Grim findings on youth

By Paul Dunlop
YOUNG people in Pakenham, Beaconsfield and other Cardinia Shire towns are less likely to finish high school, or go to university or TAFE and are more likely to be unemployed than their city counterparts.
The grim findings come from a recently published report prepared by Melbourne’s Interface Councils.
The report, Staying Connected, examines the needs of Melbourne’s outer urban youth, including those in Cardinia Shire, neighbouring City of Casey and six other municipalities.
Eight of the nine Councils featured in the report are among Victoria’s bottom 11 municipalities in terms of educational achievement.
The findings have been met with concern in the community.
Cardinia Shire’s general manager of community wellbeing, Fiona Hodges, said several steps were being taken to counter what was a growing problem.
“Council has been aware of the increasing youth population and the limited number of youth services currently available to assist and support the growth in this community sector,” Ms Hodges said.
“We have endeavoured to respond to the gap in service provision and have taken steps to employ additional youth support officers and create an expanded youth team to meet the growing requirements of this sector,” she said.
“We have also reviewed, and are in the process of revising, our Youth Strategy with input from our youth, youth workers and education workers to reflect the changes and strategies outlined in the Staying Connected report.”
Cardinia and Casey and the other interface councils are calling for $67.6 million in funding for youth services across the nine municipalities over the next four years to fund support and early intervention services for young people on Melbourne’s fringe.
“We hope to receive a proportionate share of the funding applied for in order to meet the needs of this rapidly growing youth sector,” Ms Hodges said.
The report’s recommendations include:
A $10.2 MILLION commitment to youth support and counselling services.
THE establishment of adolescent health teams in all nine municipalities.
STRATEGIES to keep young people in school, including alternative curriculum options and subsidies to cover schooling costs.
A $22.9 MILLION commitment to localyouthspecific mental health services over four years and facilities to house these services.
“The cost of funding youth support services is estimated to be around $1.40 per day per person rising to around $1.50 per person by 2011,” Ms Hodges said.
“Cardinia is continuing to invest in our youth and we will develop strategies to provide youth support services effectively and to meet the specific needs of our community,” Ms Hodges said.
Staying Connected also highlights the impact distance has on young people living in Melbourne’s fringe.
Transport options, and therefore access to inner and middle suburban services, are limited, it says.
The few locally available services are often parttime and fail to meet the increasing demands of rapidly growing communities.