2022 ESTIMATES HEARING

QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE

COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND SERVICES COMMITTEE asked the Minister for Children and Youth Justice and Minister for Multicultural Affairs (HON L LINARD)—

QUESTION

What discrete diversionary programs the department funds and whether we are able to provide a full list of programs and funding allocated to these programs for the last three to four years?

ANSWER

The Working Together Changing the Story: Youth Justice Strategy 2019–2023 (the Strategy) set an ambitious reform agenda. The four pillars identified by Mr Bob Atkinson AO APM are: intervene early; keep children out of court; keep children out of custody; and reduce re-offending, with public safety and community confidence as foundations.

As part of the Strategy, the Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs (DCYJMA) funds and provides a range of diversionary offender-based programs, services and partnerships across government, the non-government sector and the broader community.

This takes a broad definition of diversion programs and services all aimed addressing the underlying causes of offending, keeping the community safe and to divert young people from the criminal justice system.

In terms of the total amount of funding dedicated to diversionary programs and services, see the below table which is funding for DCYJMA only and does not include other agencies:

-2- Table 1.

Program* 2020-21 ($) 2021-22 ($) 2022-23 ($)

Bail Support Program This program delivered by community organisations assists young people at risk of being remanded in custody, providing support to ensure they meet their bail conditions. Legal Advocacy and Bail Support Resources to ensure legal advocates can adequately respond to the demands and complexity of the new legislation and young people appearing before the courts. NB Two discrete programs but funding transferred between the two programs in each year. Combined to show the overall total

6,998,500

8,128,710

8,382,855

Community Partnership Innovation Grants Funding to work with community and deliver short-term innovative crime prevention projects.

0

1,400,000

3,000,000

Restorative Justice Conferencing Restorative justice conferencing is an inclusive process that establishes a meeting between a child or young person who has committed a crime and the people who were affected to discuss what happened, the impact and what can be done to start making things right.

6,292,614 6,524,224 6,804,921

Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centre A residential drug and alcohol treatment facility for young people. The service will be delivered by the Ted Noffs Foundation, a national leader in drug and alcohol responses for young people.

0 200,000 2,505,760

Community Youth Response and Diversion This initiative provides tailored diversionary responses after hours to keep young people out of courts and custody, and programs to assist young people to overcome barriers around accessing education, and mentoring and integrated case management to prevent re-offending.

3,792,000 3,899,619 4,249,806

Youth Offender Support Service Provide a culturally safe, client centred, evidence-based service, through intensive family support and case management.

4,036,444 4,392,566 4,585,575

Family-Led Decision Making This program gives Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families, whose children are in contact with the youth justice system, a stronger voice in decisions about their children.

997,000 999,000 1,306,252

Specialist Indigenous Youth and Family Workers Provides intensive support to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander families who have children at risk of entering, or already in contact with, the youth justice system, especially those at risk of being remanded in detention.

4,120,000 3,812,536 3,813,000

Mount Isa Transitional Hub Provides an after-hours, community focussed and culturally safe diversion response for young people.

1,332,000 1,295,974 1,837,205

On Country Program The On Country program is a community-driven response in providing culture-based rehabilitation for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people with complex needs.

1,754,000 1,789,647 2,154,307

Transition 2 Success Program Provides young people in the youth justice system, or at risk of entering it, a 10 to 16-week program where they complete vocational training and work experience with local organisations.

6,690,397 6,270,518 6,744,846

Queensland Youth Partnership Initiative This program provides alternative opportunities and activities for at-risk young people with a focus on youth development, training, employment and engagement.

376,499 337,445 977,452

Townsville Community Youth Response This initiative provides diversionary responses after hours to keep young people out of courts and custody.

3,664,479 3,857,198 3,816,824

Co-Responder Program A joint Youth Justice and Police team focused on reducing and preventing youth crime by working to stop offending and anti-social behaviour.

3,822,233 7,963,356 9,677,327

*these are DCYJMA program delivery costs only and do not include whole of departmental corporate costs or funding for other agencies

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Further, DCYJMA also provides diversionary programs as part of standard case management with young people subject to youth justice orders which is funded through staffing in regions across Queensland. These programs include but are not limited to programs such as:

 Rethinking Our Attitude to Driving (ROAD)

 Aggression Replacement Training (ART)

 Changing Habits and Reaching Targets (CHART)

 Re-Navigating Anger and Guilty Emotions (RAGE)

 Emotion Regulation and Impulse Control (ERIC)

 Black Chicks Talking

 Community Service Orders

 Graffiti Removal Orders

 Probation Orders.

These programs are funded through the staffing allocation to Youth Justice in the regions.

2022 ESTIMATES HEARING

QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE

COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND SERVICES COMMITTEE asked the Minister for Children and Youth Justice and Minister for Multicultural Affairs (HON L LINARD)—

QUESTION

What’s the longest time a child has been held in a behaviour management room in the last 12 months? Are you able to indicate in line with the question, what the longest time is that a child has been kept in separation, even putting aside the incorrect terminology I used?

ANSWER

Separation is a practice authorised under the Youth Justice Regulation 2016 and is only permitted in limited circumstances.

The longest continuous separation for one young person was 29 hours and 44 minutes (1 day, 5 hours and 44 minutes), excluding the 12-hour overnight rest periods and occurred between 10:06am on 4 February 2022 and ended at 3:50pm on 6 February 2022.

The young person was provided daily support from Queensland Health staff, support from the multi-disciplinary team, including psychologists, provided with meals and had the ability to contact staff at all times through intercoms within their rooms.

The separation occurred for safety and security reasons at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre and involved several young people. All relevant approvals were sought as per the legislative requirements and the separation ended as soon as it was safe to do so.

This separation event followed a particularly dangerous and high-risk incident, which involved a staff member being seriously assaulted.