Di Farmer announces new $55m funding to reintegrate youth criminals back into state schools

As part of a broader $55m initiative, young offenders are set to be eased back into mainstream classrooms in youth crime capitals like Cairns, Townsville, Mt Isa and Ipswich.

Separate learning areas will be set up for youth criminals in Queensland’s most vulnerable regions in a desperate bid to gradually reintegrate them back into mainstream classrooms.

A chunk of state funding has been released to create dedicated off-campus spaces, run by non-government organisations, to take youth criminals and gradually bring them back to a level where they can return to a mainstream school, find work, or go onto a tertiary course.

Education Minister Di Farmer announced on Friday $27m for specialised learning programs for students who have been in the youth justice system, as well as a further $29.1m for improving attendance rates for First Nations students.

The state government is opening up tenders as of May 31 to not-for-profit non-government organisations to establish alternate learning spaces to meet the needs of youth criminals and help them transition back into schooling in Cairns, Townsville, Mt Isa and Ipswich.

Queensland Education Minister Di Farmer has today announced new measures to help address youth crime. Picture: Dan Peled

The new learning areas will be physically separate from mainstream schools, but be linked and integrated into the broader state school system. The program will not allow a youth offender back onto a state school campus until they are deemed stable and ready to do so.

The program will target 10–13 year-olds needing foundational skills; and 14–16 year-olds looking to transition into vocational training and pathways.

Professor Susan Dennison, from Griffith University’s Criminology Institute, said children who have been involved in the youth justice system often have multiple complex needs.

“They generally can’t be addressed with one-off interventions, they’re typically there because of domestic and family violence, past trauma, contact with the child protection system, mental health issues, early substance misuse, neurodiversity, and homelessness” she said.

“A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work, we need individual tailored approaches that are flexible, focus on skill development, behaviour control, and even basics such as health or homeless needs to create that safe and stable foundation.”

Group of youth roaming the streets in Mount Isa. Picture: Liam Kidston

Professor Dennison said establishing these supports in the young people’s local communities was also crucial.

“We also know young people in the youth justice system have root causes linked to entrenched disadvantages for them and their families,” she said.

“So we need to also bring their families into the process and refer their families to other services and supports, creating that individual and intergenerational change.”

Meanwhile, the $29.1m First Nations attendance package aims to expand in-school mentoring, intensive case management, and linking students and their families with other agencies for specialist services and support.

The state government will open community tenders on May 29 for expanding attendance and engagement programs at Cherbourg State School, Murgon State High School and Beaudesert State High School.

Logan Crime Reduction Unit targeting youth offenders in property crime blitz. Picture Queensland Police Service

Cherbourg State School principal Boyd McLean said his school and Murgon SHS had independently partnered with the Clontarf Foundation, a not-for-profit helping with the education and employment of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, for the past year and were excited to receive funding for a similar support program for local girls.

“The attendance at our school has gone up by 10 per cent, and our academic results have improved significantly as well,” he said.

“Clontarf collects the kids in a bus, feed them, make sure they start the day strong and have them ready to go, then they also provide support and mentoring throughout the day.

“The students here are engaged in school, the parents are also involved in the learning process, so we have really solid wraparound support.

“We have seen really strong value in the Clontarf Foundation for our boys, so to now be able to create a unique girls program too will be brilliant, we need our girls to start thinking about what is beyond school.”

Education Minister Di Farmer said both sets of funding are part the state government’s broader $288 million Youth Engagement Education Reform package.

“It’s very important that we find the right organisations to provide these critical services – reconnecting young people involved in the youth justice system with learning is challenging and requires a specialist approach,” she said.

“It’s essential to increase young people’s engagement in education and training, including, wherever possible, re-engagement in a conventional school environment, but also to connect them to community and participate in society, and to reduce the incidence of further offending.

“We have also listened to elders, First Nations students and school communities who said they needed additional support so students can transition from primary to secondary schools and eventually to work, training and further education.”

Originally published as Di Farmer announces new $55m funding to reintegrate youth criminals back into state schools