School Focused Youth Service · The SFYS program links with Youth Partnerships, Student Support Services, Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) and local government area

School Focused Youth Service

School FocusedYouth ServiceProgram Guidelines 2012-2013


Published by the Communications Division for Service Development Division Department of Education and Early Childhood DevelopmentMelbourneMay 2012

© State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) 2012

The copyright in this document is owned by the State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), or in the case of some materials, by third parties (third party materials). No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, the National Education Access Licence for Schools (NEALS) (see below) or with permission.

An educational institution situated in Australia which is not conducted for profit, or a body responsible for administering such an institution, may copy and communicate the materials,

other than third party materials, for the educational purposes of the institution.

Authorised by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002.

Also published on: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/healthwellbeing/wellbeing/sfyouthservices/default.htmchildren.vic.gov.au/ys/library/publications/sfys_program_guidelines

School Focused Youth Service1

Contents

Part A: background

1. Introduction 2

2. Policy Context 2

3. Partnership Approach 3

Part B: guidance

4. Evidence-based Strategies 4

5. Governance 4

6. Service Boundaries 4

7. Regional Strategic Planning 5

8. Target Group 5

9. Brokerage 5

10. Accountability and Reporting 6

Appendix: Links to Other Resources 7

References 9


Part A: Background

2

1. Introduction

Adolescence is a time of great change. Young people experience significant physical, social and emotional development and are confronted with many issues.

Most young people transition through their adolescence well. However a range of risks factors can lead to a young person becoming vulnerable and at risk of poor learning, development, health and wellbeing outcomes.

School Focused Youth Service Program

The School Focused Youth Service (SFYS) program strengthens the support for 10–18-year-old vulnerable children and young people by facilitating partnerships and coordination of services between schools and community organisations at a local level.

Objectives of the SFYS ProgramThe objectives of the SFYS program are:

•Thedevelopmentandstrengthening

of partnerships between schools and

community organisations to support

vulnerable children and young people.

•Thedevelopmentofstrategies

including coordination of services

and development of innovative local

projects to address the identified

needs of vulnerable children and

young people. Brokerage funds may be

provided to support projects.

Improved collaboration is expected to result in:

•improvedlocal planning

•better connected schools and

community organisations that can

better support vulnerable children and

young people who require prevention

and early intervention strategies to

assist their learning, development,

health and wellbeing.

Vulnerability is difficult to measure and describe because it often results from a combination of factors affecting a child, their family and their environment. Vulnerability is not static as children and their families can be more or less vulnerable at different times and as different life events occur. However, there are specific factors that can accumulate and make a child more vulnerable… [Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Report, p.31].

Many factors impact on a child or young person’s engagement in school and general wellbeing. Clear warning signs include poor school attendance, contact with police, difficulty with peers and experimental alcohol or drug use, and family breakdown.

The earlier risk factors are identified and addressed, the more effective the intervention and less likely they are to escalate, for instance from low level truancy and family conflict to disengagement from school and family.

The SFYS program is inclusive of all school sectors: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD), the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, and Independent Schools Victoria.

2. Policy Context

2011 Victorian Families StatementThe 2011 Victorian Families Statement highlights the importance of families and the Government’s role in helping families to achieve their aspirations. The Statement also emphasises that Victorians should have access to services and opportunities wherever they live.

Victoria as a Learning CommunityIn November 2011, Minister for Education, the Hon. Martin Dixon, MP gave a speech entitled Victoria as a Learning Community outlining the Government’s vision for school education reform in Victoria. He spoke about the principles that guide the Government’s vision: choice, local decision-making and school-community integration. In Victoria as a Learning Community, Minister Dixon also highlighted the importance of school partnerships.

Engage, Involve, CreateIn April 2012, the Victorian Government launched the Engage, Involve, Create Youth Statement. It outlines the Government’s vision that all young Victorians experience healthy, active and fulfilling lives and have the opportunity to:

•beengagedineducationand/or

employment

•beinvolvedintheircommunitiesand

decisions that affect them

•createchange,enterpriseandculture.

The Statement also emphasises the need for services that meet the needs of young people, and the importance of working in partnership with young people, families, the community sector, business, and philanthropic organisations to achieve the best outcomes for young people.

A consistent theme in recent government policies has been the focus on collaboration between community, government, non-government and business to develop locally tailored solutions to meet identified needs. The SFYS program is consistent with this direction as it aims to provide a coordinated response for vulnerable young people between 10 and 18 years of age.


Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children InquiryProtecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry investigated systemic problems in Victoria’s child protection system and made recommendations to strengthen the protection and support of vulnerable children and young people. The Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry Report was tabled in Parliament in February 2012. It listed 90 recommendations including the need for a whole-of-government Vulnerable Children and Families Strategy.

In May 2012, Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility Directions Paper was released outlining the Victorian Government’s response to the Inquiry’s recommendations. It emphasises the need to work together to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families, and identifies actions areas such as

•buildingeffectiveandconnected

services

•enhancingeducationandbuilding

capacity

•introducingaccountabilityand

transparency.

It is anticipated that a Vulnerable Children and Families Strategy will be released in 2013.

These policy documents provide a context for the work of the SFYS program, and highlight the importance of partnerships in supporting children, young people and their families to improve their learning, development, and health and wellbeing outcomes.

Links to other networksThe SFYS program links with Youth Partnerships, Student Support Services, Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) and local government area youth services planning.

To maximise the effectiveness of the SFYS program, it must fit strategically within the range of education, youth, community, health and local government services currently available.

3. Partnership ApproachThe SFYS partnership approach strengthens the capacity of schools and community organisations to collaborate, develop and coordinate prevention and early intervention strategies as part of a service continuum for vulnerable children and young people.

Schools and community organisations derive many benefits from forming partnerships, including the ability to develop collaborative responses to supporting vulnerable children and young people.

Effective education partnerships Effective education partnerships:

•haveclearlydefined,mutualgoals

•havegoalsandactionsthatare

supported by evidence

•arethoroughlyandstrategicallyplanned

•haveclearlydef ined roles and

responsibilities

•areanintegralpartofboththeschooland organisation’s culture

•encouragecollaboration,consultationand shared decision-making

•havestrongleadership

•areequitableandsustainable

•haveasoundevaluationprocess,and

•areabletorespondtochange.

Partnerships between schools and community organisationsPartnerships between schools and community organisations are integral to the effectiveness of the SFYS program.

There are many benefits including:

•Buildingpartnershipsbetween

schools and community organisations

facilitates collaboration and the

coordination of support for vulnerable

children and young people.

•Facilitatingservicelinkageswith

schools increases the capacity of

schools and community organisations

to work more effectively.

•Buildingthecapacityoflocalschools,

community organisations and planning

networks enables them to better meet

the needs of young people.

•Identifyingemergingissuesandservice

gaps enables the development of collaborative strategies to address the identified needs of vulnerable children and young people. Schools and community organisations can consider purchasing services to meet those gaps if they cannot be filled by current resources.

School Focused Youth Service 4

4. Evidence-based StrategiesDEECD is committed to adopting evidence-based strategies and innovative practices to improve the outcomes for children and young people. Funding decisions should be based on solid quantitative and qualitative data, contain measurable outcomes and be rigorously evaluated.

5. GovernanceDEECD Regional Offices

DEECD regional offices are responsible for overseeing the delivery of the SFYS program in regions and for supporting and monitoring funded agencies to ensure they meet the program requirements.

Statewide Advisory Group

The SFYS Statewide Advisory Group provides advice as required to support program and policy development.

Regional Advisory Group

Regions are encouraged to convene a Regional Advisory Group (RAG) to provide high-level strategic planning and support the work of the Local Advisory Groups (LAGs).

Representation should comprise, at minimum:

•educationservices

•localgovernment

•healthservices

•familysupportservices

•youthservices

•otherrepresentativesidentifedat

regional level.

Additional partners may include representatives from organisations and programs such as Victoria Police, Secondary School Nursing program, specialist youth services and Department of Human Services.

In regions where it is not practical to have a RAG, an alternative planning structure (e.g. a LAG) can support a coordinated and high-level strategic planning approach.

Local Advisory Group

The LAG has responsibility for guiding and supporting the planning and development of innovative strategies addressing identified local needs, including:

•identifyingemergingissuesandservice

gaps at a local level

•planningatalocallevel(informed

by and informing regional strategic

planning)

•monitoringandevaluatingthe

effectiveness of strategies at a local

level

•makingdecisionsaboutbrokerage

allocation.

Funded agencies

The funded agency is responsible for the delivery of the SFYS program within a defined catchment. This includes the employment and support of a SFYS coordinator.

The funded agency is responsible for maintaining a LAG and supporting regional planning processes.

SFYS coordinators

It is expected that SFYS coordinators work in a full-time capacity to:

•facilitatepartnershipsbetweenschools

and community organisations

•assistschoolsandcommunity

organisations to develop projects that

address identified local needs and have

the capacity to become sustainable

(projects may or may not require

brokerage funding)

•provideinformationandresourcesas

required.

6. Service BoundariesKey factors that may influence the boundaries of SFYS catchments include:

•localschoolnetworks

•presence of other service and planning

networks e.g. Youth Partnerships

demonstration sites, Primary Care

Partnerships, LLENs, Regional Youth

Affairs Networks (RYANs), Child FIRST,

etc.

•localgovernmentareas

•numberofschoolsandstudent

populations within each catchment

•presenceofhigh-needslocalitiesand

populations

•geographicalareaanddistance

between schools and community

organisations

•presenceofgrowthcorridorswith

developing populations and few or

remote services.

Part B: Guidance


7. Regional Strategic PlanningThe development of a regional strategic plan should drive the work of the SFYS program within the region. Ideally, the document should be developed by the RAG, be informed by LAGs and complement existing regional plans.

The regional strategic plan should be informed by local data including SFYS regional data reports and DEECD Adolescent Community Profiles to assist targeting of service delivery.

Regional DEECD staff will be responsible for overseeing and monitoring quarterly reporting processes and using program data to monitor the implementation of the strategic plan.

8. Target GroupThe SFYS program targets young people aged between 10–18 years, with a focus on 10–16 year olds. Prevention and early intervention strategies targeting these young people reduce risk factors and increase protective factors, to enhance the likelihood of better learning, development, health and wellbeing outcomes.

The target group of young people are considered vulnerable to one or more risk factors such as:

•violence

•offending

•depressivemoodanddepressive

disorders

•self-harm

•substanceabuse

•socialandgeographicalisolation

•sexualityandsexualbehaviour

•earlyschoolleavingandschoolfailure

•physicalorpsychologicaldisabilities

•socioeconomicdisadvantage

•familyproblems

•youngpeopleexperiencingdifficulties

from Indigenous and Culturally and

Linguistically Diverse communities.

9. BrokerageBrokerage funds are to be used to address identified local needs.

Decisions about the allocation of brokerage funds are made by LAGs. LAGs can only approve the allocation of funding to projects which meet the brokerage funding criteria listed in the program guidelines.

Brokerage Funding Criteria Brokerage funding criteria are:

Applications for brokerage funding should meet the following criteria:

•beofdirectbenefttovulnerable young

people

•align with the priorities of the LAG and

RAG

•havedefinedcommencementand

completion dates (additional funding is

not available)

•offeropportunitiesforsustainability

beyond the initial funding, particularly

of partnerships with local community

organisations

•beevidence-basedbestpractice,which

is innovative and offers opportunities for

broad application

•includetwoormorepartners

•offervalueformoney


Brokerage dollars should not be used for:

•projectswhichduplicateexisting

initiatives, eg. cybersafety projects in

government schools

•thepurchaseofservicesfortheindirect

benefit of young people (for example,

the professional development of SFYS

staff, teachers, agency personnel or

other stakeholders)

•thepurchaseofagencyinfrastructure

(for example, computers, cars or office

equipment)

•fundingschoolstoworktogether

without a community partner

•feeforserviceprojectsfromprivate

business providers, unless they are

sustainable or there is no appropriate

community option.

Individual brokerage applications are discouraged.

SFYS service providers need to ensure all individuals working directly with children and young people as part of a SFYS project have valid Working with Children Checks. Applicants should be informed of this requirement at information sessions and the details included on application forms.

For further information see: http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/workingwithchildren/

Additional Criteria for Projects over $15,000

For projects over $15,000, three additional criteria apply:

•howtheprojectfitswithinregional

priorities and needs

•sustainabilityoftheproject

•consultationwiththerelevant

regional manager (prior to the project

applications being presented to the

LAG).

10. Accountability and ReportingFunded agencies should utilise a range of data to inform service delivery planning and enhance accountability.

Funded agencies are subject to the terms and conditions of their service agreement. They are accountable for their funding, and are required to submit quarterly service delivery data to DEECD. Intended outcomes of projects should link to the Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System.


Adolescent Community ProfilesAdolescent community profiles draw on data compiled through the Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System. They profile local level information on the learning, development, safety and wellbeing of young people aged 10 to 17.

For further information see:http//www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/children/vcams/adolescent_community_profiles.htm

Child FIRSTChild FIRST (Child and Family Information Referral and Support Teams) provide a community-based referral point into Family Services.

For further information see: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about–the–department/documents–and–resources/reports–publications/child–first–information

DataZoneDataZone contains data to assist planning. It can be accessed by DEECD staff at: https://portal.eduweb.vic.gov.au/datazone/pages/default.aspx.

Education Partnerships ResourceThe Education Partnerships Resource provides checklists, case studies and resources to help schools form partnerships.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/partnerships/resource/default.htm

Evidence-based Interventions Examples of evidence-based interventions for adolescents are available at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/healthwellbeing/childyouth/catalogue/default.htm

Local Learning and Employment NetworksLLENs help improve education, training and employment options for young people aged 10–19, especially young people at risk of making poor transitions from compulsory schooling to the next stage of their lives.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/senseyouth/llennetworks.htm

Regional Youth Affairs NetworksRYANs bring together community members, youth service providers, young people and all levels of government with an interest in improving the lives of young Victorians.

For further information see:http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/plans,-programs-and-projects/plans-and-strategies/youth-specific/regional-youth-affairs-networks

SFYS WebsiteAn overview of the SFYS program is available at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/healthwellbeing/wellbeing/sfyouthservices/default.htm

AppendixLinks to Other Resources


Smarter Schools National PartnershipsThe Council of Australian Governments has agreed to work together on the Smarter Schools National Partnerships (NPs) that aim to improve the quality of Australian schooling and student outcomes. There are three NPs focusing on literacy and numeracy, low socio-economic status school communities and improving teacher quality.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/nationalpartnerships/smarterschools/default.htm

Student EngagementEffective Schools are Engaging Schools: Student Engagement Policy Guidelines is available at:http://www.education.vic.gov.au/healthwellbeing/respectfulsafe/ default.htm

Student Mapping ToolThe Student Mapping Tool is used by many government schools to inform planning.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/sensecyouth/careertrans/smt

Student Support ServicesStudent Support Services assist children and young people to achieve their education and development potential through the provision of specialised support in government schools.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/healthwellbeing/support/ssso.htm

Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring SystemThe Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System is the comprehensive monitoring system that enables

measurement and reporting against 35 outcomes for Victorian children and young people.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/researchinnovation/vcams/

Youth PartnershipsYouth Partnerships is a Victorian Government initiative that will design and test new ways for services to work together more collaboratively to support vulnerable young people aged 10 -18 years. Seven demonstration sites have been established to trial new approaches. The initiative is due for completion in June 2013.

For further information see: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/sensecyouth/youthpartnerships/default.htm


Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2011 Victorian Families Statement – Starting the discussion on what matters to families. Victorian Government, Melbourne – http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/images/stories/documents/mediareleases/2011/Families-Statement-pdf-document.pdf

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2011, Victoria as a Learning Community, Victorian Government, Melbourne – http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/commrel/about/learningcommuityspeech29NOV.pdf

Cummins, P., Scott, D., & Scales, B., 2012, Report of the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Inquiry, Melbourne – http://www.childprotectioninquiry.vic.gov.au/report-pvvc-inquiry.html

Victorian Government, 2012, Victoria’s Vulnerable Children – Our Shared Responsibility Directions Paper, Victorian Government, Melbourne – http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/news-and-events/news/general-news/victorias-vulnerable-children--our-shared-responsibility

Victorian Government, 2012, Engage, Involve, Create - Youth Statement, Victorian Government, Melbourne – http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/digitalAssets/82871_Engage_Involve_Create_Victorian_Government_Youth_Statement_2012.pdf

References


Documents

School Focused Youth Service · The SFYS program links with Youth Partnerships, Student Support Services, Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs) and local government area