“My son is a lot better, back to his happy self and is now doing year 10 at TAFE.”

This comment by a parent to a youth justice officer reflects continued high levels of satisfaction reported by participants in Queensland’s youth justice conferencing system.

A youth justice conference is a meeting of the people affected by a crime committed by a young person. Queensland’s conferencing system was established state wide eight years ago.

It holds young people accountable for their actions and helps them to accept responsibility for their actions, while allowing victims to have their say, seek answers to their questions and be involved in decisions about reparation.

The outcome of a conference is a written agreement about how the young person can begin to make amends for their actions.

A strong supporter is Paul Stanley (pictured left), who set up the Matthew Stanley Foundation to Stop Youth Violence, in memory of his son who died after being punched in an unprovoked attack.

Paul has participated in conferences at Logan and the Gold Coast as a victim representative.

“Conferences are challenging: they take courage on the part of the victim, the perpetrator and their family members,” he said.

“Facing someone you’ve wronged and saying sorry is powerful stuff, and so is forgiveness.

“The conference process helps young people recognise their errors and gives them an opportunity to make positive changes to their lives.

“By accepting an apology and the conference agreement, victims can also move on.”

Youth justice conference participants have consistently reported high levels of satisfaction with the process.

More than 95 per cent of participants surveyed, including victims, reported that they thought the process was fair and they were satisfied with the outcome.

Magistrates or police refer young people to conferencing. For a young person to be referred to a conference, they must admit to or be found guilty of the offence. Parents or guardians are involved in discussions about the legal consequences of their children’s offending with police.

For more information on youth justice conferencing go to www.communities.qld.gov.au/youth and click on youth justice or call 13 QGOV (13 74 68) to find your nearest youth justice service centre.

 

Support for young homeless

There’s more help at hand for young adults struggling with their independence after being in care.

The Youth Housing and Reintegration Service (YHARS) can provide funding of up to $3500 per individual to support young people who have recently left care and who are either homeless
or at risk of becoming homeless. These funds are available state wide.

The young people need to be referred to YHARS’ After Care Services by a  government or non-government agency.

In addition to funding support, the After Care Services assists young people to access education, training, employment and specialist services, ranging from mental health services to driving lessons.

The service assesses the needs of young people (aged 18-20) referred to it for eligibility and responds to the referring agency within two business days.

Young people may move from one type of accommodation to another as their needs change and all young people in YHARS accommodation will move to more sustainable housing arrangements. These housing options include:

• youth studios (to be provided by Kids Under Cover);
• independent living units; and
• supervised community accommodation (Townsville only).

YHARS After Care Services are located in Townsville, Rockhampton, Inala (Brisbane), Toowoomba and Hervey Bay/Maryborough.

For more information call 1300 555 954 or visit www.communities.qld.gov.au/youth and scroll down to Support services for young people.