What are the most pressing issues for people working for better outcomes for justice-involved young people in Victoria?
We asked that question at our network launch. It brought together academics, practitioners, policymakers, young people and people working with young people in contact with the justice system to think about what issues are most urgent to act on.
Our guests listened to speakers who addressed a range of issues that have a direct impact on young people. The aim was to spark interest and discussion and guide us in working out our priority actions and activities for the network.
Our speakers introduced the following questions, ideas and issues:
- How can we make youth custodial settings conducive to learning?
- Why we should raise the age of criminal responsibility.
- Repurposing the proposed Cherry Creek youth detention centre as a young adult prison exclusively for young adults who are 18 to 25 years old.
- How can we make youth detention centres (which should be used only as a last resort) truly therapeutic and rehabilitative?
- How can we re-engage children in education?
- How we can end the link between child protection and youth justice?
We asked our guests to vote for their top three issues that they thought were most urgent to act on.
Here’s the results.
Top issues for people working for better outcomes for justice-involved young people:
#1 Raising the age of criminal responsibility so primary school aged children are not caught up in the criminal justice system.
#2 Schools are an important protective factor against young people becoming involved in offending.
#3 Re-thinking the issue of providing ‘education in custody’ into ‘how we can retain these young people in existing education’.
Other issues that strongly resonated included the need for:
- More diversionary schemes and alternatives to youth detention; and
- Families need more support so that child ‘protection’/removal was avoided.
If you’d like more details about the results, you’ll find them at the end of this blog.
We’ll now use this feedback in our plan for action to advocate for changes we – as a group – want to see.
We invite all of you to get involved, however you can and wish to.
You can link to us at https://ypjustice.wordpress.com/link-to-our-network/ and follow us on Twitter @JypNetwork.
At the JYP launch on 26 June 2018, what are the priority issues for people working for better outcomes for justice-involved young people in Victoria?
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Raising the age of criminal responsibility
We need to change the law!! NO BRAINER!!
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Schools and inclusion
Schools are a protective factor/prevention please.
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Discrimination.
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Education in Custody
Q: is there evidence or a preference for/an argument for education in custody v. changing custody to retain current /existing educational contexts?
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Keeping YP in education and training as a pathway of hope, belief in self, and positive future.
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Education that is linked to understanding and questioning rather than simply vocation as an ultimate goal.
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A good/special teacher can have a lasting impact- it’s about the person and the relationship not just what is taught.
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Education linked to increased self-efficacy.
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Education please.
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Repurposing Cherry Creek Youth Detention Centre
Diversionary schemes and alternatives to prison.
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No prison for children/prevention please.
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Child protection
Families need more support to reduce need for child ‘protection’/removal.
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Early interventions for trauma at first contact with justice.
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Trauma informed & healing for young Aboriginal people – Wayapa Wurrik
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TESSA Inc .org.au Therapeutic Engagement Support Services
Martial Arts therapeutic and somatic education approach.
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Small, local custodial settings
Importance of engaging families
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Keeping youth in smaller groups, dealing with them individually (8:2), contact with family, schools, jobs, local community.
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Importance of education that can direct the why of things- not just vocational.
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Using this for young girls/women (esp. mothers).
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Keeping it local – importance of place.
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Other issues you wanted to let us know about……
Health
Strong need to improve health outcomes of justice involved YP. Linked to lower recidivism rates.
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We know more than we are implementing in the prevention space.
The NEST/ ARACY – programs to implement.
Communities that Care Australia (CTC)
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JYP Network 