An internationally recognised youth intervention program will soon be available in Townsville. The program aims to address youth violence or abuse toward family members, with flow on benefits to other relationships and the community.
As part of the Queensland Government Youth Justice Targeted Response to Youth Crime Grants, The BUSY Group has received $300k to deliver the BUSY Step Up program in the Townsville community for twelve months, commence on the 12th August 2024.
After extensive consultation with Townsville community groups, including Youth Justice, service providers and First Nation’s representatives, The BUSY Group established the need for family support to address youth recidivism and reduce violence in the home.
BUSY Step Up is a curriculum-based intervention where young people learn and practice non-violent, respectful ways of communicating and resolving conflict with those they have been abusive towards, while parents learn a model of respectful parenting that balances leadership and positive support, promoting non-violence in the family and the community.
Delivered by trained social or youth workers, the Step Up curriculum uses a cognitive behavioural, skills-based approach partnered with restorative practice to help young people prevent the use of violent and abusive behaviours.
Glen O’Keefe, General Manager for Youth and Community Services at The BUSY Group, said “We did a lot of consultation with the Townsville community prior and overwhelmingly people were telling us that families and carers didn’t have the ability to support and care for the young person when they were showing violent behaviours. While in consultation, every time we brought up the Step Up program and what it does, it got full endorsement from those we spoke to.
“We will work very closely with the Youth Justice teams who will provide referrals to the BUSY Step Up. We will also work closely with Queensland police with an early-intervention approach, where parents may have called regarding concerns around violence or other behaviours. Police can refer them to our program with the aim to assuage some of those behaviours.”
In preparation for the launch of the program on August 19, BUSY staff within the Townsville program will receive training by the Step Up team from Tasmania, where the program has been successfully delivered in the Hobart region for the past five years, resulting in a significant reduction in youth crime and family violence. The Hobart team’s expertise and knowledge gained over the last five years will impart valuable skills to the BUSY Step Up program facilitators in Townsville.
The training will play a key role in the Townsville delivery of BUSY Step Up to:
- reduce a young person’s use of abusive and negative behaviours
- provide alternative strategies to manage negative behaviours
- increase parents or guardians’ capacity to identify and manage challenging behaviours
- support parents or guardians to maintain safety and stability in the home and the community.
Glen further stated, “The original Step Up provider in America has given this program to the world to use because it is such a successful, well-evaluated model. I was originally involved in bringing the program to Tasmania for the first time and our Tasmanian Step Up providers are coming to Townsville to deliver training to our staff.
“The Tasmanian provider will show our staff how to deliver the curriculum-based sessions, but they will also provide ongoing support and mentoring for our team in Townsville. Obviously, delivering that program for the last five years, they’ve seen a lot of different situations, so they’ll be able to support and mentor the Townsville team through those potential scenarios.”
BUSY Step up will initially be funded for a 12-month period and will provide support and services to a minimum of 40 young people and their parents or guardians.
Leonie Carlile, Group Chief Executive Officer for The BUSY Group said, “The BUSY Step Up project is designed to empower young people with the skills to communicate and resolve conflicts in a safe and non-violent manner. With support from the Queensland Department of Youth Justice, we can deliver one-on-one case management and a curriculum-based approach, to nurture safer and more respectful family dynamics and contribute positively to the wider Townsville community. BUSY is thrilled to be participating in this initiative”
The BUSY Group is a national, not-for-profit organisation delivering a range of employment, skills, education and community programs with the aim of improving socio-economic outcomes for individuals and communities. Learn more about the Step Up Program.
