from YAPRap April 2006
by Tim Khoo
Spinning confused (a rap)
Spinning confused, I don't know what to do
What do I say, no one to talk to
Then all of a sudden I feel a firm grip
Shown exactly what to do
Given some good tips, someone to talk to
I feel comfort, made my day shorter
No longer feel my heartbeat.
These words, in the form of a rap, were one young person's thoughts and feelings on the support he received from a welfare worker at court. He presented the rap to an audience at the launch of the Lidcombe Children's Court Assistance Scheme in 1996.
In 1995, Macquarie Legal Centre gained funding from the Law Foundation of NSW to establish a court assistance scheme at Lidcombe Children's Court. Sheree Turner established and ran the scheme for the first year. Stan Small and Vik Craig are now the dedicated joint coordinators of the Scheme. Vik has been there from the very beginning, and Stan joined the Scheme only a year later, when joint coordinator Anh Nguyen left.
Stan and Vik are the first point of contact for young people at the Children's Court. Both Stan and Vik have the rare skill of being able to make cold-contact with young people and establishing trust. They have made an art of utilising the court setting as an effective point of contact with high-risk young people. They are able to provide court support directly and through a team of volunteer youth workers whom they supervise.
The role of the Children's Court Assistance Scheme is to give information and answer questions about the court process. When a young person is confused or stressed, the support worker can sit in on solicitor interviews or go into court with the young person and explain what is happening. This support can go a long way to easing the fears and anxieties that young people (and their parents) can have about the court process.
While on the surface, the role is simply providing support through the court process, the Children's Court Assistance Scheme looks to offer greater support and more significantly affect the lives of young people in a positive way. To achieve this, Stan, Vik and the volunteer youth workers identify underlying issues in a young person's life which places them at risk of offending behaviour - drugs, homelessness, family violence, poverty or lack of family support. Once these issues have been identified, the young person can be referred to a number of services to help support them through the problem. In this way, they can do more than just offer court support, they can change the lives of young people.
One amazing success story is that of Eddie.
Eddie's story*
Eddie was first arrested at age 11, was a repeat offender and a regular at court until he was picked up when the Scheme first started. The Children's Court Assistance Scheme intervened with family counselling, building a support network and finding him a traineeship as a youth worker. 'If they hadn't been there I'd probably be selling drugs now, stealing, doing heroin and unemployed' he has said. Eddie's traineeship led to work with Barnados and the Bankstown Multicultural Youth Service. At age 25, Eddie was a full time youth worker and in 1997 was one of six community service finalists in the Young Australian of the Year Awards.
With life changing results like Eddie's story, it may be surprising to learn that the future of the Scheme has not always been certain, with funding nearly running out in 1996, 2001 and 2002. Nevertheless, the commitment of Stan and Vik remained unshakeable, as both offered without hesitation to continue to work for free so that the valuable work of the Scheme could continue. Thankfully, that was not necessary and on the day that was planned for their farewell, a celebration was held instead!
The innovative Lidcombe Children's Court Assistance Scheme was based on an earlier scheme in Wollongong and its success and effectiveness has established a model which has led to funding of further schemes across NSW and has made a massive contribution to access to justice for young people.
*name changed
more information
Tim Khoo
Macquarie Legal Centre
02 9760 0381
Timothy_Khoo@fcl.fl.asn.au
