Advocacy - Youth Diversionary Services

Locally based youth services for young people at risk of harm and poor life outcomes living in the City of Wanneroo including the delivery of:

• A Target 120 Program for the City of Wanneroo, with intake encompassing all suburbs that currently do not have access;
• Increased provision of low barrier intensive case management services to facilitate access to wraparound supports; and
• Increased provision of locally based secondary supports¹ in the City of Wanneroo including specialised services.

The City has the largest youth population of all WA LGAs with over 34,000 young people aged 10-19 in 20247 with growth expected to continue to reach over 43,000 young people by 2034. Population forecast analysis of the increased numbers of 10–19-year-olds in WA over the 10 years to 2034, shows that 19% will live in the City of Wanneroo8.  Much of this growth will be in the City’s northern suburbs which currently have limited services for young people and many suburbs with high numbers of at-risk youth facing complex and intersecting challenges. These include (but are not limited to) family and domestic violence, alcohol and drug concerns, educational disengagement, homelessness, poor mental health, aggressive and antisocial behaviours, risk-taking behaviours and challenges with care arrangements causing increased vulnerability for harm, youth offending and poor life outcomes. 

The City has the highest number of resident youth offenders of any LGA in WA9.  Consultation with local and out of area service providers has identified gaps in the City for targeted initiatives to divert at-risk youth from punitive justice responses. The State government’s key diversionary program for young offenders which requires at least one police contact for eligibility, the Target 120 program, has limited availability in the City via the Mirrabooka Target 120 program which only accepts referrals for residents of Alexander Heights, Girrawheen, Koondoola and Marangaroo. Young offenders outside of these suburbs in the City are provided no alternatives to court-based justice interventions and possible incarceration.

Service providers have also advised that low barrier intensive case management services and increased secondary supports are needed for young people with complex intersecting challenges at the earlier stages of the risk continuum prior to police and statutory service response. Existing services are mostly delivered out of area or via outreach and are at capacity with waitlists. Secondary supports refers to specialised services needed for young people experiencing frequent situations that place them at higher risk10 (e.g. services addressing mental health, homelessness, school disengagement, family and domestic violence and alcohol and drug use).  If additional services are not made available the current gaps in access to these secondary supports will worsen in coming years as the population continues to increase.

Currently the only low barrier intensive case management service (i.e. accessible prior to police contact) available is via the Centrecare Youth Support Service (CYSS) which has a 12-week waitlist. Increased provision of these services is required to provide timely access to the integrated interventions needed for at-risk young people. Other case management services are only accessible to young people dependant on their eligibility against specific issues such as mental health, alcohol and drug recovery, LGBTQIA+ support and homelessness. Service providers have advised of waitlists of up to 4 months for these services which means young people in crisis cannot access timely interventions. Increased provision of dedicated case management programs with low barrier eligibility to facilitate access to wraparound services are required to address this service gap. Successful case management programs being delivered in other jurisdictions that could be funded and delivered in the City of Wanneroo include those being delivered by the Y in Belmont (and other areas), and the Youth Beat program being delivered by Mission Australia.  Both services provide a collaborative approach with linkage to secondary support services and intensive case management follow up.

Socio-economic and demographic factors also support the need for services. There are pockets of relative disadvantage across all City suburbs and several suburbs with significant and widespread disadvantage in the City’s north . These include Butler, Clarkson, Merriwa, Ridgewood, Two Rocks and Yanchep which all have low SEIFA scores with some areas scoring within the top 10-20% for relative socio-economic disadvantage11. These suburbs also show significant risk factors for youth offending such as youth disengagement, low school attendance, early school leaving and parents without employment12. Juvenile convictions are particularly high in relation to other suburbs in Yanchep and Two Rocks13 – the two most northern suburbs with the lowest accessibility to social and community services. Unemployment rates are high in Two Rocks (7.6%), Yanchep (6.3%) and Butler-Merriwa-Ridgewood (6.6%)14.

With the disproportionate number of youth in detention in WA being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander15, the need to provide alternatives is particularly significant for those suburbs with high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, including Butler, Clarkson, Girrawheen, Koondoola, Merriwa, Two Rocks and Yanchep16. This is essential to meeting Closing the Gap targets17.

Hotspots for crime and antisocial behaviour have also been identified within the City through our community safety monitoring and reporting program. These include Butler, Ridgewood, Two Rocks and Yanchep and the central and southern suburbs of Banksia Grove, Wanneroo, Madeley, Girrawheen, Alexander Heights and Koondoola18.

The City’s Strategic Community Plan (SCP), developed through extensive community consultation, prioritises community safety and provision of places and spaces that embrace all through ensuring that people have access to a wide variety of programs and services that assist with health and wellbeing19. Community consultation with residents across the City indicates concerns with community safety which is seen as a priority for many suburbs, as well as concerns around social cohesion and lack of services for young people20.

Provision of the requested services will provide an opportunity to greatly improve outcomes for at-risk young people in the City, and better meet the aspirations of the WA  At Risk Youth Strategy that “at risk young people can access early, timely and targeted interventions to address their priority needs and transition positively into adulthood”21.

Delivery of a Target 120 programs  in the City of Wanneroo is estimated to require approximately $350,000 per annum for operational costs.

Delivery of low barrier case management services would cost an estimated $900,000 annually22.

Increased funding for delivery of local secondary support services for at risk young people and their families will require ongoing increased investment for operating costs of a number of service providers. Costs are unique to each program/service.
 

Target 120 is currently not available to all residents living within the City of Wanneroo. There are five (5) Target 120 sites in the Perth metro including Rockingham, Mandurah, Armadale, Ellenbrook and Mirrabooka. The nearest Target 120 program in the Mirrabooka district only accepts referrals from the suburbs of Alexander Heights, Girrawheen, Koondoola and Marangaroo in the City of Wanneroo.

There is currently limited access to low barrier intensive case management services which service providers have identified as a gap together with a need for increased availability of secondary supports in the City of Wanneroo.

No commitment has been made to deliver the requested services to date. There are a number of service providers who would be able to deliver these services in line with the WA Government’s Delivering Services in Partnership Policy and Procurement rules.