Page 292 - Week 01 - Thursday, 12 February 2015
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I am further encouraged by the feedback I have received from the official visitors in relation to their engagement with the youth justice system, in particular the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre. The Children and Young People Official Visitor and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Official Visitor are independent visitors who inspect the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre and hear complaints from children and young people in detention. These complaints are referred to the Community Services Directorate for resolution.
During 2014, I received ongoing positive feedback from the official visitors regarding Bimberi. The official visitors noted a decrease in the number of complaints received from children and young people. In addition, they acknowledged the professionalism of Bimberi management and staff and praised Bimberi management and staff for their genuine care for the wellbeing of children and young people in detention.
Overall, the visitors acknowledged that the safe and caring environment provided at Bimberi, as well as the range of programs and activities provided to support children and young people, were a great result. This is really good feedback from an independent source that brings quality assurance to operational practices of the youth justice system. I would like to extend my thanks to the staff and management at Bimberi for the important work that they have been doing.
What we are seeing is a sustained reduction in the number of children and young people coming into contact with, or becoming further involved in, the youth justice system. We are also seeing a system that is building on its strengths and achieving positive results. There are a number of tangible actions that are contributing to the successes that we have seen and that we are achieving across the youth justice system.
These include the after-hours bail support service, evidence-based practice in youth services, a single case management approach in youth justice, restorative justice initiatives for eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and first-time offenders and the Bendora transition program at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre.
We have talked about the various initiatives that we know are working. However, it is always more powerful to hear about how they are working from an independent source. I would like to share the story of a young man. We will call him David. He is a young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man who has a history of involvement with the youth justice system.
Most recently, he received a community-based sentence for his offending. David had a longstanding issue with school. It was difficult for him to adapt to secondary school life, compounded by some learning difficulties. He gradually slipped behind his peers. He began to see little point in going to school at all. This could be a serious issue as it would mean he would be risking his conditions.
He was referred to Mpower, a group that involves collaborative work across government and community agencies. Mpower has a significant focus on supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to ensure that support is culturally
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