November 2011
Quick background
In mid- 2011, the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) expanded the National School Chaplaincy Program to include “Student Welfare Workers” (read: Youth Workers) in schools.
What can a Student Welfare Worker (youth worker) do for my school?
The activities of youth workers are varied, but valuable in a school context. The scope of the youth worker’s role will depend on what you negotiate with them/their service, but youth workers will usually contribute to the following:
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being a valuable member of the student welfare and support team;
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through relationships and programs with students, undertake early identification of a range of risk factors, including mental health issues, drug & alcohol use, and disengagement from school;
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refer both internally e.g. to school counsellor, student welfare teacher) and externally (e.g. to youth services, drug and alcohol services) as they consider appropriate;
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develop and conduct programs to target specific behaviours or issues within the school;
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run programs to contribute to overall student wellbeing and positive school culture.
As you can see above, youth workers have a focus on the whole young person, and have experience in servicing the often-complex needs of young people.
Why should I work with a youth service to provide a youth worker?
Most youth services will be very keen to work with you to support students in your school. All services see the value of prevention, and would prefer to see young people remaining engaged in schooling, rather than trying to work with them independent of school later.
Youth services already have many of the structures, policies and procedures established that you would need to duplicate if you were to employ a youth worker yourself. They have links to other services, already do the networking necessary to make referrals, and have the organisational structures in place for recruitment, selection, support and supervision of highly skilled youth workers.
What is the process for getting a student welfare worker through a youth service
Finding a service to provide a Student Welfare Worker
The first step will be to check if there are any youth services that will suit your needs who have already applied to provide services. The NSW list is at www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/NSCSWP/Documents/PotentialFundingRecipientsNSW.pdf .
If there aren’t any appropriate agencies that meet your needs (we would suggest that you work with a local service to get the best outcomes from the partnership), YAPA would encourage you to approach a local service. You can usually call your local council Youth Development Officer or Community Services staff for agencies that they would recommend, or attend your local youth interagency to meet services. Alternatively, you can contact YAPA on (02) 9281 5522 extension 5 or email policy2@yapa.org.au and we’ll do what we can to help.
If the service provider isn’t already an approved provider, but they would like to provide services under the NSCSWP, they will have to submit an Expression of Interest at http://submissions.deewr.gov.au/sites/Submissions/Chaplaincy.
Establishing a Service Agreement
Once both parties are committed to the partnership, and the organisation that you are working with is approved, it is simply a matter of negotiating a Service Agreement to cover the terms of service provision, and then applying for funding.
Everything that you will need to cover is in the NSCSWP Guidelines at www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/NSCSWP/Documents/NSCSWP_Guidelines.pdf
How much money is available to fund a youth worker?
The level program guidelines set out the minimum service delivery available per level of funding. Remote schools are eligible for an extra 20% to cover expenses relating to servicing of remote locations. The breakdown is:
| Amount available for non-regional/remote schools (ex GST) | Amount available for regional/remote schools (ex GST) | Minimum Service Hours |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $24,000 | 400 |
| $15,000 | $18,000 | 300 |
| $10,000 | $12,000 | 200 |
| $5,000 | $6,000 | 100 |
What can the money be used for?
At least 80% of the above funding must be used to directly fund the salaries, wages and superannuation of the chaplain/student welfare worker who is placed in the school. A maximum of 20% can be used to cover administration costs such as workers compensation and other relevant insurances, general administration fees, support staff costs, and training and professional development (but not to get the required Units of Competency to become a Student Welfare Worker or Chaplain).
More information
The guidelines are fairly long but detailed, and seem to be able to answer most questions at this stage. To get them, go to www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/NSCSWP/Documents/NSCSWP_Guidelines.pdf. You can also contact the DEEWR hotline directly on 1300 363 079. Y
ou can also contact YAPA’s Policy Officer Dean Williamson at YAPA on (02) 9281 5522 extension 5, or email policy2@yapa.org.au.
About YAPA
YAPA is the peak organisation representing young people and youth services in NSW. YAPA is funded by the NSW Government to resource and support youth services and youth workers, among other things. More information about YAPA is elsewhere on this website.
