, having spent 15 years in the army. I needed examples of how different sets of programmes could work. The USA gave me the vision, without which it would have been more difficult.