Youth Justice

753 Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (26 August 2021). In 2020, 48 per cent of youths in detention on an average night were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. What improvements has the government made to assist South Australia meet Closing the Gap targets to reduce the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in detention by 30 per cent by 2031?

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services): The Hon Michelle Lensink MLC, Minister for Human Services has advised the following:

The Marshall Liberal Government's Young People Connected, Communities Protected: South Australia's Youth Justice State Plan 2020-23, released on 11 June 2020, has a strong focus on addressing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) children and young people in the youth justice system through the following improvements:

Opening of the Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre (KTYJC) Aboriginal Cultural Connection Space, to provide a unique space for Aboriginal children and young people in custody to reflect, learn, grow and celebrate their cultural identity, spirituality and connections.

Review of the Youth Justice Cultural Champions Network, creating a Communities and Justice Cultural Community of Practice, led by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff, which partners with Aboriginal communities to build cultural intelligence and culturally safe and responsive practice.

Delivering the Aboriginal Engagement Strategy, including the inaugural Communities and Justice—Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCO) Forum, which facilitated discussions on partnerships and shared decision-making for service and program delivery, with further forums planned in both regional and metropolitan locations.

Development of an Aboriginal Visiting Program in KTYJC.

Launch of an Aboriginal Recruitment Guide and Aboriginal Employment and Retention Strategy, which is guiding strategies to increase Aboriginal employment in DHS Youth Justice Services.

Partnering with key stakeholders and Aboriginal organisations to identify and implement youth justice prevention and diversion strategies for Aboriginal children.

Between 2019-20 and 2020-21, the average daily male and female population of KTYJC decreased by 26.4 per cent and 11.9 per cent respectively and the proportion of individual Aboriginal young people admitted decreased from 48 per cent to 43 per cent.