Youth group warns school suspensions are a ‘pipeline to crime’

The world’s biggest youth group has warned that mental health problems are fuelling juvenile crime across Australia.

Traditional school suspensions have been labelled a ‘pipeline to the criminal justice system’.

Teenage crime and violence is exploding due to a mental health minefield left in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s biggest youth organisation has warned.

The Y – formerly the YMCA – is seeking ongoing funding for its “alternative suspension’’ program, that takes in misbehaving teenagers who have been suspended or expelled from high schools in western Sydney and the NSW Central Coast.

Youth workers help students with anger management and self-control, social skills and community respect, and link them with volunteer groups, training organisations and health and welfare services.

They assist with homework sent from the schools each week, until the wayward students can return to class.

Head of the program Louisa McKay said traditional school suspensions were “a pipeline to the criminal justice system’’.

She said teachers were struggling to manage students’ disruptive behaviour in class.

“I’ve never seen things so bad as they are now, in terms of the mental health issues and behaviours of young people,’’ she said. “Since the pandemic, there’s been an increase in young people experiencing psychological distress.

“There’s a cost-of-living crisis, a lot more young people aren’t living in stable housing. There’s a mental health crisisand sometimes you’ve got young people with disabilities, who may be undiagnosed, and they are misunderstood in school.

“We’ve had young people experiencing domestic violence, homelessness, they might have families who have drug or alcohol addiction issues, or mental health issues. Often these young people are living in really unstable conditions.’’

“I’ve never seen things so bad as they are now, in terms of the mental health issues and behaviours of young people,’’ says Louisa McKay, Executive Leader Purpose & Impact for The Y NSW.

Ms McKay said traditional school suspensions – when students are sent home without any help or supervision – was making the problem worse as more than half the students had dropped out of high school a year later.

“The typical young person who is suspended from school is a 13-year-old boy,’’ she said.

“We can’t just put them in the youth justice system or expel them and exclude them, because that is just going to perpetuate the situation.

“Let’s … give them the support they need, so that they can be successful in life. Completing their education is going to set them up for success, which means everyone benefits because you have less people in jails, more people productive.’’

Ms McKay said schools needed connections with outside health and welfare services, to deal with disruptive students.

The Y’s federal government grant, which was used in a pilot program that helped 142 suspended students return to school successfully last year, is due to expire in June.

The participants include a 13-year-old boy who had been suspended multiple times during his first year at a western Sydney high school in 2023.

His mother Wendy said he had disengaged from school after the Covid-19 lockdowns. He now attends The Y at Parramatta three days a week, where he gets one-on-one help from a youth worker, and goes to school on the other two days.

“It’s really helping him,’’ his mother said.