Page 163 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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the considered approach this government will take to the provision of services to young people at risk.
It is important to note, however, that we are not starting this early support journey from scratch. The early support approach is already part of existing government supports and services for children and young people. ACT government initiatives include the blueprint for youth justice in the ACT 2012–22, which has achieved significant reductions in the interaction of young people with the justice system. The progress report for the blueprint has acknowledged that intervening early is the most effective way of preventing youth from offending. That is what we have seen with our diversion programs that are already in place.
A task force was established in 2017 with key youth justice stakeholders to monitor progress, identify emerging issues and establish the direction for the next four years of the blueprint. The task force has been considering research, policy papers and expert advice on a range of issues and emerging challenges, as well as consulting with key stakeholders across the community.
Providing better support for young people in the middle years, identified as eight to 15 years by the task force, has been a key focus of the task force’s deliberations over the last year, as was highlighted in its progress report which I tabled last year, and I expect to receive the final report from the task force in the next few weeks.
The government already funds a range of programs, including youth engagement services, through the child, youth and family support program. Consideration has been given to how these services might support children during the middle years. Historically, youth engagement services under this program have been targeted to young people aged 12 to 25 years, which covers some of the middle years range. But as awareness of the issues being faced by eight to 12-year-olds continues to grow, so have the conversations with CYFSP-funded providers surrounding appropriate services and supports for this age group.
For example, as Mrs Kikkert also noted, Canberra PCYC has recently lowered its intake age for group programs, and Menslink has lowered its intake age for counselling services. The ACT government will continue to support services and programs aimed at assisting children and families in these critical middle years.
In regard to homelessness specifically, the ACT government provides over $20 million per year for 48 programs aimed at those who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness. This includes around 350 accommodation places. Whilst some programs are aimed at specific cohorts—for example, single men—the majority of these accommodation places and supports are targeted at families which include young people and children.
It is the case, however, that the majority of specialist homelessness services provide a crisis response to individuals aged 16 years and over who are presenting alone. Nevertheless, there are three youth specialist homelessness services—the Barnardos youth identified accommodation and support program, the CatholicCare youth housing support service and the Conflict Resolution Service family tree house crisis mediation service—which are able to provide crisis accommodation and support to
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