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Initiatives targeting Recommendation 20CommonwealthJobs Pathways Programme (JPP) The Jobs Pathway Programme assists young people aged between 15-19 who intend to make the transition from school to work, further education or training within the following 12 months. JPP service providers are contracted by the Commonwealth to provide a range of services to eligible young people. Target group: The Programme specifically targets assistance to young people in one or more of the following groups:
Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Responsible agency: Department of Education, Science and Training Website: www.dest.gov.au Partnership Outreach Education Model (POEM) The Pilots will provide opportunities for 'disconnected young people' to engage in accredited education and training with the ultimate aim of assisting participants to reengage in mainstream education when they become ready. Target group: 'Disconnected young people' aged 13 - 19 for whom mainstream education is not a viable option Coverage: A national trial is underway Timeframe: 2002 - 2003 Responsible agency: Department of Education, Science and Training Website: www.dest.gov.au Career and Transition (CATS) Pilots During the 2002 school year, twenty three Career and Transition Pilot (CATS) projects across Australia are exploring methodologies for and testing ways to enhance career and transition support to young people aged 13-19 years. The pilot projects will offer improved career and transition information, support, guidance and advice and will include the development of individual learning pathways plans focusing on young peoples transitions through school and from school to further education, training and work, prepared with the support of dedicated Transition Advisors. Local partnerships between schools, the community, government and industry as well as links with families are an integral part of these projects. The CAT projects have been developed as part of the Government's response to the Youth Pathways Action Plan Taskforce's Report Footprints to the Future, in particular to recommendations 4, 5 and 6. The Career and Transition (CAT) Pilots contain four major components:
Target Group: Young people aged 13-19 Geographical Coverage: 23 projects will operate across a variety if setting in metropolitan, regional and remote areas of Australia. Timeframe: 12 months from April 2002 Contact: Director Responsible Agency: Department of Education, Science and Training Website: www.dest.gov.au National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Programme (NIELNS) The objective of the National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy is to achieve English literacy and numeracy for Indigenous students at levels comparable to those achieved by other young Australians. The strategy acknowledges that extra effort is required by education providers for Indigenous students to be successful and aims to address six key elements:
Under the NIELNS, DEST funds a range of projects that provide personalised support, community learning environments, and vocational learning experiences to young Indigenous people who are at risk of disconnection or who have become disconnected. Some initiatives focus specifically on the issue of literacy and/or numeracy whilst others seek to improve educational outcomes via other means such as increasing attendance rates, involving parents and the community, addressing health issues and mentoring. Target Group: Indigenous Young People Coverage: National Timeframe: 2000 to 2004 Contact: Branch Manager Website: www.dest.gov.au/schools/indigenous/nielns.htm ECEF - WADU Indigenous Youth Partnerships Initiatives The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) has provided funding to the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation (ECEF) to manage and deliver the Wadu Indigenous Youth Partnership Initiative (IYIP) from June 2000 to the end of 2002. IYPI builds onto ECEF's existing Wadu strategy. Wadu IYPI is addressing young Indigenous people's relative disadvantage in education, training and employment. This involves a 'whole of community' approach to supporting Indigenous youth to remain at or return to school, and provides a reliable pathway from schooling to training and employment and onto independence. IYPI complements and forms part of the broader Federal Government's National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. To May 2002, twenty IYPI projects had been run nation-wide with the two most recent additions being in the Cape York and Newcastle regions under a model of collaboration between ECEF, DEST, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Family and Community Services (FaCS) and the Department of Health and Ageing. Target Group: Indigenous Young People Coverage: National Timeframe: June 2000 - December 2002 Contact: Branch Manager Website: http://www.ecef.com.au/web/km/kmgateway.nsf/ECEF/WADU_Resource4ZLA3B Responsible Agency: Department of Education, Science and Training through the Enterprise and Career Education Foundation Australians Working Together - Indigenous Education and Training Under Australians Working Together, DEST will consult with ECEF regarding the development of projects to encourage increased vocational learning opportunities for Indigenous secondary school students. Target Group: Indigenous Young People Coverage: National Timeframe: Contact: Branch Manager Responsible Agency: Department of Education, Science and Training Website: www.dest.gov.au 'Reconnect' (formerly Youth Homelessness Early Intervention Program) Reconnect provides early intervention support to young people aged 12 to 18 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and their families. The objectives of Reconnect is to improve the level of engagement of homeless young people, or those at risk of homelessness, with family, work, education, training and the community. As at March 2002, 93 Reconnect services are operating nationally and a further 7 are being established through community development processes. This will bring the total number of Reconnect services to 100. Six Reconnect services specifically focus on Indigenous young people, their families and communities. The Department is working with an additional seven Indigenous communities in remote, rural and metropolitan areas to establish specific services to address the needs of local young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families. Target Group: Young people aged 12 to 18 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and their families Coverage: As at July 2001, 89 Reconnect services are operating nationally and a further 11 are being established through community development processes. This will bring the total number of Reconnect services to 100. Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Youth Activities Services Program The Youth Activities Services Program consists of Youth Activities Services (YAS) and YAS Family Liaison Workers (FLW.) The YAS provide activities, generally after school, to adolescents living in disadvantaged areas. The YAS program supports young people and their families through offering positive peer support and creative and challenging alternatives to activities that place young people at risk. The program helps to prevent young people from developing and continuing with patterns of behaviour that place them at risk of disconnecting from their families and community and which may have long term effects on their family relationships, schooling and labour force participation. The FLW program supports young people and their families by helping them deal with issues affecting their well being as a family through offering positive practical support and guidance. The FLW fills an identified service gap between YAS and other intensive support and counselling services currently available. Target Group: Young people aged 11-16 years living in disadvantaged areas, who still live at home and attend school. 19 YAS/FLW services identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people as their target group. Coverage: There are 90 YAS and 83 FLWs across Australia. Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/aboutfacs/programs/youth-yas_flw_good_practice.htm Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Collaborative Youth Services Trials The Collaborative Youth Services Trials focus on service delivery to disconnected young people or those at risk of becoming disconnected. The purpose is to test the processes by which local needs are identified and collaborative approaches to the provision of existing, or new, services can be developed to meet those needs effectively. Target Group: The target group is generally 12-25 years who are disconnected young people or those at risk of becoming disconnected. Individuals supported through these trials will be drawn from the following groups:
Coverage: The localities involved are: * Cape York (Queensland); * Wide Bay/Burnett (Queensland); * Cootamundra/Young (New South Wales); * Playford (South Australia); and * Footscray (Victoria). Timeframe: 2001-2003. Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Innovative and Collaborative Youth Servicing Pilots (ICYS) The ICYS Pilot Projects will promote more effective collaboration among service providers at the local community level and encourage greater ownership and accountability by communities for initiatives designed to assist young people. Projects will be required to test avenues of cooperation between and across Commonwealth/State/local government policies and programmes and community initiatives in order to deliver more effective services and improved outcomes for young people. Target Group: Young people aged 12-25 are the target group for the pilots, although variation to the age range will be considered in response to local conditions. Coverage: Around 25 pilots in a variety of urban, rural and remote locations will be funded across Australia. Timeframe: Pilots are planned to commence in May/June 2002 Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Job Placement, Employment and Training Programme (JPET) JPET provides a holistic approach to assisting young people overcome problems preventing them from maintaining stable accommodation and entering into full-time education, training or employment. JPET offers ongoing support and referral services to young people to help them overcome a range of problems, including housing, substance abuse, family difficulties, sexual or other abuse, lack of self esteem, income support, and other barriers to employment, education or training. The most common strategies implemented across all target groups were personal support, job search assistance and training assistance. Income advocacy and financial assistance were also common strategies; Target Group: JPET assists students and unemployed young people between 15-21 years who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless (with priority to be given to those aged 15-19 and to homeless young people). Assistance is also provided to young people who are/or have been wards of the State, are refugees or have been in the juvenile justice system. Coverage: 136 agencies are contracted to deliver services throughout Australia Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: http://jpet.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Personal Support Programme The Personal Support Programme will provide funding to assist people who have multiple barriers to employment. The new programme will replace and expand the Community Support Programme (CSP) that is administered through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. The Personal Support Programme will provide assistance to the most vulnerable job seekers, including people with barriers such as homelessness, drug and alcohol problems, psychological disorders and domestic violence problems. Centrelink will refer people with significant non-vocational employment barriers to service providers funded under the programme. Service providers will provide them with assistance or link them to other government or community organisations that provide the sorts of help they need. By 2004-2005 the new programme will be assisting 45,000 people. The new programme will help people to stabilise their circumstances and enable them to achieve outcomes that match their abilities and capacity. These will include social as well as economic outcomes. Participants will have up to two years of support and assistance in the Personal Support Programme. For many participants, an appropriate outcome will be to transfer to Intensive Assistance to get help to find work. Others will undertake study or training or volunteer activities. For others with more severe barriers, the Personal Support Programme will help them to address their personal barriers (e.g., find stable accommodation, attend drug or alcohol or other counselling services) and increase their involvement in the community. Target Group: People with non-vocational barriers to employment such as homelessness, drug and alcohol problems, psychological disorders and domestic violence problems. Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.together.gov.au/PSP/Default.asp Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) SAAP is a joint Commonwealth and State/Territory program. 477 of its 1,238 services across Australia are tailored to supporting young people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless, providing transitional accommodation and/or related support services, aiming to achieve the maximum possible degree of self-reliance and independence. In 2000-01, approximately 37% of SAAP clients were aged 25 years and under. The most common reason given by young people (under 25) for seeking assistance was relationship/family breakdown. Children also enter SAAP services accompanying an adult. Target Group: People who are homeless or at risk of being homeless Coverage: 1,238 services across Australia, of which 477 tailored to supporting young people. Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/aboutfacs/programs/house-saap_nav.htm Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Case management in SAAP Case management in SAAP is an approach to service delivery that respects the individual and ensures that their needs are recognised and met, by developing strategies to assist clients in achieving their goals. Case management is particularly appropriate for clients who have varied or complex needs across a range of services, such as health, housing, income, employment and education. Case management co ordinates access to these services and enhances the quality of the client's engagement with the range of services by ensuring that needs are being addressed holistically. Target Group: People who are homeless and at risk of homelessness Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.facs.gov.au Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services Australians Working Together Australians Working Together - Helping people to move forward is a major package of initiatives offering significant support and services to help people to help themselves. Young job seekers will benefit from many Australians Working Together (AWT) initiatives announced in the 2001-02 Budget. Young people will also benefit from the improvements to employment services under AWT. AWT builds on the Government's employment assistance and mutual obligation policies that have attracted widespread support amongst participants and the broader community. The new system is providing improved personalised assessment and service, more opportunities for training and work experience, better incentives, and reasonable requirements for people to find work, increase their earnings or contribute to their communities. Centrelink will be the gateway to the new system. Centrelink Personal Advisers will provide a high level of service to people needing additional help to overcome personal or other barriers. Under AWT young people will have access to more places in Literacy and Numeracy Training, Job Search Training, and Work for the Dole and can earn Training Credits by participating in Work for the Dole and Community Work. Vulnerable and at risk young people will benefit from the better assessment processes in Intensive Assistance and the linkages between Intensive Assistance and other programmes. Young people will also benefit from other initiatives such as the Working Credit (which encourages people on income support to take up full-time, substantial part-time or casual work) and the new Personal Support Programme (designed to help people with problems such as homelessness, and drug and alcohol addiction) that replaces the Community Support Programme. Coverage: National Timeframe: July 2001 - June 2005 Contact details: together@dewrsb.gov.au Initiative Website address: http://www.together.gov.au/ Responsible Agency: Shared policy responsibility between Family and Community Services, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and Department of Education, Science and Training Centrelink Community Officers and the Homebound Program Centrelink has 33 Community Officers (CCO) who ensure that homeless and marginalised customers have equitable access to and maintenance of income support and services provided by Centrelink The role of the Centrelink Community Officer (CCO) is to provide alternative services to homeless people who may not be able to access the mainstream services provided by Centrelink. This service is provided out of office in locations that are more convenient or where customers feel more comfortable. CCO's provide out servicing to customers in locations such as detoxification and rehabilitation centres, refuges, hostels for the homeless, psychiatric hospitals and drop in centres. Out servicing by CCO's provides community agencies with a reliable and effective means of ensuring that customers have access to appropriate income support. Under the National Homeless Strategy, Centrelink is hosting "Homebound" - a two and a half day placement in Centrelink offices for homelessness service providers to improve the co-operative working relationship between those services and their local Customer Service Centre. Target Group: Homeless Contact details: Website: www.centrelink.gov.au/ Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Responsible Agency: Family and Community Services and Centrelink Job Network - Intensive Assistance Intensive Assistance provides individually tailored assistance and support to get long term unemployed people, or those at risk of becoming long term unemployed, into jobs. Job Network members have the flexibility to decide with a young person the best form of assistance to get them a job or to assist them to return to education or take up training. This may include the provider using their fees to provide vocational training, language and literacy training or employer incentives such as a wage subsidy or workplace adjustments. Currently, services are provided for between 12 and 15 months depending on the level of job seeker disadvantage, with a provision to negotiate an extension of up to 6 months. From July 2002, under Australians Working Together (AWT), the period of Intensive Assistance will be up to twelve months for all job seekers except those who are referred to Intensive Assistance immediately following participation in the new Personal Support Programme. These job seekers will receive up to 18 months of Intensive Assistance. Job Network members are contracted to provide services to all eligible job seekers including eligible young people (called a "generalist service"). Specialist Intensive Assistance services cater to the needs of a number of different groups. There are three specialist youth providers operating from 11 sites in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. In general, the focus of Intensive Assistance and its regime of outcome payments is on getting job seekers into employment. However, in line with the government's concern that young people should be encouraged to complete Year 12, Job Network members providing Intensive Assistance are eligible to claim a full outcome payment if they assist a young person 15 to 20 years of age who has not completed Year 12 or equivalent, to complete two semesters of an eligible education or training course. Under Australians Working Together, Intensive Assistance providers will have the flexibility to refer job seekers to beneficial complementary programmes before commencing Intensive Assistance eg, Work for the Dole, the new Personal Support Programme or to Literacy/Numeracy training. Young people form part of many groups, such as parents, Indigenous Australians, people with disabilities and special needs, who have been specifically targeted in AWT. Young people will have access to the same resources as other members of these key target groups, including access to Personal Advisers. Young people, like other unemployed people, will benefit from employment services initiatives contained in Australians Working Together. From 1 July 2002, for example, they will have access to more places in Job Search Training, and if eligible, Training Credits in Work for the Dole and community work. Target Group: Long term unemployed people, or those at risk of becoming long term unemployed. Coverage: Intensive Assistance is offered from more than 1,100 sites nationally Timeframe: Ongoing Website: www.dewr.gov.au Responsible Agency: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Indigenous Employment The Indigenous Employment Policy (IEP) was introduced in 1999 in response to concerns about the high indigenous unemployment rate and the particular disadvantage experienced by Indigenous clients in the labour market. There are three main elements to the Indigenous Employment Policy - the Indigenous Employment Programme, the Indigenous Small Business Fund and assistance for indigenous job seekers through Job Network. The Indigenous Employment Programme has a number of elements including, the Corporate Leaders for Indigenous Employment Project, the Structured Training and Employment Projects (STEP), the National Indigenous Cadetship Project and Wage Assistance, that provide flexible financial assistance to employers to assist in achieving sustainable employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians. A particular focus of the policy is to target jobs in the private sector. The IEP makes a positive contribution to getting more Indigenous youth into jobs. Currently, there are no specific participation targets for young Indigenous job seekers in the IEP however, indigenous youth (under 24 years of age) accounted for 49% of placements made under indigenous employment programmes from 1 April 2001 to 30 March 2002. Given the particular demographic profile of Indigenous Australians in which the median age is 19 years (compared to 35 for the total Australian population) the Government is conscious of the emerging issue of increasing demand for targeted employment assistance for indigenous youth. Partnerships between the Departments of Employment and Workplace Relations and Education, Science and Training are of being strengthened to further improve the coordination and delivery of assistance to indigenous youth. Under the Australians Working Together package, indigenous job seekers will get more personalised help from Centrelink, Job Network Members, Community Work Coordinators and other providers. The first Indigenous Employment Centres (IECs), announced as part of Australians Working Together, have commenced operation and more will commence from 1 July 2002. Under this initiative, Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) organisations may be contracted to take on the additional role of IECs, providing further help to indigenous people in areas where job opportunities exist to obtain work. By 2004-05, IECs will have provided job search support, work experience, access to accredited training, and ongoing mentoring and support to up to 10,000 CDEP participants. By working with local employers and Job Network members, the IECs will encourage people to find work and help them retain it. This initiative, developed in consultation with ATSIC, complements the successful IEP. Many existing programmes are being expanded or changed to provide more individual help. There will be greater support for job seekers to work or to take part in their community or to do work experience or training . They will keep more income if they do casual or part-time work. Indigenous job seekers (including young job seekers) in Job Search Training and Intensive Assistance will be able to access a training account to gain work-related skills. Under AWT, there will be more practical ways to promote self-reliance for indigenous people. Target Group: Indigenous job seekers Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing Website: www.dewr.gov.au Responsible Agency: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Centrelink National Partnership Group for Young Job Seekers and At Risk Young People With similar terms of reference as the Partnership Group on Student Services this group comprises key national and state service providers/stakeholders who have a keen interest in young jobseekers and young people at risk, e.g. Mission Australia, Youth Action and Policy Association, St. Vincent de Paul, a JPET and Reconnect provider, as well as state government representatives. Target Group: Service providers, researchers and youth Coverage: National Timeframe: Ongoing (bi-annual meetings) Contact details: Website: www.centrelink.gov.au/ Responsible Agency: Centrelink Centrelink/South Australia - Youth Connect In South Australia, Centrelink is working directly with the State welfare department, Family and Youth Services (FAYS), to provide a "joined up" State and Commonwealth service response to young people exiting secure accommodation by collocating Centrelink services in the FAYS office. This service is aimed at developing appropriate activity agreements with young people who are marginalized to minimise their disengagement with services and education, training and employment. This program is regarded as a trial for evaluation for possible implementation in other States to target assistance at our mutual customers. Target Group: Youth Coverage: Local Timeframe: Ongoing Contact details: Website: www.centrelink.gov.au/ Responsible Agency: Centrelink National Illicit Drugs Strategy (NIDS) The purpose of NIDS is to assist in preventing and reducing the use of illicit substances through a balanced package of measures aimed at reducing the supply of, and demand for, illicit drugs. Key demand reduction initiatives under NIDS include:
Responsible Agency: Department of Health and Ageing |
