This letter is from the QLD Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport & Recreation .  The letter summarises the relevant programs and grants administered by the Department, as well as recent research investigating the health of Queenslanders and participation on junior sport.  It was written in response to issues raised via the YCN in 2006.

In March the QLD Department of Justice and Attorney-General responded to YANQ's letter regarding issues raised via the YCN in 2006.  The Dept. also provided details on ways they will be engaging young people during 2006/07.

In this letter to YANQ , the Department of Education, Training and the Arts provides a comprehensive a list of resources (copied below) on Education Queensland's (EQ) website, particularly related to the Education & Training Reforms for the Future (ETRF). 

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) has provided a toolkit for young people to evaluate national youth policy.

Before deciding on evaluation methods, questions, or anything else, it is important to focus your evaluation by establishing a common goal or purpose—one that accords with organizational values and goals. This toolkit from the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development provides a system for establishing and evaluating such goals.

New research by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research suggests that offenders dealt with under the Forum Sentencing scheme are no less likely to re-offend than offenders dealt with in a conventional court proceeding.

By Martina Boese, Janet Stanley, Carole Baker and Jody Hughes / Brotherhood of St Laurence

An evaluation of the Cottage Centre for Families and Children which served inner-Melbourne families with young children shows that it was an effective model for assisting families with complex needs.

This editorial discusses the challenge of evaluating prevention programs and proposes an overarching schema for evaluations.  Whilst the focus is on programs for preventing mental health problems, it is relevant to prevention programs within human services generally.

It is written by Graham Martin, Karolina Krysinska and Sarah Swannell and is published in the July 2008 edition of the Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health.  Download from http://www.auseinet.com/journal/vol7iss2/martin.pdf.

The following update is from the National Youth Commission Inquiry into Youth Homelessness...

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The first round of NYC public hearings has almost been completed. The public hearings have been very informative and have given us a good initial view of the current situation for young homeless people in various parts of Australia.