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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 1 Hansard (18 February) . . Page.. 342 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

inquiries into mental health services for children at risk, the School Without Walls and violence in schools, also made recommendations directly related to the mental health of young people.

The violence in schools report recommended support to families, early intervention programs, greater access to counselling, support for disadvantaged schools and individuals within schools, support for teachers, and increased opportunities for kids not coping in mainstream schools. The School Without Walls report stressed the need also for alternative education models to be supported so that children not coping in the mainstream schools could still have education and support. The point was made that the school environment can be the last place where troubled young people can be helped to find positive directions.

The mental health report made strong recommendations about gaps in services for children and adolescents, about the critical need for an appropriate inpatient facility for young people with psychiatric illness, for those with a dual diagnosis and for early onset psychosis, the accommodation and support needs of young people with mental illness, and the need for greater and more appropriate support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. It also talked about the difficulties at Quamby, about the need for continuity of care, about forensic psychiatric services and about the need for a secure care facility.

The report into services for children at risk repeated some of the previous recommendations. Family support services were again emphasised, as was the need for data collection. I noticed that this came out of the drug strategy which we have had recently. The need for dual diagnosis came up again. There was a recommendation again about greater availability of face-to-face counselling. All the recommendations relating to young people in the mental health inquiry were again drawn to the attention of government in the children at risk report. There were recommendations regarding the need for services for children who had been sexually assaulted - obviously another high-risk group - the need for a rehabilitation facility for young people with drug and alcohol or other substance abuse issues, and greater resourcing for substitute care needs.

Supported accommodation generally for young people at risk was the subject of a number of recommendations. Support for schools dealing with young people at risk was also a major part of the report, with the Australian Education Union giving a detailed report to the committee on the problems in schools. The needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders again came up. Coordination of services, of course, has come up in all of these reports. Performance information and accountability, training, advocacy, involvement of young people in policy formulation, and the need for a social plan were also covered in this report.

I think it is very important that we remember that this work has been done and that there is a clear picture of unmet need created by these reports and other reports done by the community and government itself. While it is good to develop strategic plans, we want to see an implementation plan developed in consultation with the community. Obviously, government has difficulties providing all these very important services and there are financial constraints. Competing priorities need to be seen in the big picture. That is why

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