Youth Justice Innovation Advisory Council | Hello Innitiative

Youth Justice Innovation

Advisory Council

The Youth Justice Innovation Advisory Council (YJIAC) is a youth advisory council specific to the youth criminal legal system within WA. This project provides an opportunity for Hello Initiative to listen to and amplify the voices and lived experiences of young people.

Hello Initiative are committed to actioning the insights uncovered through the YJIAC.

WHY A YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL?

Founded in 2019, HI has become a major supplier of support services in youth justice across WA, driven by a mission to improve the social and judicial outcomes for young people involved in criminal justice. HI recognised the need for meaningful engagement with young people in the design and delivery of the social impact pilots and programs that affect them, and in 2023 established the YJIAC as a direct response to this need.

The first of its kind within this sector, this project has been designed to provide consumer insight
and feedback on the system, identify key challenges experienced by young people in the justice system, and support the delivery of high-impact social change programs.

Traditionally, young people interacting with the justice system have not had a platform to share their
thoughts, experiences and ideas for change. As service leaders in the youth justice space and with a robust background in Human-Centred Design approaches, HI is well placed to undertake this work and recognised the need to create pathways for advocacy to ultimately deliver services that meet the needs of young people. This program is critically important as young people interacting with the justice system have a right to speak up on issues that affect them, as well as ensure services meet the needs of the affected
communities.

WHAT ARE THE PROJECT'S OBJECTIVES?

Elevate the importance of listening to young people’s views and lived experiences on the
challenges of the youth justice journey and raise community awareness of these challenges.
Identify key intervention points where programs could improve social or judicial outcomes and better support young people.
Implement co-design principles for development of new projects through HI’s pilot project pathway and through any continuous improvement opportunities for other major projects.
Provide an opportunity for professional development for young people in a space to self-advocate and create a greater dialogue between ‘the system’, the community of service providers, and the young people involved in the youth justice sector.

WHAT ARE YOUNG PEOPLE SAYING?

HI is preparing to release the first findings report from the YJIAC Phase 1 consultation sessions conducted in late 2023. This report is expected to release in early November 2024.

Following the Phase 1 report HI will release a 'What's Next?' report, where we will report on how the insights from these consultations have impacted what we do at HI, and make recommendations to the larger sector.