Call for Expressions of Interest
Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service (NSCCAHS) is inviting applications from not for profit Non Government Organisations to provide vocational training and employment opportunities to people with mental health problems and disorders, in the North Shore Ryde and Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Mental Health Service, which is part of NSCCAHS.

The funding available for this service is an amount of $310,000 per annum that would be administered under the NSW Health NGO Grant Program.

The aim of the program is to provide opportunities for mental health consumers to acquire training and employment experiences that will enable them to transition into the available competitive market at the end of the period. The successful NGO will be required to operate two businesses at two locations, one within the North Shore Ryde area and one in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai area.

Packages will be available from 18 January 2010.

To obtain an application package please contact:

Simone
phone: 9926 5470
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Applications are to be submitted no later than 5.00pm Monday 15 February 2010.

An e-update of transport news and articles received at NCOSS.

How to ease a women’s fear of transportation environments

Mineta Transport Institute (US) 7 December, 2009 | The relationship between women's fear and the built environment has been the subject of research with clear findings that women feel unsafe in many public spaces including transportation environments.
website: apo.org.au/research/how-ease-womens-fear-transportation-environments

Web Site: Social Research in Transport (SORT) Clearinghouse

The Institute of Transport Studies (ITS) at Monash University, Australia, have developed a free web based international research clearinghouse to increase knowledge and learning in the transport profession about research relating to social issues in passenger transport. The clearinghouse collates research reports focussing on social issues such as disadvantage and inequality. Researchers can use the search the database to find and access reports, sign up to a newsletter providing updates on new research reports or submit research to be included on the system.
website: www.sortclearinghouse.info

Articles from the Australian Senior

Access the Senior Newspaper online: www.thesenior.com.au/publications.asp
(Under NSW click on Digital Paper. To enlarge the article click on it directly)

• p.6 Crossings get smart to improve safety (Timed Pedestrian Crossings)
• p.7 New permit to end confusion (Disability parking)
• p.8 War widows get fee relief (Free photo ID for pensioners and war widows)

COAG Communiqué – 7 December 2009: Transport Regulation

COAG has taken several further steps towards a truly national transport system that will reduce transport costs and help lift national productivity without compromising safety.

COAG agreed that South Australia will host the national rail safety regulator. This follows COAG’s agreement in July that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority will be the national regulator for maritime safety. It will continue to be headquartered in Canberra.

National Partnership Agreements for single national heavy vehicle and maritime regulators will be considered in the first half of 2010. The National Partnership Agreement for the single national rail regulator will be considered in 2011. COAG also agreed to establish a strengthened national regulators’ panel to provide better national harmonisation of rail safety regulation in the period in which the national regulator is being established. COAG further agreed to resolve a number of policy, legislation, governance and funding issues in the implementation stage, including the role of State Ministers.

A detailed work plan for delivery of the pricing elements of the COAG Road Reform Plan was also agreed. Under the plan, a feasibility study for alternative models of road pricing and funding will be completed by December 2011, which should include specific consideration of mass-distance location pricing. The outcomes of the feasibility study will help determine whether direct pricing is feasible.

COAG also agreed to release the report of the National Transport Commission (NTC) Review and the Australian Transport Council. Adoption of the recommendations will strengthen NTC’s capacity to focus on transport regulatory reform.

Investigating Transport Disadvantage, Social Exclusion and Well Being in Metropolitan, Regional and Rural Victoria

Short Context and Summary
Urban sprawl and sparse rural living are pervasive in Australia. Travel is thus a big yet essential part of Australian life. When transport is scarce, access to activities is hard and life prospects inhibited.

This problem is growing as fuel costs rise, the population ages and fringe/coast migration continues. Internationally transport disadvantage and social exclusion links are now a major study field, however Australian research is limited despite these pervasive and growing problems. This gap is filled using top world researchers in the field to investigate how transport problems impact on life opportunities and community well being. Knowledge developed will better focus Australias approach to this significant growing problem. This project is undertaken by the Institute of Transport Studies Monash University in association with the Department of Social Work and the Department of Psychology, Monash University, the Centre for Public Policy, Melbourne University, The Urban Transport Institute, The University of Westminster (UK) and the University of Ulster (UK). Project sponsors include the Australian Research Council, the Department of Infrastructure, The Bus Association of Victoria, The Brotherhood of St Laurence, and The Interface Councils Forum of Melbourne

Call for Expressions of Interest
Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service (NSCCAHS) is inviting applications from not for profit Non Government Organisations wishing to establish or expand drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation services to people with drug and alcohol problems who reside within the NSCCAHS catchment.

The grant funding available under this expression of interest is recurrent and would be administered under the NSW Health Non Government Organisation Grant Program.

The service to be provided will consist of 10 residential rehabilitation beds (formally the Phoenix Unit at Manly Hospital), half way housing and clinical support for drug and /or alcohol clients utilising 2 half way houses on the Northern Beaches and outpatient groups for people who have completed rehabilitation. The service must have the capacity to accept clients with co-morbidity issues. Consideration will be given towards alternate locations for the delivery of these services.

Application packages will be available from 11 January 2010.

To obtain a package please contact:

Melinda
phone: 9926 5217
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Applications are to be submitted no later than 5 pm Monday 8 February 2010.

Registrations open for Arts-Activated Conference Registrations are now open for Accessible Arts’ Arts-Activated Conference at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney over 25-26 March 2010. A range of national and international speakers from the arts and disability sectors will come together to explore the themes of Arts – Access – Excellence through a series of workshops, panels and performances.

A strong program has been announced with the major highlight being keynote speaker Jenny Sealey, MBE, Artistic Director Graeae Theatre Company (UK) and Artistic Advisor to Unlimited, the UK’s largest ever disability arts program, launched by the 2012 Cultural Olympiad as part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, planned for July – September 2012.

A selection of international and local speakers will be presenting including: Sue Williams, Arts Council England (UK), Tony McCaffrey, Artistic Director of Different Light Theatre Company (NZ), Rachel Gadsden, Visual Artist (UK), Majella Flanagan, Coordinator Any Bright Ideas (UK), Rafael Bonachela (NSW), Artistic Director Sydney Dance Company, Philip Channells, Artistic Director Restless Dance Theatre (SA) and Camilla Connolly, Australian Director of the Asperger Women Association (NSW).

The conference is intended for artists with and without a disability, arts workers, disability service providers, policy makers, funding bodies, festival organisers and volunteers, cultural institutions, venues and anyone interested in arts and disability.

Early-bird registrations are open until 18 December.

For more information:

website: www.aarts.net.au
contact: Jane Pollard, Education and Training Manager
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
phone: 02 9251 6499

The December issue of our newsletter NCOSS News (vol 36, #11) has now been posted out to members, affiliates and politicians. Our last issue for the year, it includes the following articles:

• ASU launches Equal Pay case
• Tenancy reform Bill released for comment
• NCOSS Says: Capacity building - by the sector, for the sector
• A State Election
• Area Assistance to Community Builders
• ACOSS @ Work: Some taxing challenges for the Henry Review
• Keep Them Safe: Keeping Accountable
• NSW Health review of the NGO Grants Program
• New model to help keep Aboriginal children safe
• Lawyers provide practical help for people with a mental illness
• Insurance FAQs

You can subscribe to NCOSS News by becoming a member of NCOSS.

The 72nd Annual General Meeting of the Council of Social Service of New South Wales (NCOSS) was held at 5pm on Monday 16 November 2009, at the Citigate Sebel Sydney Hotel, 28 Albion St, Surry Hills.

Our special guest speaker was Clare Martin, ACOSS CEO, who talked about some of the key challenges facing the Australian community into the future – notably homelessness and unemployment.

Annual Report

The NCOSS Annual Report for 2008-09 was accepted by the AGM delegates – a copy of the report will be sent out to members with the December issue of NCOSS News. A pdf version can be downloaded from here .

Notification of result of poll for NCOSS Board

Returning Officer Leslie Garton announced the following people had been elected to the NCOSS Board.

• Bill Pritchard (Vice President): Bill is the Executive Officer of ABSEC. He has been on the NCOSS Board since 2007.
• Denele Crozier (Treasurer): Denele is the Executive Officer of Women's Health NSW. She first joined the board in 2003.
• Karen Bevan (Director): Karen is the Manager of Social Policy & Research at UnitingCare Children, Young People and Families.
• Sarah Fogg (Director): Sarah is a Policy Manager at The Benevolent Society.
• Susan Heyne (Director): Susan is the Executive Officer of Lower North Shore Community Transport Inc.
• Mary Perkins (Director): Mary is the Director of Shelter NSW. She has been on the NCOSS Board since 2003, most recently in the capacity of Vice-President.

Congratulations and welcome to the new members. They join current and ongoing Board members President Pam Batkin, Vice-President Bernard Boerma and Directors Helen Backhouse, Matthew Bowden, Helen Campbell, Michael Coffey and Elizabeth Priestley.

by Dev Mukherjee
An increasing number of children and young people in New South Wales are being held on remand in the state’s Juvenile Justice Centres. According to the NSW Auditor-General, in 2006, 3 623 children and young people were remanded into custody but by 2008 this figure jumped to 5,081. Only one in seven (16%) of these children and young people went on to receive a custodial penalty at sentencing. Two recent publications prepared by the non-government social service sector highlight the problem and a potential solution - Bail Me Out and Releasing Pressure on Remand .

Bail Me Out
Bail Me Out is a report, prepared by the Youth Justice Coalition, of a survey of young people in custody who appeared before the Children’s Court at Parramatta in August 2008 and January 2009. Of those surveyed, the main reason for being held in custody was a ‘breach of bail condition’ 60% of those surveyed). The most common bail condition breached was breaking a curfew (22%), followed by failure to report to police (12%) and breach of non-association order, either non-association from a person or place (10%).

The survey showed that the most common types of bail conditions that were imposed on young people were prescriptive in terms of behaviour (curfew, obeying reasonable directions, non-associations, report to police) and welfare focused (reside as directed, attend school/program). The number of bail conditions imposed on young people was also high, with 67% of young people receiving three or more bail conditions. Magistrates, therefore, have a significant affect on the numbers in remand because of inappropriate bail conditions.

Police are responsible for the monitoring of bail and for taking action when a person has breached their bail conditions. Young people on bail are easily monitored by police, given the nature of their bail conditions, and are more susceptible to being breached due to social behaviours that are restricted by their bail conditions (such as hanging out with friends outside of curfew, being at a shopping centre). Hence, police actions are significant factors increasing the number of young people in remand.

Twenty percent of those surveyed were homeless and nine percent were in out-of-home care. While the majority were living with family members at the time of arrest, this did not necessarily reflect stable living conditions. Courts are in a difficult situation when faced with a young person, who, if released on bail, does not have accommodation and is rendered homeless. The presumption of innocence, the nature of the offence, assessment of risk of returning to court and the likelihood of a custodial sentence if convicted, is set up against the welfare needs of the young person. This effectively places reliance on an under-resourced system to find accommodation for a young person, before they are able to make an application for bail.

The report lists sixteen recommendations to government to change police practice, improve service funding and coordination of welfare services. Many of the recommendations could be adopted at little cost, reducing the high cost of detention and improve the long-term safety outcomes for the community.

Releasing Pressure on Remand
Releasing Pressure on Remand is a position paper developed by UnitingCare Burnside in response to a Roundtable of non-government organisations convened by NCOSS to develop support services which aim to prevent children and young people from being remanded into custody unnecessarily.

Intervention opportunities exist across the continuum of care for these children and young people. Young people can be successfully supported in making changes at any point along this continuum. However, in order to effectively divert young people from the juvenile justice system, support services must be available across the continuum (early intervention, before court, during court, after court).

The paper suggested that support services should have a stronger focus on keeping these children and young people connected with the community, engaged with education and ultimately out of the juvenile justice system, and in turn, the adult prison system.

The paper suggested that residential bail support services would fill a large gap in service provision allowing more children and young people to be released on bail. The service would provide support and accommodation for an average of four to five children and young people per day between the ages of 12-17 years. Each service would be limited to a maximum of six children and young people per day. These services would need to be gender specific, and in some cases, culturally specific and operating 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.Based on figures by the Department of Juvenile Justice and released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, these services would be comparable to the cost of remand detention. However, better short and long term outcomes and hence long-term cost-savings would be evident. Lessening the numbers of children and young people on remand would put downward pressure on an overloaded system. In addition, the programs would reduce the risk of recidivism for children and young people who have contact with a juvenile justice centre. Establishing these programs would be an investment in the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, both in the short and long term.

Releasing Pressure on Remand was launched by the Minister for Juvenile Justice, the Hon Graham West, MP, on 28 October 2009 in NSW Parliament House.

Downloads

• Releasing Pressure on Remand
• Bail Me Out

Following reviews conducted in 2005 and 2007, the Minister for Fair Trading Hon. Virginia Judge has released a draft Residential Tenancies Bill for public comment.  While expressing disappointment at the exclusion of boarders and lodgers and the continuation of no cause evictions, the Tenants’ Union of NSW has welcomed the draft legislation as containing sensible improvements on the current law.

The Justice Maze DVD explains the NSW court and prison system in a way that avoids jargon and complicated legal language. It is directed at those people who are unfamiliar with the processes involved with arrest, trial and imprisonment of a family member or friend. The Justice Maze was made with the intention of supporting families and friends of an accused by providing them with information and contacts for support agencies.

The Justice Maze DVD will enable disadvantaged and marginalised groups to better understand the criminal justice system and gain access to essential legal, community and government resources. It will also enable government and community workers to better understand the system, and the economic, legal, social and psychological implications for prisoners and their families

It was produced by CRC (Community Restorative Centre NSW), with a grant from the Law and Justice Foundation NSW. A ten-minute version is now on YouTube - view it here .