Overview
Our purpose
Background

Overview

The Youth Drug and Alcohol Court (YDAC) in NSW is an innovative pilot program within the criminal justice system. Rather than offenders being processed through the justice system, they are offered an opportunity to participate in an intensive program of rehabilitation BEFORE being sentenced. In a six month program participants undergo detoxification and rehabilitation, attend educational and vocational courses, and appear regularly throughout that period before the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court.

Evaluations to date indicate that this is a novel program which is having success with the very “hard end” of juvenile offending and offenders. More>>

Our purpose

The YDAC aims to rehabilitate young offenders with alcohol and or drug problems. It seeks to address not only the legal factors, but the holistic and systemic health and welfare issues which have affected the young person's ongoing substance misuse and associated offending. The YDAC program is an integrated and collaborative initiative, which brings together the elements of the juvenile criminal justice system with various government and non-government adolescent service providers.

To read how we have helped young people, click here.

Background

The NSW Youth Drug and Alcohol Court is an initiative that developed out of the 1999 NSW Drug Summit. It has been trialed in Western Sydney since July 2000 and is expanding to central and eastern Sydney. The Youth Drug and Alcohol Court is a first for Australia.

The YDAC is administered by the Children's Court and operates within the existing legislative framework of the Children's (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987, supplemented by Practice Directions. The Crime Prevention Division convenes an interagency monitoring group which oversees the operation of the program. Program funding is provided by the NSW Government, following the 1999 NSW Drug Summit, and the Commonwealth Government, through the National Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative.

As well as ongoing substance misuse, many participants have a range of other difficulties including poor educational achievement, dysfunctional family backgrounds and psychological problems. The YDAC attempts to address this wide range of young offenders' needs and problems in a holistic way through intensive case management. The program offers young offenders an innovative and individual plan that includes treatment schedules, regular appointments with the court, and assistance with health, housing and education needs. The YDAC program relies on the strategic establishment of two interdependent and overarching teams: the judicially driven Youth Drug and Alcohol Court Team and the intervention oriented Joint Assessment and Review Team (JART).

By intensively intervening in the multitude of systems pertinent to the young person's substance misuse and related offending, rather than focusing only on the legal resolutions, that a greater and more lasting impact can be made on the young person's lifestyle choices and overall well being. This program aims to break the drug and crime cycle and to provide young people with the skills and ability to live useful productive lives within the community.

To read more about our policy and programs, click here.