Applications open for Darwin Youth Boot Camps – Australia

Deadline: 13-Jan-25

The Northern Territory Government is seeking applications from suitable organisations to deliver Youth Boot Camps (YBC) for Darwin.

The YBC program aims to provide an additional option to detention for those young people who have been found guilty of an offence and considered eligible for supervised community detention.

YBCs will offer structured and supervised community-based interventions, designed to address criminogenic behaviours, promote accountability and reparation, and equip participants with skills to support rehabilitation and reintegration.

Objectives

• The YBC program will deliver on three objectives as outlined below. Objectives will be achieved by all YBCs:
  • Consequence, accountability, reparation, and service to community
    • Incorporate the objective of ‘consequence, reparation or service’. Participants will engage in activities that encourage reflection and accountability for their past actions.
  • Identifying and addressing offending behaviours 
    • Utilising methodology that works to identify and address criminogenic behaviours and drivers of crime, lessening the effect of push and pull factors.
  • Skills development for re-integration
    • Focus service delivery within camps to achieve real world outcomes which support a young person to successfully exit the youth justice system, reduce recidivism and re-integrate with the community.

Duration

• Funding Period: 31 January 2025 to 7 February 2026

Outcomes

• Four core activities have been identified to achieve service delivery outcomes. These are intended to support participants gain improved education standards and build skills that will assist them to reintegrate as confident and respectful members of the community:
  • Reengagement in education or vocational training 
    • Participants develop a positive attitude toward reengagement in education or vocational training demonstrating motivation towards their future goals and pathway. 
    • Participants demonstrate and practice respectful behaviours, prioritise social and emotional wellbeing, active listening skills, adhere to directions and rules, problem solving and self-discipline. 
  • Work skills development. 
    • Participation in community service work as a means of giving back to community. Achieved through partnerships with government and non-government agencies. 
    • Participants acquire foundational employability skills such as emotional regulation, teamwork, problem solving, time management and effective communication. 
    • Participants actively seek to secure employment or enrol in further training.
  • Positive life, family, and community interactions 
    • Participants demonstrate positive social interactions with others. 
    • Participants set future goals and actively participate in reintegration preparedness. 
    • Participants reflect on their impact on victims and opportunities for reparation. 
    • Participants communicate with confidence.
  • Cultural connectedness 
    • Participants positively engage with their identified (appropriate) mentors to assist in achieving future goals and aspirations.

Program Deliverables 

• This EOI is to provide detail on how the following program deliverables will be met: 
  • Design and deliver 10 x 5-week YBC’s over a 12-month period for between 4 – 8 participants. Program design is to meet the stated key objectives and outcomes to the Client Group. 
  • Provide case and through care management that identifies and addresses the criminogenic needs of each participant. 
  • Provide a suite of daily activities that meet the stated objectives and outcomes that can be delivered to a gender diverse cohort. 
  • Ensure there are strategies in place to accommodate gender diversity, appropriate to activities and accommodation for both male and female clients as well as general cohort management. 
  • Provide a staffing model that supports a 24-hour, seven day a week program that may be delivered remotely (away from the municipality area).

Eligibility Criteria

• This EOI is for Darwin only.
• The YBC program is to be provided to young people who are:         
  • Aged between 10 – 17 years of age (both male and female) at the time of offending.
  • Sentenced by the Youth Justice Court and or Supreme Court. 
• These are eligible for funding:
  • Community groups 
  • Local government 
  • Non-government organisations 
  • Businesses, Companies and Partnerships

For more information, visit Northern Territory Government.