‘Young people will fall through the gaps’: Government slammed for axing program helping kids stay in school

Community groups have condemned the state government’s decision to axe a 25-year-old program helping 19,000 at-risk students stay in school, as youth crime and truancy rates soar.

Stonnington Council Mayor Melina Sehr is among several council and health groups calling for the government to reverse funding cuts on a vital school program.

Community groups have slammed the state government’s decision to cut funding to a two-decade old program which helps keep at-risk kids in school, as absenteeism rates rise.

Providers of the School Focused Youth Services program were recently informed funding would cease in January, ending a vital service delivered to an estimated 19,000 Year 5 to 12 students across approximately 900 government, Catholic and independent schools.

There are 34 local government agencies funded to deliver initiatives which offer short-term interventions for students showing signs of disengagement.

The Department of Education’s Annual Report for 2023-24 stated under $3.9m was provided for the program to run from 2024-2026.

The decision to defund the program, which has run for 25 years, comes despite Victorian students recording their second lowest attendance rate in a decade last year.

It also comes amid calls for more to be done to keep kids in school as Melbourne’s youth crime crisis spirals out of control.

The state government is ending a vital service delivered to an estimated 19,000 Year 5 to 12 students across approximately 900 schools. Picture: Supplied

Stonnington Council receives about $420,000 every two years to deliver the program across schools in the area.

Mayor Melina Sehr said the program made a “tangible difference in the lives of young people”, and therefore cutting it was “deeply disappointing and shortsighted”.

“At a time when Victoria is grappling with increasing school absenteeism, youth mental-health challenges and community-safety concerns, it makes no sense to cut a program that directly addresses the causes of disengagement,” she said.

“This decision risks undoing years of positive progress.”

In a letter to providers, the government said disengaged students benefited from a “wide-ranging service delivery environment”, such as the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu, which weren’t available when the SFYS was introduced.

But Ms Sehr said the Mental Health Fund focused on broad wellbeing and mental-health support within schools — not the targeted early-intervention that SFYS delivered.

“Without both layers of support, the most vulnerable young people will inevitably fall through the gaps,” Ms Sehr said.

Grampians Community Health also receives SFYS funding to support its primary school Big Sister program and schools impacted by bushfire, among other initiatives.

In one instance, the program improved school attendance and peer relationships for a disengaged and anxious student.

The decision to defund the program, which has run for 25 years, comes despite Victorian students recording their second lowest attendance rate in a decade. Picture: Supplied

Grampians Community Health chief Greg Little said it’s “simply wrong” to suggest the proposed replacement program would equip schools to meet students’ needs.

“The Mental Health Menu provides important supports, but it is designed to respond to mental health needs once they emerge. SFYS complements this by working earlier, with schools and families, to prevent disengagement and its many consequences,” he said.

“Schools are doing it tough … They need the support of local organisations. It takes a village to raise a child, not a menu.”

More than 900 students across Ballarat would also feel the impact of funding cuts, according to Ballarat Community Health chief Sean Duffy.

“The decision to cease funding of SFYS is of upmost concern,” he said.

“Our schools need this critical service.”

Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said the “cruel cut” came at the “worst possible time”.

“There is no excuse to leave vulnerable students without the support they deserve and the Minister for Education, Ben Carroll, must commit to reversing this cut today,” she said.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said its focus was on providing evidence-based programs which target services directly to students.

“School Focused Youth Service providers often broker other providers, rather than directly delivering programs to students who need it most,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Young people will fall through the gaps’: Government slammed for axing program helping kids stay in school