An outcome evaluation of the NSW Youth Action Meetings pilot program

Summary

Background

Between 2020 and 2021, the NSW Police Force piloted the Youth Action Meetings (YAMs) program in two NSW locations. 

In each site, coordinators identified 10–17 year olds who were at risk of offending, escalating offending, or crime victimisation, and who faced multiple safety, welfare, or wellbeing concerns. 

Monthly police‑led meetings brought together multiple government and non-government agencies to share information, build a holistic view of each young person’s needs and strengths, and to develop tailored case plans with specific actions to be reviewed monthly. 

The program aimed to streamline and strengthen service responses; address safety, welfare, or wellbeing concerns; and to reduce offending and crime victimisation. 

To assess the effectiveness of the program, we matched and compared 143 YAMs participants with 622 similar young people from non-program areas. In the year following program referral, we examined differences in: 

• Child protection risk of significant harm (RoSH) reporting, 
• Mental health service use, 
• School enrolment, 
• Missing person reporting, 
• Proven offending, and
• Police-recorded crime victimisation. 

Figure 1 shows the relative difference in the multiagency outputs and criminal justice outcomes experienced by YAMs pilot program participants in the year following program referral. 

In this time, YAMs participants were 37% more likely to have a RoSH report and nearly twice as likely to have a missing person report recorded. These associations likely represent increased rates of detection and service responsiveness, rather than altered need amongst program participants. These differences in RoSH and missing person reporting mainly came from a single pilot site, which implemented the program more consistently and with greater alignment with the intended program model. 

In the year following program referral, no significant differences were observed for school enrolment, mental health service usage, proven offending or police-recorded crime victimisation. 

Figure 1. Association between YAMs participation and the prevalence of multiagency outputs and criminal justice outcomes within one year 

Conclusion

Participation in the YAMs pilot program was not significantly associated with changes in proven criminal offences or police-recorded crime victimisation. In the pilot site with higher implementation fidelity, YAMs participation was associated with significant changes in multiagency service responses.