Youth Services
- Victorian Youth Mentoring Week, 30 June - 6 July 2008
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(14 Apr 2008) - Events and Opportunities
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(14 Jan 2008)
Youth Services
Being a young person in today's society can provide many exciting opportunities and new experiences whilst at the same time present numerous challenges and obstacles. Some of these may be small and easy to overcome, whilst for others young people might want, or need, a hand to work out the best way forward for them.
Youth Services is responsible for providing a range of services to assist young people between the ages of 10 and 18 years and for developing, and maintaining, connections to all youth related areas both within the Department of Human Services and across the whole of government.
Responsibility for the School Focused Youth Service (SFYS) and the Secondary School Nursing Program (SSNP) now comes under the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). Both the SFYS and the SSNP will sit within the Operations Division of the Office for Children and Early Childhood Development, DEECD. The Acting General Manager of the Operations Division is Madeleine Smith
Features
This new Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (CMYI) information sheet provides some context for workers who are supporting a young person whose documented or "official" date of birth is different from their actual date of birth.
Are We There Yet? The National Youth Affairs Conference took place over three days in Melbourne, 1-3 May 2007. The conference saw approximately 900 young people, workers with young people, researchers, academics and policymakers come together to discuss and debate youth issues.
The conference proceedings, now available on-line at www.yacvic.org.au, offer a summary of the events and activities that took place over the three days, a summary of the conference evaluations and 20 peer reviewed academic papers that were presented at the conference.
Each issue of "Youth Studies Australia", the journal of the Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies (ACYS), features articles by Australian youth work practitioners and researchers, as well as summaries of press reports on youth topics, and abstracts of research from around the world.
YACVic has recently hosted free workshops in Benalla, Inverloch and Warrnambool on the Code of Ethical Practice for the Victorian youth sector. These workshops allowed youth workers and youth sector professionals to find out more about the Code and to discuss ways of implementing the Code. Future workshops are in the process of being planned for Melbourne, Geelong, East Gippsland and Macedon Ranges. Details of exact locations and dates will be published at www.yacvic.org.au as they become available.
Over recent times, the Department for Victorian Communities (Office for Youth) and the Department of Human Services (Youth Services and Youth Justice), have been working together to review the literature and consider good practice models and "best bets" to improve outcomes for young people. View the KPMG Presentation at the state-wide forum 2007.
Youth Mentoring Week is an opportunity to celebrate and raise the profile of youth mentoring across Victoria. That means recognising the benefits it brings to young people and celebrating the contribution made by the volunteer mentors, staff and supporters who make youth mentoring programs a success. Events are happening all around the state and local youth mentoring programs are encouraged to host their own events during this period. Contact your local Regional Coordination Project to find out more: