Page 2438 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 June 2011
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interventions such as alternative education programs, supported accommodation programs and a range of inter-agency programs designed for vulnerable young people.
Tertiary diversion services are those designed to prevent young people already in contact with part of the formal criminal justice system from becoming further involved in the justice system and to reduce reoffending by these young people. The diversion framework will place these services and support within the youth justice continuum.
We will implement a “core service offer” for at-risk people in the community. This will be based on a single case plan and a single, system-wide model of case management. The core service offer will be supported by a concept of “no wrong door” and a “no reject or eject” policy.
The core service offer will integrate and build on other reforms to support for vulnerable young people, such as the ACT youth commitment to education, training and vocational education. It will also complement initiatives such as those around young people transitioning from care that was announced in the 2011-12 budget and the new service delivery framework being tendered under the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support program.
I am also pleased to announce the development of a single case management service for ACT youth justice, based on through-care principles. Through care is generally understood to refer to the support provided to a person from the time they enter the justice system to the time that they exit it and beyond, and it is the approach that underpins adult corrections systems.
The revised case management arrangements will represent an important change to youth justice practice to ensure continuity of relationships with young people within the justice system, regardless of whether they are in the community or in custody. It is an important early step in the youth justice reform process and the initiative will be developed over the coming months.
In beginning to address the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people within our youth justice system, the Community Services Directorate has commenced an investigation of strategies to strengthen diversion in the areas of supported accommodation and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. This is involving across-agency efforts of Housing ACT and the Office for Children, Youth and Family Support as well as our combined community partners.
In the area of legislative reform, the Community Services Directorate will work with the Justice and Community Safety Directorate to investigate amendments to legislation to support youth diversion. In addition, the directorates will explore the establishment of transitional early release programs for young offenders, including a youth parole scheme.
Finally, I reiterate that the government commits to responding to the diversionary framework consultation report in full and in conjunction with the government’s response to the Human Rights Commission’s inquiry at Bimberi.
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