Considering individual circumstances of young people in detention

When your child is in a youth detention centre, there are decisions that need to be made. When they are made, your child’s individual circumstances are considered.

Decisions to be made

The decisions about your child may include:

• what support they need and how we provide it
• how to help them follow the behaviour expectations in the centre
• where they will stay in the centre
• what programs they will do
• how to help them make better choices
• how to help them be and stay connected with their family, friends, community and culture.

We also work together with your child, their youth justice service centre caseworker and others to decide:

• what activities they will do to help them when they return to their community
• how they will be supported back in their community
• what community agencies will help them.

Circumstances we consider

There are many things we consider when making decisions.

For example, we consider their personal circumstances. This means we think about things like:

• their age and maturity
• their culture
• their gender identity, including gender diversity
• if they identify as LGBTIQASB+
• if they have physical or mental health issues, a disability, delay or disorder
• if they have experienced trauma, abuse, neglect or any other stress-related events
• safety and security risks.

We consider your child’s personal circumstances because it is the best way for us to understand what they need as an individual. This can help them grow, learn and make better choices.

Examples

These are examples of how we consider a young person’s individual circumstances.

Example 1:

For a girl who is an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, we would:

• connect her with our cultural staff, who will help support her culture
• ask our cultural staff to help other staff who work with her, so they understand her culture
• include her in Elder’s visits at the centre
• support her if she has Sorry Business or Sad News
• engage her in programs, such as
  • women’s business programs
  • other programs designed for young women.

Example 2:

For a child who has a language development disorder, we would:

• connect them with the centre’s speech and language pathologist, who will help support their language and behaviour skills
• ask the centre’s speech and language pathologist to help other staff—who work with your child—understand your child’s disorder and the best ways to communicate with them
• connect your child with the school’s speech and language pathologist
• give your child written material that has been modified to make it easier for them to understand
• consider their disorder when helping them understand the centre’s behaviour expectations ,  and help them meet the expectations.

More information

Learn more about how we make decisions, deliver services and support young people in youth detention in our philosophy of youth detention.