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- 9 June 2005
Rural Youth Risk Behaviour
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Business - Deferred Answers, Questions Without Notice
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Page: 16761
On 6 May 2005 Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes asked the Minister for Justice, representing the Minister for Youth, a question without notice regarding rural youth risk behaviour. The Minister for Youth provided the following response:
Risk behaviours amongst young people, as identified in the question, are complex problems that can only be tackled by a coordinated response from government, non-government agencies and the community.
The Government is supporting families to better manage early parenting, and increase the resilience of children at risk of child abuse and later anti-social behaviour, with the injection of $150 million in funding for Early Intervention services over five full years to 2007/2008.
These services will aim to prevent families and children from becoming entrenched in the child protections system through providing early support to prevent problems escalating.
In addition to the broader Early Intervention Strategy, the Community Solutions and Crime Prevention Strategy is more specifically focussed on youth crime. This Strategy has directed $5.3 million to a range of youth projects particularly in rural locations.
Some examples of these projects include:
• 13 youth worker positions in communities such as Walgett, Wilcannia, Dubbo and Brewarrina;
• educational support programs to re-engage young people with education or employment; and
• sport and recreational programs to provide health and constructive recreational activities in locations where the range of options is poor.
The Government is implementing the Better Futures Strategy which provides $12.6 million over four years and is targeted at young people aged 9–18, and focuses on keeping young people engaged with education, assisting them with the transition to independent living and supporting a safe and healthy lifestyle.
The Government's Aboriginal Child, Youth and Family Strategy is designed to better support Aboriginal children and young people, their families and communities, through early intervention and prevention projects that support parents and carers raising children and young people.
The Community Services Grants Program operated by DoCS encourages people to participate in strong communities that effectively cope with change and promote safety, welfare and well-being. This program provides funds for individual and family support services, community development services, neighbourhood and community centres, youth support services and some child protection services, as well as services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and ethnic groups. The program currently funds over 300 services across NSW. Approximately 145 of these are youth services based within the Southern, Northern, Western and Hunter regions.
One of the NSW Drug Summit Initiatives is the Getting It Together Scheme. These 12 projects throughout NSW assist vulnerable young people (primarily of school age) whose drug and/or alcohol use is problematic and who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
In relation to youth suicide the Government has provided a clear policy direction and extensive funding for suicide prevention initiatives across NSW.
The include:
• The School-Link collaborative between the Department of Education and Training and NSW Health;
• The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Network;
• The Integrated Perinatal and Infant Care initiative;
• The NSW Parenting Program for Mental Health;
• Programs for children of parents with a mental illness; and
• The Getting in Early program, an early intervention and prevention framework that focuses on depression and early psychosis in young people.
Last modified 05/12/2007 16:42:17 : Update this page