Initial Youth Sector Strategy Response

YANQ will be releasing a comprehensive response to the Strategy for Youth, released by the Queensland Government last week. In the meantime, YANQ believes that the Youth Strategy is deficient on may fronts, including:

• The strategy is guided by a set of principles which includes: "building strong partnerships with the non-government sector and local and state government agencies to foster better collaborations". However, there has been no meaningful consultation with the NGO sector, nor any movement towards building partnerships.

• Youth justice responses by government have been packaged under 'health and wellbeing'. We have just seen the shift of responsibility for youth justice from the Department of Communities to the Attorney General and we have seen many successful programs being axed by the Department. The government needs be more congruent and not include criminal justice punishment under the name of health and well being.

• Programs like Youth Justice Conferencing, Skilling Queenslanders For Work and Youth Support Co-ordinators that have been defunded or lost money from the Department are being included in what is now being released as Youth strategy. Are we going to see at least the same amount of money returned to these programs? 

• "A wide range of non-government support services including neighbourhood centres will be funded to assist young people or families address issues that impact on their personal, social or emotional wellbeing and safety" - What about youth services - why are they not mentioned? Is this new money or this is the recommissioning of existing money which would mean losing an entire youth service in an area and having the neighbourhood centre with a family/youth worker?

• "A $3.2 million package of initiatives, increasing to $3.7 million in 2014–15, will strengthen the network of supports and services designed to provide more coordinated care for children and their families across Queensland" - Is this new money, and if so, where from? How does it strengthen the network of support services? Is this child protection money or youth sector money?