Extern’s Post

This👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 it would be great to see political leadership that draws on the evidence base, promotes and commits to long term investment in primary prevention, early intervention and recovery support for children and young people to minimise the risk of serious youth offending trajectories in the first place. Instead we keep seeing misleading promises that we will reduce youth crime by locking kids up for longer. There’s no evidence that longer sentences have a deterrent effect on serious youth offenders. Because their reasons for offending are complex. And there’s no evidence that longer sentences increase chances at rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. Because our justice system isn’t set up that way. It exarcerbates trauma, increases risk of reoffending and revictimisation and reduces protective factors. If community safety was genuinely a priority we would see greater community education, long term investment in primary prevention, recognition of the high childhood victimisation rates among youth offenders and commitment to investment in holistic recovery support for children growing up with domestic and family violence, child sexual abuse, neglect and other forms of maltreatment. #children #youngpeople #victimsurvivors #recovery #primaryprevention #earlyintervention #crimeprevention #evidencebased #politicalleadership #politicalaccountability #politicaltransparency #communityeducation #victimsofcrime #communitysafety #justicereinvestment

QATSICPP Statement 2 May 2024 Queensland Government Community Safety Plan QATSICPP welcomes the Community Safety Plan launched by the Queensland Government this week. We support efforts focused on creating safer communities, reducing youth offending and delivering justice and services to victims of crime. We particularly welcome the announcement to appoint an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Commissioner and look forward to working with this newly established Office in supporting our First Nations children, young people and families. We remain deeply concerned at the alarming rate of children and young people in detention and absolutely condemn the detention of children in watch houses. The over-representation of First Nations children and young people in the criminal justice system is significant and concerning to our communities. The rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids in detention has increased by 40 percent over the past three years. The increase in the numbers of children and young people in custody has created serious safety and rehabilitation challenges which need to be addressed. We also need to better understand the factors driving the behaviours of serious repeat offenders and identify means to change their life trajectory. It is our commitment to work with Government and community organisations to develop strategies and programs that reduce offending, that are age appropriate and that are restorative. Evidence based early intervention is critical to help young people break the cycle of risky behaviours that leads to contact with the criminal justice system. We know that having our children and young people engaged with family, education and community activities will not only support them in their emotional, developmental and physical well-being, it will help to reduce offending behaviours. Investing in children and young people and their communities, building meaningful relationships and ensuring that they are engaged in purposeful activities that will set them up for success is at the heart of what will create long term change. Quotes Attributable to Garth Morgan, CEO QATSICPP “We call on the government to commit to the co-design of a generational strategy to reduce Indigenous youth overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. “We need to focus on creating safer communities, and we can only do that with strong partnerships with government, service providers and community organisations. “We need to immediately get kids out of watch houses and we will work with all parties to end this current detention crisis.” ENDS

It’s also crucial to highlight that First Nations children, despite comprising less than 5% of the youth population, account for 53.4% of incarcerated young people. These children are also 4 to 5 times more likely than the general population to have an intellectual disability. This disparity underscores critical challenges that urgently require reform in our youth justice and support systems, founded by insights and guidance from mob alongside young people themselves. Effective reform demands addressing the full spectrum of social determinants of health that contribute to youth involvement in criminal activity: intergenerational inequity, socioeconomic disparities, barriers to education, cultural disconnection, and the erosion of community and familial ties (to name a few). To reiterate a critical point by Tom Allsop, over half of all victims of crime in Queensland are children - so their voices must be central to our decisions. It's time to be tough on the causes of crime, not just on crime itself. #YouthJustice #CommunitySafety #VictimsRights

Plan and Grow's unique Community Safe Living Program offers a comprehensive, trauma-informed, and child-focused approach to supporting young individuals transitioning from detention. Our program has been instrumental in reducing the number of children entering Banksia Hill Detention Centre. We never say no to a child coming out of detention, ensuring they know they are wanted, loved and that we are committed to helping them prepare for the outside world and their future. Our program: Personalised Plans: Goals are developed in consultation with the child during detention, focusing on skill development, recreation, self-identity, purposeful activities, behaviour management (triggers), social networks, and health. Continuous Support: Daily check-ins with Key Workers to track progress, identify barriers, and celebrate achievements. Stable, Long-Term Placements: We provide culturally connected placements that respect the child's rights and meet their complex needs. Therapeutic Approach: Using evidence-based practices, our program supports children in a way that reduces recidivism by keeping them at the centre of all of their care arrangements and through establishing trust and stability with an array of mentors. For more information, please contact our Youth Justice Department using the number provided, or contact Hello@planandgrow.net. Together, we can pave a pathway away from the justice system and towards a brighter future for every child. #YouthJustice #ChildreninCare #Traumainformedapproach #Neurodiversity #Helpingtoheal

On National Self-Care Day, let's remember that self-care extends beyond individuals—it's about advocating for systemic change. In education, this means addressing inequalities through school justice reform to create supportive environments for all. Let's prioritize well-being and equity in education.   Learn more about SJP here: https://lnkd.in/g39YYqG8 #NationalSelfCareDay #SchoolJusticeReform #EducationEquity

🔵DID YOU KNOW? A staggering 80% of young individuals released from incarceration find themselves caught in the unyielding grasp of the justice system again within three years. This daunting statistic amplifies the pressing need for effective rehabilitation and reintegration programs. It serves as a stark reminder that we must collectively invest more into youth development, educational programs, and platforms that help these individuals to change their trajectory. Let's challenge this narrative, foster understanding, and create opportunities for these young people to rebuild their lives. #youthdevelopment #rehabilitation #secondchances Source: justicecenter.org

In the pursuit of justice reform, evidence is paramount. It guides us towards effective solutions that truly make a difference in our communities. ACSO’s Boost Program stands as a shining example of such an evidence-based intervention. Boost connects with young people at their initial encounters with the justice system, offering intensive mentoring tailored to their needs. The results speak volumes: reduced recidivism rates, enhanced wellbeing, and meaningful long-term change. Discover more about Boost's remarkable impact and the crucial role of evidence-based interventions in justice reform in our latest article: https://lnkd.in/gptwzTni Let's advocate for continued support and funding for programs like Boost, which offer hope and opportunity to young individuals in need. #JusticeReform #YouthEmpowerment #EvidenceBasedInterventions

WAKE UP NOW Youth justice is an issue of strong community debate in Queensland, yet the voices of young people rarely feature in the conversation. Young people hold the truth about the circumstances that led them to offend, and they know what they need to effectively change their behaviour – we need to listen to them and act on what they say. In Queensland, the percentage of young people who reoffend within 12 months of their release from detention is between 84% and 96%, depending on location. We need to understand why the responses we are providing are not effective. Our report, Exiting youth detention, canvassed the views of 66 young people who have experience of detention, their family members, and 44 frontline workers. They said that to successfully change their behaviour, we need to improve transition plans and rehabilitation programs. Young people also spoke about feeling disconnected, unvalued and unwanted by their communities, which they said discourages them to participate positively within their communities. The report makes two recommendations to government to strengthen post-detention transition programs and focus on implementing strategies that address the root causes of offending. But the responsibility for achieving effective behaviour change doesn’t sit solely on the shoulders of government. The report highlights the responsibility we all hold for helping young people

We welcome the establishment of Australia's first nationwide inquiry into youth justice and incarceration. This is a long overdue demonstration of national leadership on an issue of utmost importance, the health and wellbeing impacts caused by placing young people into custody.   We urge the committee to consider justice diversion and reinvestment, and community-led support programs, as a pragmatic way forward, for empathetic and effective systemic change, that is focussed on the long-term health and wellbeing of children.   The inquiry will investigate the outcomes and impacts of child incarceration across Australia, the over-incarceration of First Nations children, and the systems' treatment of the human rights of children in detention.    https://lnkd.in/gDNbDahH

The Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) report on Exiting youth detention makes two recommendations to government to strengthen post-detention transition programs and focus on implementing strategies that address the root causes of offending. Protective factors like school attachment, pro-social peers, a sense of belonging, a strong cultural identity and a supportive, secure and stable family can impact a young person’s propensity for offending. Working alongside young people, we see the impact of these positive factors every day. YFS' Client Service Manager for Youth programs, Daniel Brookes says, "We support changing how young people reintegrate into the community. With 80% reoffending within 12 months of leaving youth detention, we must rethink our approaches, while providing long-term support, and increased funding for Non-Government Organisations to provide early intervention services to prevent contact with the criminal justice system." We strongly agree with the report’s finding that investment in an effective family support service system is a critical step in preventing young offending from occurring in the first place. And we agree with Principal Commissioner Luke Twyford that young people need specific, individualised, intensive, and holistic support over the long-term, and that this support works best when it is provided by trusted workers who communicate well and will not give up on them.