Resourcing Adolescents Independent Living Scheme (R.A.I.L.S.)

• NCJ Number: 204821
• Author(s): Julie Murphy; Geoff Gavin
• Date Published: December 2003
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Presentation
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the "Juvenile Justice: From Lessons of the Past to a Road for the Future" Conference, December 1-2, 2003, held in Sydney, Australia; Downloaded March 25, 2004.

Annotation

This document discusses the services of the Southern Youth and Family Services Association.

Abstract

The Southern Youth and Family Services Association was developed in 1977 and includes direct service delivery, community development, community awareness raising, training of workers in other agencies, policy development, and lobbying. The Association has had extensive experience in the provision of accommodation and support services to young people that are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Association has provided services to Department of Juvenile Justice clients for many years, but recently has been unable to accept many referrals for Accommodation and Outreach Support. General and Bail Accommodation Support are two kinds of accommodation services for young people. The Resourcing Adolescents Independent Living Scheme (R.A.I.L.S.) is part of a positive approach to assist some of the most disadvantaged young people in the community. This program is a model based on Outreach Accommodation and Support. The Association has strong working partnerships with a number of agencies. R.A.I.L.S. clients benefit from these. The use of brokerage funds greatly enhances the R.A.I.L.S. Brokerage is a system where gaps in service delivery can be purchased. Other critical factors for the success of this program are intensive support and low caseload, entry to other accommodation and housing services, living skills, social skills, employment and training skills, networking, voluntary client participation, case management model, and trained and experienced staff. Two case studies are provided.