Agenda

CONFERENCE DAY ONE
Monday 26th March 2012

DAY ONE | DAY TWO

8:30 Registration and coffee

9:00 Opening remarks from the Chair
Bernie Geary, Child Safety Commissioner, Victoria

9:10 How do we listen to Children in the Youth Justice System?

• Our early experiences in managing a Community Visitors program in Youth Justice facilities in Victoria
• Importance of responding to the connections between Youth Justice and Out of Home Care Why Youth Parole is important

Bernie Geary, Child Safety Commissioner, Victoria

STATE PERSPECTIVES

9:40 New Policy Directions for Youth Justice in NSW

• Following the review of youth justice policy, the Young Offenders Act and the Bail Act, what is the future direction of youth justice policy in NSW?
• How can justice agencies work with other agencies and the community sector to implement changes and provide better outcomes for young people and the community?

John Hubby, Chief Executive, Juvenile Justice NSW, Department of Attorney General and Justice

10:10 Morning tea

10:30 Collaborative Approaches to Youth Justice in Victoria

• Collaborative approaches at work in Victoria's youth justice system, including across government and with community services organisations to contribute to community safety and support better outcomes for young offenders

Kathryn Anderson, Director of Youth Services and Youth Justice, Children, Youth and Families, Department of Human Services, Victoria

11:00 The Youth Justice Journey Continues in WA

• Update on the continuing development of Youth Justice Services in WA, including details on the Outcome Evaluation of the Regional Youth Justice Services.
• A focus on the implementation of our early intervention and diversion strategies and services
• The success of our Supervised Bail provision
• The new Youth Custodial detention centre being redeveloped in WA to provide a holistic approach to managing young people in custody

Heather Harker, Deputy Commissioner Juvenile Justice, Department of Corrective Services, WA

11:30 Working with Partners

• Identification of Partners
• A Shared Commitment
• Effective Case Planning
• Navigation of the maze of services
• Improve outcomes for Young People

Annette McKee, Program Manager, South Australian Department for Communities & Social Inclusion - Youth Justice Directorate

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Recent Developments in ACT Youth Justice Services

• The findings of a recent Human Rights Commission review of the youth justice system;
• The ACT Government's response to the findings of the review;
• And the current project to develop a Blueprint for Youth Justice in the ACT to guide the development of the system over the next five to ten years

Christine Nolan, Executive Director, Office for Children, Youth and Family Support, Community Services Directorate, ACT

EARLY INTERVENTION & DIVERSION

1:30 NT Police Youth Diversion Program

• The NT Early Intervention Pilot Program (NTEIPP) is an Australian Government initiative under the National Binge Drinking Strategy. NT Police have partnered with Menzies School of Health Research in an Action Research approach to deliver a community development (intervention) model within Alice Springs, Katherine and most recently the Greater Darwin Area to address under-age and binge drinking
• NT Police Youth Diversion Units have been delivering Youth Justice Conferencing and diversionary programs across the Northern Territory. Recent developments include the proposed establishment of an inter-agency Youth Justice Unit which will join all juvenile justice approaches across the NT government including justice, police, children and family services and education NT Police & Menzies School of Health Research

Jennie Renfree, Senior Program & Policy Officer, Youth Services, NT Police
Paul Dixon, Acting Sergeant of Youth Diversion, Alice Springs, NT Police
Teresa Cunningham, Menzies School of Health Research

2:00 Panel Discussion
An opportunity to put your questions and comments directly to the state representative speakers.

2:30 Afternoon Tea

3:00 Beyond Art: Using Art Therapy Techniques to Develop Victim Awareness in Young Offenders

Beyond Art is an Art Therapy based group program, built on Restorative Justice Principles to support young offenders to develop victim awareness and social responsibility. This presentation will cover:

• Review of relevant research in the areas of restorative justice, art therapy and group work with juvenile and young adult offenders
• On overview of Beyond Art… a group program focusing on victim awareness and offender rehabilitation through identifying values/self identity, goal setting, adaptive coping behaviours for young offenders using art therapy techniques
• Presentation of pre, mid and post participation assessments of young people involved, highlighting positive changes identified and benefits of participating in this program

Sally-Ann Monaghan, Youth Justice Case Manager, SYC Youth Justice

3:30 Early intervention: Helping them Young

• Recent data released by the Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW October 2011) demonstrates that nearly two thirds of young people under juvenile justice supervision across Australia had been previously under supervision, and that the age of first supervision was younger for Indigenous than non Indigenous young people
• Drawing on the experience of Jesuit Social Services in the delivery of Youth Justice Community Support Services across metropolitan Melbourne, this presentation will examine the AIHW and other data to better understand the pathways of young people within the justice system
• The needs of our youngest offenders will be particularly considered and models of early intervention, including the Start Over pilot by Jesuit Social Services, will be considered

Julie Boffa, Policy Manager, Jesuit Social Services
Daniel Clements, Manager, Brosnan Youth Services

4:00 Engaging, Connecting and Developing Relationships for Positive Change

This presentation will cover:

• Youth engagement through one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring (both in the community and within custodial facilities) and youth leadership development
• Advantages of engaging with the corporate sector to provide employment opportunities to young people involved in the criminal justice system

Whitelion's service delivery model is based on collaborative partnerships formed with volunteers from the community, business and industry, and other community service organisations. The strength of this service model will form the underlying theme throughout this presentation.

Mark Watt, Chief Executive Officer, Whitelion

FUNDING

4:30 Social Benefit Bonds Trial in NSW

Social Benefit Bonds have already attracted new money and new players to addressing some of our society's long term intractable problems, including juvenile recidivism. One of the two SBBs under consideration in NSW will be designed to reduce the rate of recidivism of juvenile offending. This presentation will canvas:

• Issues related to this new type of approach to reducing reoffending
• Best practice models for intervention
• The evidence base required
• Process of developing the social impact bond market
• Options and considerations for government departments including procurement issues
• Significant implications for all the stakeholders involved including; private investors wanting to understand the risks and be paid a commensurate return, NGOs to design services for maximum impact and bring their experience and capacity to innovate and governments have an alternative mechanism for funding where they only pay on the results

Jonathon Wolfe, Director, Social Finance

5:00 IIR invites speakers and delegates to an informal networking drinks

CONFERENCE DAY TWO
Tuesday 27th March 2012

DAY ONE | DAY TWO

9:00 Opening remarks from Chair
Peter Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Noetic Solutions

9:10 'Cross-over kids' - Childhood and Adolescent Abuse and Neglect and Juvenile Offending

The presentation will discuss a number of issues relating to the interrelationship between childhood and adolescent abuse and neglect and juvenile offending including:

• The over representation of children in care in the juvenile justice system
• The link between child maltreatment and adolescent offending
• Whether juvenile justice and care and protection should be treated as separate and distinct jurisdictions within children's courts, and
• A means to address the problem - Multi-Systemic Therapy

Judge Mark Marien SC, President of the Children's Court of NSW

9:40 Getting it Right - Whole of Government and Community Collaboration

• Youth justice agencies can not reduce offending behaviour or recidivism by themselves
• Whole of government and community collaboration is essential to effective diversion
• This representation will be based on observations from Noetic's work in NSW, ACT and NT on what has proven effective

Peter Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, Noetic Solutions

10:10 Morning tea

BAIL & SENTENCING

10:30 Mandatory Sentencing: A Life Sentence for Koori Youth in Victoria

This presentation will discuss a number of issues relating to the punitive government proposals for the sentencing regime in Victoria including the impact statutory minimum sentencing will have on young Koories in terms of:

• The failure of government to take on the learnings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
• Its effect on over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the criminal justice system;
• The potential for human rights violations under local and international human rights instruments;
• The negative impact on individuals, families and communities; and
• The limitations in accessing restorative justice mechanisms, such as the Koori Court

Wayne Muir, Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Services

11:00 Reforming Youth Detention in Victoria

• Overview of the Youth Justice Custodial Services in Victoria
• Responding to the review by Ombudsman Victoria and the “Comrie Security Review” in 2010
• Reforms include changes to infrastructure and security, service delivery to clients with a revised focus on education and outcomes, and workforce review from selection through to education and training

Ian Lanyon, Director, Youth Justice Custodial Services, Victorian Department of Human Services

11:30 Children in Detention Advocacy Project

• The Children in Detention Advocacy Project aims to challenge the unlawful and unnecessary detention of young people in NSW.
• One of the key issues identified by the Project is the wrongful arrest of young people by NSW police for breach of outdated bail conditions.
• A class action has been launched in the Supreme Court of New South Wales seeking compensation for young people affected by this problem.
• This presentation discusses the class action and examines the role and impact of NSW bail laws, government policy and policing practices on the unlawful and unnecessary detention of young people in the NSW criminal justice system.

Vavaa Mawuli, Senior Solicitor, Public Interest Advocacy Centre

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Breaching Bail - A Young Person's Perspective

• The current study seeks to understand breaches of bail conditions in the NSW Juvenile Justice population
• Using a sample of 43 young people, interviews were conducted within Parramatta Children's Court information regarding their perception, breaches, demographic and living arrangements
• Some key themes have emerged that warrant further investigation
• Young people demonstrated a deficit understanding of both Criminal Justice System processes and their responsibilities in relation to their bail conditions
• There were also indications of conditions being onerous, not only on the young person, but on the families

Monique Mathis, Research Psychologist, Juvenile Justice, NSW Department of Attorney General and Justice
Eric Heller, Manager of Research and Information, Juvenile Justice, NSW Department of Attorney General & Justice

1:30 Panel Discussion: Topic: Diversion

Facilitator:
Peter Murphy, Director, Noetic Solutions Panel Members:

Panellists:
Judge Mark Marien SC, President of the Children's Court of NSW
Ian Lanyon, Director, Youth Justice Custodial Services, Victorian Department of Human Services
Mark Watt, Chief Executive, Whitelion

POST-TRANSITIONAL SUPORT

2:00 The Step Out Project - Lessons learnt and outcomes

Funded by the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department in November 2010- June 2012, Step Out seeks to assist young people who currently are or have previously been in custody, to reconnect meaningfully with their communities whilst pursuing opportunities for further training, education and employment.

This presentation will cover:

• An overview of the Pilot Project and how this links with Red Cross strategic directions
• Background behind the Peer Mentoring Model utilised and the benefits of Peer Based Programs
• Outcomes for the project to date based on external evaluation conducted by Mark Halsey, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the School of Law at Flinders University
• Lessons Learnt from a program perspective

Stella Koukouvitakis, Project Coordinator, Step Out (Youth at Risk of Reoffending)

2:30 Afternoon Tea

3:00 Integrated Housing Exits - Youth Justice Program:

A Collaborative Approach to Transition Young People from Detention into Stable Housing

• The Youth Justice Program:
  > Targets young people experiencing homelessness that have completed a custodial sentence or a period of remand in a youth detention centre
  > Provides interventions to prevent homelessness or minimise the time young people spend in homelessness
  > Offers young people intensive support to stabilise and settle into the community, and develop skills which will in turn support employment prospects and engagement in positive social activities

Since its inception in July 2010 to October 2011, has supported 19 homeless young people from detention into independent long term housing. 50% of these young people have since successfully engaged in education or employment.

Steve Vicino, Senior Project Officer, Housing SA, Homelessness Strategy
Elizabeth O'Connell, Manager, Integrated Housing Exits - Youth Justice Program Service to Youth Council Inc

RESEARCH

3:30 Reducing Re-offending through Supervision

• Summarises research on what works in community supervision (i.e. probation, parole and other community based orders)
• Reports on a recent study in NSW juvenile justice which found that good supervision skills lead to 20% to 50% lower re-offending
• Summarises which skills are most effective
• Shows that effective skills can be identified though observation of interviews
• Shows that effective skills can be learnt through training

Chris Trotter, Associate Professor & Director Monash Criminal Justice Research Consortium

4:00 Close of conference

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