Preventing Crime and Promoting Rights for Indigenous Young People with Cognitive Disabilities and Mental Health Issues Appendix 2

Preventing Crime and Promoting Rights for Indigenous Young People with Cognitive Disabilities and Mental Health Issues

Appendix 2: Government Responses

Download

Complete report PDF[4.22 MB]
Complete report Word [805 KB]

In order to establish what is provided for Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems, information was requested from all relevant government departments across Australia.^[213]A letter was sent to departments requesting:

data that the department/ agency may collect on the numbers of Indigenous young people who have been assessed as having a cognitive disability and/ or mental health issues;
a break down of this data by age, sex and location;
any information of relevant early intervention or diversionary programs that they run for the target group of young people; and
any other research or stakeholder who is working in the field.

As a result of the government responses, this section will provide further data regarding the incidence of cognitive disabilities and/or mental health issues and a map of services for this group of young people.

Data

Accurate data collection is essential for planning and delivering services to the right people and in the right places. Collection of data shows a commitment to grappling with the issue of Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health issues. Of the 28 agencies that provided responses, 15 provided data.^[214]

Many of the responses noted the limitations of the data and were cognisant of particular challenges around diagnosing cognitive disability and/ or mental health problems amongst Indigenous young people. Nonetheless, this data provides a more detailed picture of Indigenous young people either in, or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.

Education

Education agencies appear to collect the most comprehensive data, particularly on intellectual disabilities and other learning difficulties. A summary of the data provided is shown in Table 1. This data was usually drawn from the number of Indigenous young people receiving additional support funding or enrolled in special education programs.

Table 4: Summary of Education Data

Agency	State	Number of Indigenous Young People with Cognitive Disabilities	Number of Indigenous young people with mental health problems
Department of Education and Children’s Services	South Australia	158 Indigenous students with verified intellectual disabilities	Not collected
Department of Education and Training (TAFE NSW)	New South Wales	Does not collect reliable data on number of Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities in schools. TAFE NSW report 62 Indigenous students between the ages of 15-19 with intellectual disabilities; 257 Indigenous 15-19 year olds with learning disabilities; and 16 Indigenous 15-19 year olds with neurological disabilities	Does not collect reliable data on number of Indigenous young people with mental health problems in schools. TAFE NSW report 63 Indigenous young people between the ages of 15-19 years with mental illness
Department of Education and Training	Australian Capital Territory	55 Indigenous students with Intellectual disabilities. 6.5% of Indigenous students have a disability	2 Indigenous students with mental illness
Department of Education and Training	Northern Territory	75 Indigenous students with intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools (13% of students with disabilities with disabilities) and 68 Indigenous students with intellectual disabilities in special schools (39% of special schools).	35 Indigenous students with a diagnosed mental health issue
Department of Education, Training and the Arts	Queensland	930 Indigenous students with intellectual impairment. Represents 11% of all students with intellectual impairment.	Not collected
Department of Education	Tasmania	32 Indigenous students with intellectual disabilities, 9 with autism and 5 with multiple disabilities.	2 Indigenous students with psychiatric disabilities
Department of Education and Training	Western Australia	576 Indigenous young people with intellectual disabilities	8 Indigenous young people with psychiatric disabilities

Of all the government data received in response to the request, the education departments seemed to be the most aware of the difficulty in diagnosing and measuring the number of Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities. The Northern Territory Department of Education and Training qualified their data, stating that:

there is very little published information available that considers how Indigenous students may perform on quantitative measurement tools. There are no published norms for Indigenous students and without appropriate norms the accuracy of information may be compromised. In many remote communities, with methods of teaching and the requirements of learning based on a western cultural context, an Indigenous students progress and level of educational achievement may not reflect their cognitive potential or how they are viewed from a cultural perspective.^[215]

The South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services echoes some of these concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the data:

There is reluctance among many Indigenous families to refer students for assessment, as there are cultural and labelling issues, including a fear of being taken from the family.
The diagnosis of Aboriginal students with intellectual disability is challenging, as there are many factors which could impact adversely upon performance during assessments of intellectual ability.
Mental health issues may be misinterpreted as intellectual impairment and vice versa.
In South Australia, assessment tools used to determine intellectual functioning in the non-indigenous student population as used with indigenous students with caution. This is due to concerns with validity of the instruments for Indigenous students, and the delivery of assessments in spoken of written English when English may not be the student’s first language.
There is difficulty in obtaining a medical diagnosis for students believed to have foetal alcohol syndrome, as paediatric expertise is not readily available.^[216]

Juvenile Justice

The only juvenile justice agency that reported that they currently record any data on cognitive disability and/ or mental health status is the Western Australian Department of Corrective Services (which has responsibility for both juvenile and adult offenders).

The Western Australian Department of Corrective Services provided data on the number of young people in custody with recorded psychiatric or intellectual disability, below in Table 2. Based on snap shot data from January 2007, 11 Indigenous young people had a psychiatric diagnosis and 4 Indigenous young people had a dual psychiatric and intellectual disability diagnosis. All of the Indigenous young people were males.^[217]

Table 5: Western Australian Corrective Services, Number of Young People in Custody with Psychiatric or Intellectual Disability

	Psychiatric	Intellectual Disability	Dual Diagnosis
Indigenous	11	0	4
Non- Indigenous	12	2	0

It must be noted that this is snapshot data and therefore it may or may not be representative of the levels of intellectual disability and mental illness over a longer period of time. While these numbers seem relatively small, given that the average number of young people in custody is 133,^[218] this suggests that approximately 20% of the custodial population are diagnosed with either a psychiatric or intellectual disability and around half of these are likely to be Indigenous young people.

The Victorian Department of Human Services which includes juvenile justice services report that that cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health issues can be identified within the Victorian Offending Needs Indicator for Youth (VONIY). From December 2006, VONIY information will be included in the new juvenile justice data system and will enable this sort of data to be collected.^[219] This will involve young people both in custody and in the community.

The NSW Department of Juvenile Justice participated in the Young People in Custody Health Survey and Young People on Community Orders Health Survey, as outlined in the literature review. However, they do not collect this data on a regular basis.^[220]

Disability Services

Disability Services agencies and departments reported data on the number of Indigenous young people with intellectual disabilities. A summary of the data is provided below at Table 3. However, as discussed in the literature review, this may not be an under representation of Indigenous young people as they are less likely to actually access disability services.

Table 6: Disability Services Data

Agency	State	Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities
Disability Services Commission	Western Australia	131 between the ages of 12-18 years. 44 females and 87 males 12 years = 15 (6 female, 9 male) 13 years = 20 (9 female, 11 male) 14 years = 25 (6 female, 19 male) 15 years = 24 (11 female, 13 male) 16 years = 17 (4 female, 13 male) 17 years = 20 (4 female, 16 male) 18 years = 10 (4 female, 6 male) ^[221]
Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care	New South Wales	515 under 25 years of age. Intellectual disability =322 (189 males, 133 females) Autism = 39 (28 males, 11 females) Developmental delays = 154 (106 males, 48 females)^[222]
Department of Human Services	Victoria	394 (258 males, 135 females, 1 missing) 0-4 years = 13 5-9 years = 87 10-14 years = 144 15-18 = 142 Missing = 8^[223]
Department of Communities, Disability Services	Queensland	278 Indigenous young people with a cognitive disability or psychiatric disability accessing disability services between 2005-2006. Acquired Brain Injury= 16 ( 11 males, 5 females) Autism= 56 ( 45 males, 11 females) Developmental delay = 21 (17 males, 4 females) Intellectual disability= 145 (79 males, 66 females) Neurological= 27 (15 males, 9 females) Psychiatric= 4 Specific learning, ADD= 4

Mental Health Services

Not all mental health services were contacted as the scope of the project expanded as our consultations begun. However, due to the structure of some larger government departments, information is provided for Victoria and Queensland. Table 4 shows data reported by Victoria and Table 5 shows data from Queensland.

Table 7: Indigenous young people (0-24 years) accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services or Adult Mental Health Services in Victoria^[224]

Diagnosis	Total
Autism	8
Behavioural and emotional disorders	40
Disorders due to other psychoactive substance use	22
Disorders due to use of alcohol	2
Disorders of adult personality and behaviour	9
Eating disorders	2
Mental retardation	1
Mood disorders	31
Neurotic, stress related and somatoform disorders	56
Other and unspecified	32
Examination and investigation only	29
Diagnosis not recorded	36

Table 8: Annual average number of Indigenous patients admitted to hospital due to mental behaviour disorders by age group and remoteness in Queensland, 2001/ 02-2005/ 06^[225]

Location	0-4 years	5-9 years	10-14 years	15-19 years
Major cities/ inner regional/ outer regional	54	74	231	755
Remote	23	14	71	328
Total	77	88	302	1083

Based on analysis provided by Queensland Health:

There is no statistical significance between the rates of Indigenous patients admitted due to mental/ behavioural disorders compared to other Queenslanders for age groups 0-4 and 5-9. However, the rates of mental health related admissions for Indigenous people are statistically higher compared with other Queenslanders for age groups 10-14 and 15-19 years.
The difference is greater as the age group increases, with the Indigenous admission rate more than double for other Queenslanders in the 20-24 age group.
The admission rates of Indigenous patients in age group 15-19 years, and who live in remote and very remote areas are much higher than those Indigenous patients within the same age groups who live in major cities and regional areas of Queensland.^[226]

Table 9: Annual average number of Indigenous community/ ambulatory service contacts by age group and remoteness in Queensland, 2001/ 02-2005/ 06^[227]

Location	0-4 years	5-9 years	10-14 years	15-19 years
Major cities/ inner regional/ outer regional	1549	10852	20866	26149
Remote	89	1108	2308	2789
Total	1638	11960	23174	28938

Analysis provided by Queensland Health shows:

The rates of Indigenous community service contacts for age groups 0-4 years and 5-9 years is statistically lower than the corresponding rates for other Queenslanders.
The differences were reversed for age groups 10-14 years and 15-19 years, where the rates of contacts for Indigenous are statistically higher than other Queenslanders.
The rates of service contacts for all age groups for Indigenous in remote and very remote areas are much higher than those Indigenous living in major cities and regional areas of Queensland.^[228]

Police

No police departments reported that they collect information related to cognitive disability or mental health status of either victims or offenders.

Child Protection

The NSW Department of Community Services was the only child protection agency to provide a response for the number of children with a cognitive disability and/ or mental health problem under their care. Of the Indigenous children in out of home care, 108 were recorded as having either a cognitive disability or mental health problem. A further break down according to type of disability is provided in Table 7 below.

Table 10: Number of Children/ Young Persons with a Cognitive Disability in out- of home care as at 30 June 2006^[229]

Disability	Number of Indigenous children
Acquired brain injury	5
Autism	4
Developmental delay	43
Intellectual disability	23
Learning disorder/ Attention Deficit Disorder	26
Psychiatric	7

Summary of Data

The data provided by government agencies gives us a snap shot of some of the cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health issues faced by Indigenous young people across a range of different service providers. However, it is still only a partial picture, given that not all agencies collect this data, and those that do have identified significant limitations.

Of all the government responses received, education agencies seem to undertake the most comprehensive data collection of Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems. This is related to a greater awareness, particularly of cognitive disability issues through their requirement to provide special education and support to this group.

One thing that stands out from the education data is that Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities are a small group. Even in the Northern Territory, where there are approximately 14 007 Indigenous students (40% of all enrolments), there are only 143 Indigenous young people with identified cognitive disabilities.^[230] Based on anecdotal evidence, it is likely that there are a significant number of Indigenous children and young people whose cognitive disability remains unassessed, or are simply not attending school.

There are also implications for service delivery with such small numbers, with students potentially spread across large geographic areas. The challenge is how to provide developmentally and educationally appropriate services where small numbers may compromise culturally appropriate support.

As previously discussed, Indigenous students with a disability may be isolated when their disability needs are seen as more important than their cultural needs. In some cases Indigenous young people may receive an excellent level of special education and support to accommodate for their cognitive disability, but may be placed in a situation where there are no other Indigenous students, staff or programs. Indigenous students with cognitive disabilities need holistic service which recognises both cultural and disability needs.

Perhaps the most glaring omission is the lack of data systematically collected by juvenile justice agencies, with Western Australia being the only state that collects data on disability/ mental health status of Indigenous young people in custody. It is promising that Victoria seems to be heading down the path of greater data collection.

Early intervention and diversionary programs for Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and mental health problems

All of the departments contacted were asked to provide information about relevant programs targeting this group of young people. None of the departments reported any programs exclusively aimed at Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems at risk of entering the juvenile justice system, or already involved with the juvenile justice system.

However, many of the departments do provide services that may assist this group whilst not specifically targeting them. Some reported instances where they were aware of this target group successfully accessing these services.

Juvenile Justice

The role of juvenile justice agencies across Australia varies.^[231] Some provide early intervention for young people at risk of contact with the juvenile justice system, some provide diversionary programs. All provide support and supervision for young people on community based orders and custodial services.

Juvenile justice agencies all have a role to play in the diversion of Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health issues from the criminal justice system, if not the provision of early intervention services. Some agencies would argue that early intervention should be the role of other departments to avoid any labelling or stigmatisation of young people, as well as potential ‘contamination’ of less experienced young people with more entrenched young offenders. Table 8 shows a summary of the programs outlined in the responses.

Table 11: Summary of Relevant Juvenile Justice programs

Agency	State	Program/ Intervention
Department of Human Services	Victoria	Koori Juvenile Justice Program Children’s Koori Court Culturally appropriate quality health services eg. Health assessment within 12 hours of entering custody ( 24 hours for non- Aboriginal detainees)^[232]
Department of Juvenile Justice	NSW	No specific programs- but all interventions are designed for delivery to young people with low literacy levels^[233] (consistent with cognitive disabilities)
Department of Corrective Services	Western Australia	Aboriginal Family Support Program- mentoring program providing Indigenous mentors to young people on community supervision. Killara Youth Support Services- early intervention for young people at risk Juvenile Justice Teams for conferencing including options to make more accessible for remote area Indigenous young people. Intensive Supervision Program^[234]
Department of Corrective Services	Northern Territory	No specific programs but the Cogstate screening tool for cognitive disabilities has been trialled at Darwin Correctional Centre. A mental health screening tool (MAYSI-2) is being trialled with juvenile detainees.^[235]
Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services	ACT	No programs reported
Department of Communities	Queensland	No programs reported
Department of Children, Youth and Family Services	South Australia	No specific programs

Crime Prevention

Crime prevention programs, usually run by NGOs but funded through the state or federal crime prevention grants, have the capacity to assist Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and or mental health issues, during the ‘at risk’ stage. As stated in the literature review, this can involve anything from a recreation program, to mentoring, family support or residential services, depending on the aims of the project, all of which can potential build on individual strengths and prevent offending behaviour.

However, again, there are no specific programs that target this group. A list of relevant reported crime prevention projects are provided in Table 9 below.

Table 12: Relevant Crime Prevention Programs

State	Program	Description
South Australia	Panyappi youth mentoring program	Indigenous youth mentoring service for young people who experience multiple problems that lead them to frequent inner city or other suburban hangouts, placing them at risk of being a victim of crime or engaging in offending behaviour. Panyappi aims to: Intervene in pathways of offending behaviour and bring about a positive shift in each young person’s attitude toward offending and in their behaviour Decrease each young participant’s contact with the juvenile justice system and / or agencies associated with this system. Promote self-discovery and self-determination by young people participating in the program their family and wider community. Work collaboratively with all agencies that have mutual responsibility for resolving the young person’s difficulties.
WA	Recreational, Educational, Arts and Lifeskills (REAL) Program for Kiara/ Lockridge	A coordinator works closely with other government and non-government agencies to link the project into other project to support a collaborative approach to addressing the broader issues impacting local at risk youth^[236].
	Roebourne Girls Group	To provide a recreational and developmental program for at risk Indigenous females in the Roebourne and surrounding areas.^[237]
	Kutjunka Region Youth Services Program	To reduce boredom by offering structured recreational and developmental activities; to improve the life skills of “at risk” and offending youth and address the level of substance abuse within the region.^[238]
	Indigenous Children’s Leisure Activities Program	Recreational and development/ mentoring activities for at-risk youth in Mirrabooka/ Balga area.^[239]
	Service Pathways for Children Experiencing Delayed Development	Development of interagency shared care/ clinical pathways between local service providers in Bunbury.^[240]
	HYPE- Kununurra and Fitzroy Crossing	Workers to engage with at risk ‘street –present’ young people.^[241]
ACT	Aboriginal Justice Centre	Aboriginal controlled organisation that provides integrated case management for young people at risk or involved with the juvenile justice.^[242]

Education

All education departments provide special education programs and support to young people with disabilities. They also provide some form of culturally appropriate support for Indigenous students. This ranges from the use of Aboriginal Education Workers to the Western Australian ‘Aboriginal Perspectives Across the Curriculum’ which acknowledges and endorses Indigenous world views and promotes greater understanding and respect for Indigenous peoples, cultures, histories and languages to make school more welcoming. School counsellors also have a role to play in assessing and supporting young people with disabilities and behaviour difficulties.

However, once again, there are no specific programs identified that target Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems. Table 10 shows a list of relevant programs that may nonetheless assist the target group, in addition to mainstream special education schools and support programs. However, it is unclear whether they are sufficiently responsive and resourced to address the complex needs of Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health issues.

Table 13: Relevant Education Programs

State	Program/ Initiative	Description
Northern Territory	MindMatters, KidsMatter, You Can Do It, Tribes, Rock and Water	Early intervention programs that seek to address and target behaviours that are indicative of the development of mental health issues.^[243]
	School Counsellors Project	Provision of 19 counsellors to support students with social and emotional issues. Anecdotal evidence suggests that mental health issues are predominate in counsellor caseloads. In 2007 the project will be establishing an online data collection tool that will enable monitoring of mental health issues being dealt with by school counsellors, how many clients are Indigenous, types of mental health issues, ages of clients and interventions. Counsellors will undertake training with Tracey Westerman, Indigenous psychologist, about how to work effectively with Indigenous youth and mental health issues.^[244]
	Alternative Education Provision (AEP)	Case management of students 10-15 years who have disengaged from education or are at risk of disengagement (chronic truancy and non-enrolment in school), aiming to get them back into school, training or employment. Workers use a community outreach model and develop individual plans for each young person. In 2006, 172 young people were involved in the program, approximately 54% were Indigenous.^[245]
	Harley Unit	Support for students with extreme behaviours, working towards entry to mainstream school. Due to the intensive nature of the program, only 5 clients per year.^[246]
South Australia	Gateways Program	Targets Indigenous students at risk of disengaging with school. In 2006, 18% of clients had a disability and 12% were Indigenous.^[247]
	Behavioural Intervention Service	Jointly managed by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Families SA and Department of Education and Children’s Services to provide clinical mental health services and curriculum links for 5-12 year olds with mental health difficulties. The program includes Aboriginal students.^[248]
	Adult Services Enfield Campus	Day program for youth not engaged with education due to mental health issues. This program includes mental health issues.^[249]
Queensland	MindMatters	All staff working with Indigenous students attend a two day MindMatters workshop specifically designed to increase awareness of mental health promotion among Indigenous students. Trialling KidsMatter, similar mental health training project for primary school age Indigenous children.^[250]

Given the negative experiences that many Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health issues face in the school system, more flexible options such as TAFE may be more accessible for this group. TAFE NSW, with the largest Aboriginal enrolment of any training provider in Australia, provides a comprehensive range of programs and supports which may assist the target group. As well as Aboriginal and disability support to participate in TAFE courses, a number of outreach programs aim to reengage at risk young with education and training. A summary is provided in Table 11 below.

Table 14: Relevant TAFE NSW Programs

Program	Description
Young Endeavours Program (New England)	Partnership between TAFE NSW and Department of Juvenile Justice, designed to create positive learning experiences for young people in juvenile justice who has disengaged from education. The program involved Aboriginal mentors- an artist, video producer and a textile designer- who worked with the young people and provided positive role models.
Guraki-thrawa (Taree)	Collaboration between TAFE Outreach, Taree City Council, Department of Juvenile Justice, the Police and Citizen’s Youth Club and Mission Australia. Program included literacy, computer skills, a selection of practical vocational learning programs, gymnastics and Aboriginal art. Nineteen students completed the program and are now role models for young people in the area.
KOOL- Koori Outreach Options for Learning (Riverina)	Course aimed to reengage young people in education. Participants developed literacy and numeracy skills, cultural awareness, interpersonal skills, life skills and employment skills.
COOL- Coomealla Outreach Options for Learning (Riverina)	Collaboration between local schools, Wentworth Shire Council, Dareton Police, Far West Area Health Service, RTA, Department of Juvenile Justice, Centrelink, Community Action Team and local Barkindji elders. In addition to improving literacy and computer skills, developing work skills and gaining driver’s licenses, the COOL students made a film ‘Three Strong Women’ which won awards at the ‘Thong on the Roof’ Film Festival.
Personal grooming	A number of personal grooming programs have been run for Indigenous single mothers and at risk Indigenous young women including those with mental health and behavioural issues in La Perouse, Redfern and Glebe. Nine courses have been offered to young women in detention at Sunninghill School in Yasmar Juvenile Justice Centre in 2005. Approximately 85% of these young women were Indigenous.
Yalmambirra (Western NSW)	Course aimed at reengaging Aboriginal boys in education, incorporating music, dance and horticulture and run in conjunction with the local Aboriginal Men’s Group.
Deadly Bay @ Induna	Program designed to engage Juvenile Justice detainees in education through a Foundation and Vocational Skills course.

Disability/ Mental Health Services

All disability services departments reported that while they do not run programs specifically for Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems at risk of offending, existing programs could be adapted to meet the individual needs of Indigenous young people and their families and carers.

Based on the information provided, Western Australian Disability Services Commission deserves special mention for its work in making services more welcoming and accessible to Indigenous people with disabilities. Based on consultations with over 300 Indigenous people with disabilities, family members and disability staff, they produced research, policy documents and promotional material on Indigenous people with disabilities.

Disability South Australia have a small Indigenous disability team that work within the broader disability system that operates across metropolitan and country areas including remote communities, to identify, assess and broker disability and other services for individuals with cognitive (brain injury and intellectual) disabilities. This service has also broadened its criteria to include people with a psychiatric disability that are homeless and not engaged with a mental health service.

top | contents

Endnotes

^[213] Information was requested primarily from state juvenile justice, health, education, disability services and crime prevention departments as it was considered that these agencies would most likely have direct service provision involvement in early intervention and diversionary programs for this client group. A full list of respondents can be found at Appendix 1.
^[214] The Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services provided data provided data but given the small numbers it is not to be reported in case individuals can be identified.
^[215] Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, Feb 2007, p5.
^[216] South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 3 January 2007, p1.
^[217] Western Australian Department of Corrective Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, Email, 6 February 2007.
^[218] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Juvenile Justice in Australia 2000-2001 to 2003-2004, Canberra, 2006.
^[219] Victorian Department of Human Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 10 January 2007.
^[220] NSW Department of Juvenile Justice, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 22 January 2007.
^[221] Western Australian Disability Services Commission, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 16 January 2007.
^[222] NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 18 January 2007.
^[223] Victorian Department of Human Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 15 January 2007.
^[224] Victorian Department of Human Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 15 January 2007.
^[225] Queensland Health, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 1 March 2007.
^[226] Queensland Health, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 1 March 2007.
^[227] Queensland Health, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 1 March 2007.
^[228] Queensland Health, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 1 March 2007.
^[229] NSW Department of Community Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 30 January 2007.
^[230] Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 14 February 2007.
^[231] The structure of juvenile justice agencies also vary, with some as stand alone departments (NSW Department of Juvenile Justice), some are part of a broader Human Services or community services type department, and some are located within Corrective Services Departments which service adult and juvenile offenders.
^[232] Department of Human Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006,10 January 2007.
^[233] Department of Juvenile Justice, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 22 January 2007.
^[234] Wells, A. Communication with the Social Justice Commissioner’s Office,
^[235] Northern Territory Department of Corrective Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 11 January 2007.
^[236] Office of Crime Prevention, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 31 January 2007.
^[237] Office of Crime Prevention, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 31 January 2007.
^[238] Office of Crime Prevention, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 31 January 2007.
^[239] Office of Crime Prevention, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 31 January 2007.
^[240] Office of Crime Prevention, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 31 January 2007.
^[241] Office of Crime Prevention, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 31 January 2007.
^[242] ACT Department of Disability, Housing & Community Services. Children and Youth, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 19 January 2007.
^[243] Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 14 February 2007.
^[244] Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 14 February 2007.
^[245] Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 14 February 2007.
^[246] Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 14 February 2007.
^[247] South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 3 January 2007.
^[248] South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 3 January 2007.
^[249] South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 3 January 2007.
^[250] Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts, Correspondence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner- Request for information on Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and/ or mental health problems 2006, 2 February 2007.

Site navigation

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Social Justice navigation