The Hodgman Liberal Government is very pleased to announce Life Without Barriers as the successful tenderer for the three year, $1.5 million ‘Back on Track’ young offenders program.
The Liberal Government is committed to implementing an effective suite of programs to divert young people from the criminal justice and prison system.
Life Without Barriers has been providing home and community services in Tasmania for the past nine years. They also have extensive experience around the country with people involved in the youth justice system.
Their application to run a best-practice intervention program leading young offenders away from crime was selected as the strongest of four bids, all Tasmanian applications.
‘Back on Track’ is a program aimed at moderate to high risk young adult offender’s aged between 18 and 25 years who are new to the adult justice system.
The program will include intensive and tailored case management intervention, as well as referral into programs and services that will improve skills, opportunities for employment and address the personal triggers that lead to offending.
It is anticipated that approximately 20 participants will be engaged at any time, with five in both the North and North-West of the state and 10 in the South of the state.
As a result of this targeted and intensive intervention, it is expected that some young adults will be diverted away from the criminal justice and prison systems.
The benefits of this are significant in breaking cycles of reoffending and contributing more broadly to positive community engagement and safety.
An evaluation of the previous iteration of a young offenders program, U-Turn, found that there were a number of concerns with the operation of the program, including mixing youth and adult offenders.
The Back on Track model was developed with extensive input by stakeholders and work by the Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies at the University of Tasmania.
Life Without Barriers is a national not-for-profit organisation that delivers services for children, young people, and adults involved with the youth justice system, as well as in the areas of mental health, family support and disability services.