The Youth Diversion Case Management Resource is the first of
its kind in the Northern Territory and was launched by the Honourable Chief
Minister Adam Giles in Alice Springs yesterday.
Relationships Australia NT Chief Executive Officer Marie
Morrison said the resource will achieve better outcomes for young people going
through the NT justice system.
“Relationships Australia NT is delighted to share this
resource with other community based organisations who provide Youth Diversion
Programs throughout the NT,” Ms Morrison said.
“The resource is built on our 10 year history of working
with offenders under 18 years in Alice Springs and providing programs that lead
them away from crime and disadvantage.”
Ms Morrison said Relationships Australia NT’s youth
diversion program is modelled on restorative justice community programs, which
include offenders meeting and apologising to the victims of their crimes.
“There is clear evidence that restorative justice community programs produce significantly less rates of recidivism and reoffending than incarceration,” she said.
“The model produces better long-term results for offenders,
their families and the community.”
Relationships Australian NT services approximately 3500
Territorians annually with more than 20 per cent of whom are Aboriginal.
Youth Diversion caseloads that the organisation manages have
doubled over the past ten years, with up to 80 per cent young Aboriginal males
aged between 10 and 17 years.
“The Youth Diversion Case Management Resource is for all
workers in case management and is hoped to better help these young people and
produce lasting change.”
Youth diversion programs managed by Relationships Australia
NT have included drum making, drum beat workshops, a Desert Park
Leadership Program and a young women’s leadership program.
This year Relationships Australia NT will work with other community
organisations and extend its youth diversion programs to remote
communities in the MacDonnell Shire region.
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