St. Augustine's Special Sschool was the first Youth Encounter Project (YEP) established in Ireland in 1977. The Limerick YEP at St. Augustine's attemps to altar the approach from one that is risk deficit, and psychopathology-oriented to one that is protection, strength, and asset focused. Out of the 227 pupils who attended the Limerick YEP over a 19-year period (1977-1996), none of the pupils passed the formal School Learning Certificate examination. This is a cause for serious structural concern in terms of social policy formation, educational strategy, and personal concern in terms of the expectations children attending St. Augustine's Special School and their parents may have had. The YEPs aim to develop scholastic, vocational, and personal capabilities and strengths in the pupils while recognizing that a more positive ideology towards school and schoolwork must be fostered both with the children attending the projects and their families and communities. This article provides a dempgraphic profile of the pupils of this YEP and explores aspects of the day-to-day life of the project as a child and youth care intervention by examining some of the influenced provision of services. Tables, notes, and references