The Youth Coalition of the ACT is the peak youth affairs body in Canberra and is responsible for representing the interests of people aged between 12 and 25 years of age, and those who work with them. Below is a brief overview of some Youth Coalition activities during July and August 2007.

Contents

1. Sector Development
2. Youth Participation and Consultation

The Big Red Book Version 2 - NOW AVAILABLE!

The Big Red Book, the first handbook and directory for people who work with young people in the ACT has been updated. It has been designed for use by a range of professionals who may have contact with young people including youth workers, general practitioners and teachers. In addition to providing service profiles, the Big Red Book also provides strategy-based information for workers, key service contacts and other helpful resources.

Version 2 of the Big Red Book incorporates the following updates:

• All sections have been reviewed and updated;
• Significant changes in the Accommodation sector have been reflected in the Accommodation and Accommodation Support Section;
• A number of service profiles have been added to the Alternative Education Section;
• A number of service profiles have been added to the Family Section;
• A section on Youth Support In Secondary Schools has been included with new service profiles;
• The Counselling section has been rewritten and now incorporates a fact sheet on how to support a young person to access mental health services through the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS);
• The Alcohol and Drug Program and Mental Health ACT have been included in the Key Government Services Sections

To view or download Version 2 of the Big Red Book go to youthcoalition.net/public/Projects/BRB.html

Changes to the Youth Coalition's Ebulletin

Content for the Ebulletin is due by 5pm every Wednesday. The Ebulletin is sent out every Thursday. To submit an item to the Ebulletin email: ebulletin@youthcoalition.net and include EB in the subject header. Please note the Youth Coalition will make every effort to include a submitted item, however we may need to edit or remove items due to space, priority and content considerations. We'd love to get your feedback on the Ebulletin, please drop us a line at ebulletin@youthcoalition.net.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK!

The Consultation with the Youth Sector on the Youth Work Code of Ethics: Implementation Plan 2007 / 2008 is now complete.

In 2004 the youth sector in the ACT agreed to adopt a Youth Work Code of Ethics (ACT) (PDF 177K). The Youth Coalition is committed to supporting the youth sector to implement the Code of Ethics. A draft Youth Work Code of Ethics Implementation Plan (PDF 115K) was circulated to the sector and a final copy will be available in August.

The aim of the plan is to promote and support ethical practice in the youth sector through the voluntary implementation of the Youth Work Code of Ethics in the ACT. If you have any feedback, comments or ideas please don't hesitate to contact: Carrie Fowlie, Deputy Director, Youth Coalition of the ACT: carrie@youthcoalition.net or 6247 3540.

Training and Professional Development Calendar July - September 07: NOW AVAILABLE!

Collect your copies of the calendar from the Youth Coalition Office or download it from www.youthcoalition.net. For more information about this initiative contact Amanda on amanda@youthcoalition.net

The Rack - available at www.youthcoaliton.net

The Rack is a list of current networks and committees for the ACT youth and community sectors. The Rack is available online.

Strategies For Working With Refugee And Migrant Young People

Each week in the Ebulletin we will be profiling a section of the Big Red Book, the first handbook and directory for people who work with young people in the ACT. In addition to providing service profiles, the handbook also provides strategy-based information for workers, key service contacts and other helpful resources.

Young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds make a significant contribution to the cultural richness of the ACT. Almost 14% of young people in the ACT were born overseas and over 6,500 young people in Canberra speak languages other than English at home. These young people can face many barriers including language, social isolation, racism and discrimination and lack of access to a range of services. This can cause multiple disadvantages and can create a vulnerable group within society.

In order to best meet the needs of cultural groups it is essential that workers understand and are responsive to the cultural and linguistic diversity of young people's needs and issues so that services can be appropriate and inclusive.

In this section you will find:

• Some tips for working with refugee and migrant young people;
• Some youth specific multicultural services; and,
• Resources including more information and some dates for your diary.

Remember: All services in this handbook are available to culturally and linguistically diverse young people.

The following sections also contain multicultural resources: Alcohol and Other Drugs, Alternative Education, Art and Recreation, Disability, Health and Sexual Health, Legal, Mental Health, Peak Body, Young Carers, Youth Centres, Youth Support and Youth Support in Secondary Schools.

To view or download the Big Red Book click here.

The Coloured Kit: Look out! The re-print is here!

Empowering young people and their families affected by parental mental illness / dual diagnosis

We can't believe it! In November we launched The Coloured Kit and now it is out of print! We furiously worked with stakeholders to organise another print run. And the next lot is here! You can also check out our website to download a version, click here.

Just in case you haven't heard of The Coloured Kit:

It was developed by young people for young people with a parent with a mental illness / dual diagnosis. It has three sections: the Young People's Section which includes tips about getting support, developing a Care Plan, getting information and keeping in touch with family. There is also a Workers Section, which is a step-by-step guide to using the kit with young people and their families, and a Support Services and Other Resources section.

The Kit is a partnership between the Youth Coalition of the ACT, the peak body for youth affairs, and the Children of Parents with a Mental Illness Project, Mental Health ACT. The reprint was possible with funding from DHCS. Multiple, free copies are available.

Co-Morbidity Bus Tours

The next of the popular Bus Tours of alcohol and other drug, mental health, youth and community agencies in the ACT will be held on Wednesday 11 July and Wednesday 8 August. The tour provides a unique opportunity to meet other professionals and gain insight into the alcohol and other drug, mental health, youth and community agencies in the ACT.

The day begins at 8:15am and ends at approximately 5pm. There is a small fee to cover operating costs, this is $20 for Youth Coalition members, $25 for non-members and $35 for government workers. Registration: Contact Steve on 6247 3540 or steve@youthcoalition.net. Further details Click Here.

Lead up to National Child Protection Week: September 2^nd - 8^th 2007

Child abuse and neglect is one of Australia's greatest social problems. Child friendly communities will help change this, because in child friendly communities children are seen and heard. In child friendly communities, families don't live in isolation and unsupported. We will be highlighting through the Ebulletin some key resources, information, events and dates for your diary. Many of these are also listed in the Big Red Book, accessible here.

Click here to go to the NCPW Website

TALKING PRACTICE WORKSHOP 2:

Youth Work and The Law: Duty of Care

Presented by Judy Harrison, BA LLB (ANU), Barrister & Solicitor ACT & NT, Australian National University and the Youth Law Centre.

The Youth Coalition of the ACT in partnership with the Youth Law Centre would like to invite you to the seminar Youth Work and The Law. This interactive seminar has been specifically designed for youth workers in the ACT and aims to facilitate a forum to discuss youth work practice and the law in the ACT.

In preparing for this great event we are asking for help from youth services by asking them to provide us with questions / scenarios on youth work (not young people) and the law. It would be wonderful if you could contribute to this event by providing some questions, RVSPing and marking the event in your diary.

The Monthly Youth Coalition Forum will be held prior to this workshop from 9 - 11am.

TALKING PRACTICE WORKSHOP 3:

Youth Work and Child Protection: Mandatory Reporting

In the lead up to Child Protection Week 2007 the Youth Coalition is proud to present this initiative. Community based youth workers are not mandated reporters. But what does that mean? How does that look in practice? How is this reflected in our policies and procedures? What is good youth work practice in regards to mandatory reporting? How should we support a young person through the reporting process? Come along to this informative workshop to discuss these complex practice issues.

In preparing for this great event we are asking for help from youth services by asking them to provide us with questions / scenarios on youth work and mandatory reporting. It would be wonderful if you could contribute to this event by providing some questions, RVSPing and marking the event in your diary.

The Monthly Youth Coalition Forum will be held prior to this workshop from 9 - 11am.

TALKING PRACTICE WORKSHOP 4:

Delivering Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Preventing Depression:

Moodgym A Tool for Your Practice

Presented by Alison Neil, Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University

The Youth Coalition of the ACT in partnership with the Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, would like to invite you to the seminar Delivering Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Preventing Depression: Moodgym A Tool for Your Practice. This interactive seminar has been specifically designed for people who work with young people around mental health. It aims to facilitate a discussion on the Moodgym tool, findings from the randomised controlled trial and the clinician's manual.

This event is an initiative of the Family and Adolescent Network (FAN).

A FAN meeting will be held after the seminar from 10.30 am - 11.30 am.

Development Plan for www.makingcontact.net.au

As part of the Youth Centres Network the Making Contact site is under further development. A development plan will be available after the August Youth Centres Network Meeting. For further information contact: Sid Chakrabarti, Policy and Communications Officer, on sid@youthcoalition.net.

NEW PROJECT: The ACT Alcohol and Other Drugs Workers' Project

The Youth Coalition was the successful tenderer for this Project, which is a one-off twelve-month capacity building Project that began on 23 July, 2007 and ends on 30 June 2008. The Project is funded through ACT Health and is guided by the broad policy goals of:

• ACT Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drug Strategy 2004-2008;
• ACT Workforce Development Strategy (to be completed in 2007); and
• Council of Australian Governments Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative;

There are five key areas to the Project, these include:

1. Project Management
2. Secretariat
3. Partnerships
4. Communication
5. Evaluation

For further information contact: Carrie Fowlie, Deputy Director, carrie@youthcoaliton.net.

Meetings

Youth Centres Network

The Youth Centres Network is going strong. A 12 month work plan has been developed and is in the process of being implemented. For further information contact: Steve on steve@youthcoalition.net

Family and Adolescent Network

August and November

The Family and Adolescent Network are also going strong. They too have a 12 month work plan that has been developed and is in the process of being implemented. For further information contact: Amanda on amanda@youthcoalition.net

Youth Coalition Monthly Forum:

July 19^th & August 16^th - 9am - 11am, 46 Clianthus St, O'Connor

On the 3^rd Thursday of every month the Youth Coalition hosts a forum attended by about 35 cross-sector workers. The forum is an excellent opportunity to network, share information and to keep up to date with what your youth affairs peak body is doing for young people and the youth sector. For further information contact: Steve on steve@youthcoalition.net

Inquiries

Youth Coalition submission to the ACTION buses inquiry.

The Youth Coalition recently made a submission to the inquiry on ACTION buses. The Youth Coalition surveyed more than 200 young people in the ACT and Queanbeyan and generally the young people responded as follows:

Frequency of bus services is both the number one concern of young people and the primary factor that, if improved, would increase young people's usage of bus services in the ACT. Services getting to educational institutions are relatively well rated, although this only applies to day time peak services. Many young people indicated that they work on weekends and in the evenings and that bus services in these periods are inadequate. In some cases, young people indicated they chose not to accept or apply for a job purely because they would have no ability to travel to and from work. Further, Australian research on employment indicates that some employers discriminate against young people who have to catch public transport to work because of the fear that they will be unreliable workers.

Traveling by night is the only category in which safety got an average negative rating. Travel on the weekend was perceived to be as bad as night time travel, but due to the frequency of services not safety. Young people indicated that this adversely affected the amount of social, and employment based activities they could undertake.

The survey is now closed and the Apple Video iPod winner was Jenny Whatman, a 19 year old CIT photography student from Belconnen. The full submission is available here or on the Standing Committee on Planning and Environment Website and the detailed results of the survey can be found here. For more information contact Sid Chakrabarti at sid@youthcoalition.net.

Partnerships

Queer Directory: Young People's Working Group

This initiative is a partnership between the Youth Coalition, SCOPE Youth Services and AIDS Action Council. We are providing mentoring, resources and facilities to support the development of a Queer Directory for young people in the ACT. For further information contact carrie@youthcoalition.net

ANU Law Students for Social Justice

We are in the process of finalising a partnership with the ANU Law Students for Social Justice. For more information or to get involved contact Amanda@youthcoalition.net.

Youth Week Advisory Group

The Youth Week Advisory Group was been set up to give advice on activities and a draft Youth Week Program for 2007. It was a great success that we are in the process of planning for 2008. For more information contact Meredith on meredith@youthcoalition.net.

Policy, Advocacy and Representation

Youth Coalition Policy Spotlight: Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a significant issue for both young people and for the broader community. More Australians have been exposed to the Hepatitis C than any other notifiable disease over the past decade. Young people are significantly over-represented in Hepatitis C incidence and prevalence with the highest rates of infections occurring among people aged between 15 - 29 years of age. The prevalence of Hepatitis C infection among young people who inject drugs has doubled in recent years - from 22% in 1997 to 41% in 2001 - a rise twice that of the rate of increase among injectors overall. Prison populations also have high rates of Hepatitis C infection and while it is often difficult to assess the rate of infection for prison populations, it is believed that approximately one third of male prisoners and two thirds of female prisoners have Hepatitis C. A harm minimisation approach is effective, best practice and central to preventing the further transmission of Hepatitis C and the Youth Coalition strongly urges all Government and non-government programs to adopt this approach to reduce rates of Hepatitis C.

Each week we will be profiling a section of the Youth Coalition's Policy Platform, find it at: www.youthcoalition.net/public/Policy/positions.html. For further information contact Luke Bo'sher, Policy Officer, on luke@youthcoalition.net or 6247 3540.

Youth Services Program

The Youth Coalition worked with the YSP regarding contracts and the evaluation. For further information about what is happening in the YSP Planning Group contact carrie@youthcoalition.net.

Representation

Representation is an important part of the Youth Coalition's work and allows us to work at a hands on level with policy objectives. Our representational activities are facilitated though membership on a variety of boards, committees and working groups that oversee matters concerning young people. Through our participation on these boards, committees and working groups, we are able to develop constructive relationships with key stakeholders including those from government, non-government, corporate and political spheres.

The boards, committees and working groups that the Youth Coalition has been represented on in 2005-06 include:

• ACT Crime Prevention Working Group
• ACT Homelessness Committee (ACTHC)
• ACT Peaks Forum
• ACTCOSS General Committee
• Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Strategy Implementation and Evaluation Group
• Anti-Poverty Week Planning Committee
• Australian Hepatitis Council Project Reference Group
• Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
• Centrelink Advisory Committee
• Chairs of ACT Government Councils and Advisory Committees
• Children of Parents with a Mental Illness Network
• Children of Parents with a Mental Illness Steering Committee
• Coalition of Alcohol and Drug Agencies ACT
• Community Coalition on Corrections
• Crime Prevention Committee
• Family Support and Parenting Network
• Youth Law Centre
• Co-ordinating Group Graffiti Management Steering Committee
• Housing as a Human Right Project Steering Committee
• Human Rights Forum
• Institute for Child Protection Studies
• Joint Community Government Reference Group, Chair
• Journey of Healing Network
• Multicultural Youth Forum National Multicultural Youth Issues Network (NMYIN)
• National Youth Advocates Network
• National Youth Coalition for Housing
• Restorative Justice Reference Group
• SAAP Forum
• Social Health Inequalities Meeting
• Strengthening Families Steering Committee, ACT Health
• TurnAround Management Committee and Review & Assessment Panel
• Vardon Co-Convenors Group
• Vardon Implementation Group (Sector Development)
• Vardon Implementation Group (Youth Participation)
• Vardon Report Implementation Group (Early intervention and Prevention)
• Women's Centre for Health Matters
• YARDS Steering Committee
• Youth Affairs Councils
• Youth Homelessness Working Group
• Youth Policy Group
• Youth Services Program Planning Group
• Youth Sustainability Coalition
• YSAAP Forum
• YSP Planning Group

If you have any questions or would like to discuss some our representational work don't hesitate to contact Meredith Hunter, Director, meredith@youthcoalition.net or Luke Bo'sher, Policy Officer, luke@youthcoalition.net.

Inquiries, Reviews and Budgets Updated!

We have just updated the inquiries and reviews page, and the budget submissions and analysis page. If you have any comments or feedback email Sid at sid@youthcoalition.net.

Review of the Mental Health Act

We lodged a short submission that highlighted issues relating to young people we believe need to be addressed regarding the Review of the Mental Health Act. We are also a member of the Committee overseeing the review process. For more information contact Meredith Hunter, meredith@youthcoalition.net.