At the heart of this program, and indeed this conference and all of the programs being discussed here, is rendering justice to our youth.
Jun 24, 2015
At the heart of this program, and indeed this conference
and all of the programs being discussed here, is
rendering justice to our youth.
The role of the North Australian Aboriginal
Justice Agency Senior Indigenous Youth Justice Worker
Or
YJW
Herewith Youth Justice is explored by examining
• The role of the YJW;
• The tension between social work and the law;
• How it different in the Top End;
• How to keep in good shape.
The job description states:
• YJW will work with Indigenous youths who “are
before the criminal courts to identify and address
the causes of their offending through individual
case management”
What is success?
Different people gauge it differently
Many of the young people have yet to be able to see themselves in any other
role than one of offending
‘The question should not be what is wrong with you? But what
has happened to you?’
Sandra Bloom
How does the YJW help the kids through the court system?
• By getting to know them;
• Finding out what their dreams and ambitions are;
• Discovering their strengths;
• Presenting a face behind the offending to the
court;
• Giving verbal or written submissions to the court;
• By persisting;
• We have a separate Youth Justice System for a
reason.
A good youth justice system is a specialised system, created with the
understanding that young people are not just “junior adults”
10 Characteristics of A Good Youth Justice System
Judge C J Harding and Judge A J Becroft
There is another level of
complication:
Working with Lawyers
Although the need for interdisciplinary collaboration is clear, the way to effect it is not.
The lawyer-social worker relationship has traditionally been characterized by uneasiness and even outright antagonism, the source of which is believed to be in the methods of the
two professions. THE SOCIAL WORKER IN THE LEGAL AID SETTING: A STUDY
OF INTERPROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
AUDREY D. SMITH
University of Chicago
We’re different in the Top End
The vast distances
The Remoteness
The Weather
Communication is not the same
Principles
C: a youth should only be kept in custody for an offence (whether on arrest, in remand or under
sentence) as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA
YOUTH JUSTICE ACT
As in force at 27 February 2012
Remember Remote?
Numbulwar
“...should be made and implemented within a time-frame appropriate to the child’s or young person’s sense of time”.21 Furthermore, the legislation
recognises the potentially detrimental effects of a significant delay in proceedings.
10 Characteristics of A Good Youth Justice System
Judge C J Harding and Judge A J Becroft
Typical Social Workers
Ensure that the working age population is healthy, and that's both physically and mentally healthy, that they have resilience, that they are engaged in their workplace, and that they are
well managed. Unless you get those things aligned, then you are very often going to have
unhealthy workers who will not be able to perform well.
Carol Black
The Science Show
Radio National
Saturday 21 December
Making the business case is crucially important. One of the things I learnt very early in doing this job is I should never approach anybody with the soft and fluffy, that wasn't going to
work, and I needed to make the business case
Carol Black
The Science Show
Radio National
Saturday 21 December