Twin Rivers & Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE are collaborating together to deliver Certificate II in Community Services & Launch into Greater Futures Program, provided under the Training Places initiative for Single and Teenage Parents, commencing Tuesday 8 October 2013 and concluding Friday 13 December 2013.  

The program aims to improve the job-readiness and workforce participation of single and teenage parents, in receipt of parenting payments, by providing them with opportunities to participate in training. The program also includes extra Literacy & Numeracy support, Life Coaching, counselling (if required) and assistance in other areas to overcome barriers to education, training and/or employment.

Eligible participants will receive a full fee exemption.  Attached is also information and costings for those not eligible, providing places are available.

Referral forms are required to be signed off by either the participants JSA, DES, or Centrelink, stating their eligibility.  If the participant is not eligible a JSA purchase order is required, paying at full price or the participant can manage payments themselves at Twin Rivers.
Once the referral form is completed or other payment arranged, an interview will be arranged at Twin Rivers, to meet with the participant, to brief about the program and to identify potential barriers that they may need assistance in overcoming. 

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has published a report called "The impact of school academic quality on low socioeconomic status students"

The authors of this paper explore whether low socioeconomic status (SES) students benefit to a greater or lesser extent from attending high-quality schools when compared with their more advantaged peers. They find that academic school quality is even more important for students from low-SES backgrounds in terms of Year 12 completion. The differential impact for low-SES students also holds for tertiary entrance rank (TER) and the probability of going to university.

Click here to read the research.

This paper is a simplified excerpt from the Legal Australia-Wide Survey: Legal need in Australia

Abstract: This paper summarises findings from the Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey on the legal problems experienced by younger people aged 15–24 years in Australia. Similar to previous studies, the findings show a higher vulnerability to legal problems for younger people compared to the oldest age group. Also in keeping with past research, different ages or life stages were associated with different types of legal problems. Accidents, crime, personal injury and rights problems peaked either at 15–17 or 18-24 years. In addition, younger people were less likely to seek advice from professionals for their legal problems. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Source: Law and Justice Foundation of NSW Research Alert August 2013

As part of Nundah Festival on the 8th of September CLA is running a fundraiser to support two programs facilitated by CLA. The programs are the Young People’s Home Share Project and the Strong Families Project of which information can be found on CLA’s Website at http://www.communityliving.org.au/. The fundraiser is a pet photo competition with a number of categories and prizes for the winning photos! I have attached a poster with the competition information as well as a registration form and the terms and conditions.

The Sydney Institute of Criminology at the University of Sydney (along with researchers from the University of NSW and the University of Western Sydney) are researching sexting among young people. This is through an Australian Criminology Research Grant and the NSW Commission for Children and Young People are also involved. 

Young people who engage in sexting could face the risk of being prosecuted for serious offences. Our research is seeking the real story behind sexting. Fill in our anonymous online survey for young Australians. It only takes 10-20 minutes and is an opportunity for Australian teens (aged 13-18) to share their views on sexting.

Complete the survey and spread the word! The survey will be open until the end of September 2013 and can be found here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/SICSX

Commissioner Tim Carmody recently released  ‘Taking Responsibility: A Roadmap for Queensland Child Protection’. 

The Queensland Government is currently considering its response to the report recommendations. To ensure young people are kept informed throughout this process and given the opportunity to provide input, The CREATE Foundation has developed a brief document outlining some of the key issues that may be relevant to children and young people in care. The document also highlights avenues for young people to express their opinion on the proposed changes. 

Please share this document with as many children and young people as possible. It may be deemed more appropriate in some instances for a support person to read through the document with the child or young person.

Click here to read the CREATE document

(Souce: Peakcare enews 1st August 2013)

As the collective voice of the state's youth sector, the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) demands that the Queensland Government cease removing funding from youth services that play such an important role in the life of both young people and the broader Queensland community.

In recent times, we have seen a tidal wave of destruction break over the youth sector, with serious consequences for young people - particularly those living in rural areas with limited access to services, and disadvantaged young people throughout Queensland. Many highly successful youth programs have been defunded over the past 15 months. Those remaining, many of whom were already operating on shoestring budgets, have faced funding cuts. Coupled with cuts to frontline services more widely, this has put a great strain on youth services and reduced their capacity to respond to the growing demand for services by young people themselves and other service providers. As the sector's peak body, it is YANQ's responsibility to strongly resist the negative ramifications of these processes.

Small and medium size youth services have generally built strong connections to the local and regional communities they are part of, over many years. These services deserve acknowledgment and support from the Government for the tremendous work they do within such limited resources.

The Queensland Government has an opportunity to build on the work of...

Senator for Queensland, Jan McLucas, urges youth organisations in North Queensland to take advantage of a program to help stamp out bullying and youth violence. The Federal Labor Government is targeting school and cyber-bullying with grants of up to $70,000 through the annual Youth Development and Support Program.

Applications are open until 23 August 2013. For information on the program and how to apply, visit http://www.youth.gov.au/sites/youth/news/pages/ydsprogram_010410

(Source: Email from Senator McLucas on 5/8/13)

 The Queensland Government Office for Early Childhood Education and Care is implementing a range of strategies to support awareness and use of Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) data across Queensland, including the Queensland AEDI Community Action Grant Program.

Grants from $5,000 to $20,000 are available to support organisations to respond to AEDI data in communities with higher proportions of vulnerable children than the Queensland average. Activities funded under this grant should prioritise raising awareness of issues relevant to early childhood development, engaging with community members in identifying issues and delivering solutions or enhancing the capacity of the community to support early childhood development.  

Applications are now being sought from eligible organisations, with activities to be delivered between September 2013 and March 2014. Applications close 9 August 2013.

For more information on the grants as well as the application form, please visit http: //deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/service/grants/index.html