The University of Sydney
Youth Justice Collaboration
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Weclome to the first edition of our new newsletter!
The University of Sydney's Youth Justice Collaboration aims to improve youth justice outcomes and to ultimately prevent youth crime.
The University of Sydney has numerous strengths in this area and has a track record of work across disciplines, faculties and research centres directly and indirectly relevant to youth justice systems and young people in conflict with the law. These newsletters will showcase such work.
Through a whole-of-university approach, the University of Sydney can have a significant positive impact on youth justice systems and outcomes.
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The University of Sydney’s central campus sits on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and has campuses as well as teaching and research facilities situated on the ancestral lands of the Wangal, Deerubbin, Tharawal, Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi, Bundjulong, Wiljali and Gereng Gureng peoples. We pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging who have cared and continue to care for Country.
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Explaining Classification
These students collaborated with YJNSW classification officers to produce a range of resources that help explain classification to young people with low levels of literacy. By providing a clear understanding of classification ratings, the resources aimed to engage and motivate those within the youth justice system to work towards lowering their classification and setting their own goals for the future.
This project was recently featured in Sydney’s Student News. That article can be read here.
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| One Sydney Many People: Closing the Gap Outcome 11
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The Collaboration recently secured funding from the University of Sydney through the One Sydney Many People strategy - Sydney's whole-of-university Indigenous strategy which aims to support the best researchers and most promising students to achieve their full potential. This funding is supporting work focused on Closing the Gap Outcome 11 – reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in youth detention.
The project seeks to identify relevant projects led by staff and students across the University of Sydney to work out how we can contribute to Outcome 11 and help to reduce the over-representation of First Nations young people in youth detention.
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Looking Back - Moving Forward: Touring Yasmar
Students from across the university were invited to register for a tour of a former youth detention centre – Yasmar. The 100 available spots were filled very quickly from students studying various degrees including education, psychology, social work, criminology and law. The day proved to be very successful with students getting a briefing from Youth Justice NSW staff before spending time on a unit that formerly housed young people. Students learnt about the contemporary features of the youth justice system, hearing about the challenges of working in youth detention and the ways that staff try to help young people. Students then spent time talking with YJNSW staff in small groups asking questions about the youth justice system, career options and more.
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Book Launch: Youth Crime, Youth Justice and Children's Courts in NSW
On 27 February 2024, the University of Sydney Law School hosted the book launch of Youth Crime, Youth Justice and Children's Courts in NSW, co-edited by Dr Garner Clancey, Sydney Law School, and Dr Rohan Lulham, Sydney School of Architecture, Design & Planning. The book, with chapters written by academics, legal practitioners and Youth Justice NSW staff, provides a comprehensive account of the complex arrangements impacting youth crime, youth justice and Children’s Courts in NSW. From the foreword by Judge Peter Johnstone, Chief Magistrate of New South Wales: ‘This book comprehensively covers contemporary issues relating to youth crime, various aspects of the youth justice system, the Children’s Court and its criminal jurisdiction, and is, in my view, a landmark publication. It brings together chapters prepared by respected contributors from a variety of disciplines with firsthand specialist knowledge, experience and expertise in relation to children’s law and youth justice. This book provides invaluable insights into the Children’s Court’s criminal jurisdiction and around how to best support children and young people who come into contact with the criminal justice system’.
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Research Centre Highlight: The Matilda Centre
The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use is a multidisciplinary research centre committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people affected by co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. A focus of the Centre is the prevention and treatment of youth mental health and substance use issues. Past projects in this space include the Preventure and Positive Choices programs which aim to facilitate teacher-led interventions.
The Centre recently received funding for various projects including Fulbright Scholar Associate Professor Louise Mewton’s work on brain development and educational support for school students with FASD. More about these projects can be read in the Centre news here.
You can subscribe to their newsletter here.
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Learning with Fetal Alochol Syndrome Disorder
In 2020, the Matilda Centre for Mental Health and Substance Use was funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care to develop the Learning with FASD portal, a website dedicated to the provision of evidence-based resources to help educators understand and support children with FASD in Australian primary schools.
Researchers at the Matilda Centre, lead by Associate Professor Mewton, will now work to create resources for secondary school educators. This project will adress the important gap in educator’s skills and knowledge by providing school leaders, teachers and the broader school community with easy-to-access, evidence-based resources and tools to sensitively and effectively recognise and respond to potential indicators of FASD in the secondary school context.
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Re-thinking (communication of) court processes and
outcomes with young people
Master of Design students recently exhibited work completed for a unit of study convened by collaboration member Dr Rohan Lulham and collegues Mariana Zafeirakopoulos and Moe Qashlan.
Students worked on an inter-agency project facilitated by Youth Justice NSW. The project asked students to explore ways to better communicate information to young people in and around processes surrounding a court case - including the understanding of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders and Bail conditions.
Each team was asked to develop a concept that addressed issues related to a current specific court form or resource. They were also asked to develop a digital concept that addresses a specific or general issue related to young people appearing in the Children’s Court.
The project was led by Youth Justice NSW, Speech Pathology Australia, Legal Aid NSW, Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT, the Advocate for Children and Young People, and the Children’s Court of NSW. | |
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