Tara Murray
A youth community law program faces an uncertain future, with no funding allocated for the program beyond June.
Sunshine-based Youth Junction runs an innovative pre-sentence program which operates out of the Visy Cares Hub in Sunshine and Youth Central in Broadmeadows.
The primary purpose of the program is to prevent further offending by young adults in the criminal justice system.
Youth Junction chief executive Jo Malcolm-Black said they had confirmed last week that there was no money allocated in the state budget to continue the program.
“Unfortunately without confirmed funding the program will need to be put on hold while alternative funding streams are sought,” Ms Malcolm-Black said.
Ms Malcolm-Black was hopeful that alternative funding would be able to be found so that the program could continue onafter June. The program has been running for 10 years.
“This program is one of the original early intervention programs,” she said.
“It is intended to turn around the outcomes normally experienced by young people who have been in contact with youth justice, and over the life of the program we have seen that; where 74 per cent of young people in YCLP successfully complete the program, only 42 per cent on Community Corrections orders complete them.
“Long term it has been positive as well; for young people in YCLP, only six per cent of the participants were likely to go on to a custodial sentence.
“A program like this enables the community to work with young people to make significant changes.
“We should never underestimate how valuable it is to have the support of those around you while you create the life you want.”
With the future of the program uncertain, Ms Malcolm-Black acknowledged the support of the many community stakeholders who have worked with and contributed to the success of the program.
She said they had supported more than 1100 young people in the community whom might otherwise have faced only custodial options
“The courts, law practises, Victoria Police and other community organisations have helped quickly identify those young people who needed and benefited from this support.”
