Insights from Participant Observation and Facilitator Perspectives Of The Youth Partnership Project – 2018

Miss Keneasha Lindsay1

1Higher Degree Research Student, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

Within government, youth justice is traditionally seen as an issue for the department responsible for justice or corrective services.  However, the range of risk factors which can lead to offending behaviour in young people is rarely the mandate of this same agency. Therefore, inter-departmental collaboration is essential to prevent youth crime.

This presentation will reflect on the West Australian Department of Communities’ engagement in the Youth Partnership Project, with a focus on how the purposeful inclusion of strategies for systems coordination enable a cross-sector of partners to move beyond individual programs with isolated impact, to a collective approach with a common goal of preventing youth offending.  We will also explore how Government departments with a traditional focus on statutory services, have an important role to play in helping facilitate early intervention in order to be more responsive to the spectrum of needs in the community.


Biography:

Keneasha Lindsay is a Bardi woman who works as a Student Success Officer in Kurongkurl Katitjin at Edith Cowan University. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Forensic Biology & Toxicology and is currently finishing her Master’s at Murdoch University. Her research interest is centred on early intervention and preventing youth from become involved in the tertiary service system. Her thesis focuses on evaluating the Youth Partnership Project’s Intensive Engagement Program, from a criminological point of view.