CMY welcomes investment in youth justice early intervention and mentoring
The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) welcomes the Victorian Government’s announcement of new investment in Youth Justice early intervention approaches, with the establishment of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and funding to continue our family centred, lived experience mentoring project.
CMY has long been advocating for evidence-led, health-based measures which are part of a whole-of-system approach to early intervention crime prevention. The Government’s initial $19.8 million investment to establish the VRU, coupled with a further $7.7 million investment in a youth mentoring program, are important steps in the right direction.
However, after voicing our concerns last week around the announcement of proposed adult sentences for children, it is clear there is still significant work to be done engaging with the sector, communities and young people to build evidence-informed solutions that address systems issues and the drivers of youth offending.
We urge the Government to work closely with the sector, young people, mentors and communities, whose knowledge and experience will be vital in shaping the priorities of the VRU to drive long-term systems change. Key principles of the VRU outlined by the Government include ‘taking a preventative and public health approach to address the root causes of violence’ as well as ‘coordinating across Government and local services so crime prevention works better, with fewer gaps.’
CMY is grateful for the support of the Government and the Youth Justice Commissioner and interim CEO of the new Unit, Andrea Davidson, who was instrumental in backing the initial pilot of CMY’s family centred Lived Experience Mentoring Project.
We look forward to working with the Government to build on the success of this pilot alongside our sector partners also working in this space – ensuring the needs and interests of multicultural young people inform any proposed solution.