Youth development programs have been a popular and successful approach to address various health and social issues among young Aboriginal peoples in Central Australia. Yet, little research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of youth
programs in the region and much of the knowledge from local, national and international work is dispersed and often unpublished.

A study was undertaken in a partnership between the Centre for Remote Health (CRH) and the Central Australian Youth Link–Up
Service (CAYLUS) to explore the enablers and barriers of youth programs in remote Central Australian Indigenous communities.

The study involved interviews with stakeholders such as community members (including young people), youth workers and community service providers (teachers, store owners, police and health workers). Participants (n=60) were drawn from one community in each of the three Central Australian Shires (Barkly, Central Desert and MacDonnell).

This booklet is part of a continuing education resource for foster carers called Real Kids, Real Carers. Real Kids, Real Carers contains 9 separate booklets covering topics of importance to foster carers.

The titles in the series:

• Independence and connections: caring for adolescents
• I’m an individual: children and young people with disabilities 
• Participation: creating opportunities for children and young people to contribute to decision-making
• Reality fostering: the impact of fostering on carers and their families
• Whose job is this? team work in foster care
• Whose problem is this? managing and responding to challenging and difficult behaviour
• Aboriginal history: the context of Aboriginal children and young people in care today
• Preventing another stolen generation: keeping Aboriginal children and young people in care connected to their culture
• Maintaining culture: helping a child retain their cultural connections and identity

Click here to download a copy of this resource.

Source: Peakcare enews 1st August 2013.

Social Policy Research Centre has released the School readiness program for Aboriginal children with additional needs: working with children, families, communities and service providers - Interim evaluation report. Click below to download.

The report of this year’s 9th Annual Indigenous Family Violence prevention forum and supporting PowerPoint presentations are now available to view at http://www.noviolence.com.au/indigenousforum.html

A report into the possibility of facilitating Indigenous youth participation and engagement in the area of natural resource management has been released by the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University.

The report looks at the problem of Indigenous unemployment and non-engagement in training and education, not only here in Australia but also in North America, and ways to try and re-engage Indigenous young people. It examines in detail three specific types of engagement operating in Australia:

• junior ranger programs (also called ‘Learning through country’ programs)
• the Indigenous Ranger Cadetship Program for secondary students (starting in 2013)
• the role of the resource extraction industries.

The authors stress that ‘both western science and Indigenous ecological knowledge perspectives are required for effective land management practices by Indigenous people’. They see big opportunities for programs of this type, but also say that Indigenous elders need to be involved for the programs to successfully engage young people.

Anyone working with young Aboriginal people in the area of youth engagement and training for future employment will find this 28-page report interesting reading. It can be downloaded from the Australian Policy Online web page listed below.

http://apo.org.au/research/indigenous-youth-engagement-natural-resource-management-australia-and-north-america-review

(Source: Youth Field Express, November 2012)

Carers Queensland Inc. has just released the attached electronic resource. It lists many of the resources and websites available which will be useful for Indigenous carers, as well as for services who may be supporting them. Some of the websites may be useful even if your service does not support Indigenous carers. Feel free to pass this resource on far and wide.

Click here to view the resource.

From http://www.snaicc.asn.au/news-events/fx-view-article.cfm?loadref=32&id=724

Download the resource here.

Produced by the SNAICC Resource Service, the publication contains valuable information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child rearing practices. It will be of benefit to anyone who is interested in learning more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child rearing practices and customs. Given our diverse communities cultural beliefs and values, customs and practices, this resource has specifically been designed to ensure that this diversity is acknowledged and respected. Drawing on literature from a number of regions across Australia, Growing Up Our Way provides a sample of this diversity.

Through examining the literature and conducting independent research, this resource provides details of traditional and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child rearing customs and practices.

The information is provided in the form of key quotes — from the literature and other sources — which have been categorised under relevant headings, ensuring relevant information is easily accessible. Whether you are looking for information on communication and relationships, playing and learning, sleeping and eating habits, or how children are viewed by family and community, this resource provides information on these, and other areas.

Contact Melissa Brickell E: melissa@snaicc.asn.au

 Inception Strategies have partnered with QLD health to release a brand new Indigenous Youth Mental Health Comic called 'Boat Builders'.

You can read it online here:
http://www.inceptionstrategies.com/boat.htm

Helen Malouf  (Child and Youth Mental Health – Townsville) Helen_Malouf@health.qld.gov.au is holding the stock of the Boat Builders comics and developing a distribution list so interested organisations should make contact with her if they want some.

We also have many other Indigenous health comics that are readable online via http://www.inceptionstrategies.com/comics.htm