A new welfare regime for thousands of teenage beneficiaries began on Monday.

It's the first phase of the government's welfare reforms, targeted at about 17,000 young people who aren't in education, employment or training.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says more than $148 million is going into support services managed by 43 community organisations.

"The key components to the services, along with mentoring and support, are an unwavering emphasis on education and training as well as parenting courses for those with children," she said.

"Youth services will be contacting the individuals they will be working with directly and begin the process of getting them back on track."

Ms Bennett says it will take time to match each young beneficiary with a provider, and information sharing between government agencies will be used to identify some of them.