Queensland Youth Services (QYS) is a community based organisation that was established in 1978, operating in the Townsville region. QYS is the largest agency operating in the Townville area with a specific focus on youth. QYS offers a wide range of services and programs to young people between the ages of 12 and 25. While QYS is a not for profit, non-government organisation, many of the programs offered by the agency are funded by the State and Federal Governments. QYS relies on close partnerships with government departments and non-government partners, in addition to corporate sponsors to enable them to deliver the programs and services offered by the organisation. As well as youth making direct contact …show more content…
This reduction in offending was found to be higher in males than females, although females still showed that education produced a positive effect in reducing offending. The programs offered by QYS empower youth by offering the tools for them to create positive changes for their future. The Gr8 eXpectations Ready for Work Program is targeted at youth who have been identified as having significant barriers to learning and gaining employment. This program provides practical skills to 15 to 24 year olds by providing practical skills to enable youth to successfully find employment. Often youth have dropped out of school for a variety of personal reasons and may have a low level of literacy and numeracy. In the Townsville region, the 2010 Census data reports that 2,716 young people between the ages of 13 and 17 were not enrolled in secondary education (qys.org.au, 2016). Across the Townsville region, this equates to an average disengagement of 14.5%. Research has shown that young people who are not attending school are at increased risk of becoming involved in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2002). These young people are not gaining education through traditional schooling, which creates future disadvantage in terms of finding employment. The Gr8 eXpectations Ready …show more content…
This service is funded by the Queensland Government, Department of Communities and is aimed at reducing homelessness in young people aged between 12 and 21 years. The affected youth may be transitioning from child protection orders, homeless or currently living in inadequate housing, or reintegrating back into the community after they have been released from serving a custodial sentence (qys.org.au, 2016). A young person with a history of offending is at an increased risk of being homeless, and as a domino effect, being homeless can increase the risk of the youth reoffending (Sandstrom & Cornell-March, 2008). A South Australian study found that 53% of youth released from detention faced housing issues within six months of their release, and 65% of those youth reoffended within the same time frame. Once a young person has become homeless, the risk of them having contact with juvenile justice system is increased (Sandstrom & Cornell-March, 2008). This again highlights the importance of services such as those offered by QYS to reduce homelessness and effectively work towards reducing youth offending. If targeted interventions are not available, the risk increases for young people to become trapped in a homeless-offending