Discover what's happening around Jesuit Social Services. No Images? Click here On September 13, we held our 4th National Justice Symposium, focusing on the emerging adults in the criminal justice system. The number of prisoners younger than 25 in the adult system is growing, and recidivism rates for young adults aged 18 to 24 released from prison are significantly higher than for other age groups. Of course, crucial to addressing the churn of emerging adults in the justice system is the need to intervene with children and young people who are in trouble. Raising the age of criminal responsibility was one of the important issues on the agenda throughout the day. Keynote speakers Vincent Schiraldi (Columbia School of Social Work, NYC - pictured) and Leigh Marsh (High Impact Innovation Programme, NZ) presented on international approaches to supporting emerging adults who have contact with the justice system, and The Hon Ben Carroll MP (Minister for Crime Prevention, Corrections, Youth Justice and Victim Support) spoke about the Victorian Government's investment into crime prevention and pathways to employment. If you were unable to join us for the Symposium, you can view some of the materials from the event here: https://jss.org.au/justice-symposium/ #JusticeSolutions New Zealand tour report releasedIn 2019, senior leaders from Jesuit Social Services embarked on a study trip to New Zealand to learn more about innovative approaches to dealing with adults and young people who have contact with the criminal justice system. This #JusticeSolutions tour followed a similar tour to parts of the US and Europe in 2017. The New Zealand justice system faces similar challenges to Australia’s justice system – a high incarceration rate despite a drop in the rate of offending and a significant over-representation of indigenous people in the justice system. There are, however, pockets of success and innovation that could help inform us here in Australia. These include: political will and leadership; an appetite for innovation; the strong connection to culture; a commitment to a restorative justice approach to offending; and the acknowledgement of the importance of relationship and connection for all people. So it’s now time for a reset in Australia. Through this report, we set out some of our key observations from New Zealand and look at ideas that might be helpful here. Read the report here: https://jss.org.au/justicesolutions-new-zealand-tour/ Helping Fletcher move towards successBefore engaging with our JVEN program, Fletcher was struggling to find suitable employment, which was impacting on his self-confidence. Discover how finding stable employment with Metro Trains has helped him develop a positive outlook on his future. New partnership connecting talent with opportunityJesuit Social Services has recently partnered with Melbourne Water to deliver their Pathways Program, which aims to address the challenges faced by Chris and many other skilled people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, who struggle to break into the Australian workforce. “We’re taking boys and men, many have been involved in violent crimes, and we’re putting them into an environment that does very little to turn around that behaviour. In fact it probably reinforces it.” Our CEO Julie Edwards and Vincent Schiraldi, keynote speaker at our National Justice Symopsium, spoke to The Age about the evidence-based reform we want to see in Victoria. Read the story here. We have welcomed the Victorian Ombudsman’s investigation into the isolation and solitary confinement of young people in the Victorian justice system, telling The Age that the state Government must implement the report’s recommendations in full. Read our media release here and The Age article here. |