Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring Program Evaluation

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Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring Program Evaluation On a few occasions mentors had not performed their role appropriately, putting the relationship and young people’s progress at risk and drawing criticism from program collaborators. The Panyappi Coordinator addressed this by supporting mentors to improve their ability to meet their responsibilities, and, if necessary, reconsider their appropriateness for the role, or stepping in to work with the young person to bridge the gap until another mentor could be provided. Interagency collaboration Interagency collaboration has been variable at the Advisory Group level due to differences of opinion about the location and auspicing arrangements for Panyappi, and the disruption this creates when meetings are held, detracting from commitments to collaboration made in the early stages of the program. The viability of the current Advisory Group structure is uncertain and alternatives could be considered. In contrast, collaboration in the delivery of direct services appears to be strong. Program collaborators greatly appreciate access to a unique service that provides a high level of input into young people who are otherwise likely to disconnect from education and support services, and further increase the risk they will engage in or be a victim of crime. Panyappi has developed strong relationships with schools in providing everyday support for young people, and with family support services, especially through MAYT, but also other government and non-government agencies. Criticisms appeared to be based on confusion about the roles and responsibilities of mentors, the long-term and intensive nature of mentoring, and the extent of the program resources. This was reflected through reports about and from program collaborators of unrealistic expectations and inappropriate requests of mentors, and poor clarification of communication and information-sharing protocols. This may be restraining the achievement of best possible outcomes in some circumstances. Influencing young people’s attitudes and behaviour toward offending Both young people and family members reported a marked positive change in young people’s offending behaviour, which was supported by the justice system’s database that tracks and reports young people’s offending activity. Some young people with strong histories of offending and incarceration had not offended at all or only small incidents had occurred in a six-month period, often in the earlier stages of their work with Panyappi. The young people and their family members considered this remarkable and were proud as well as slightly surprised. Mentors and program collaborators supported these statements. Along with family members, they also indicated that young people’s attitudes had started to shift as they realised they could succeed in other areas and had other options they could take apart from offending. As would be expected for young people who have developed entrenched negative patterns, there were hiccoughs in this process. Evaluation participants were very keen that an investment was made in a long-term support program, like Panyappi, that would stay with young people through the ups and downs involved in getting back and staying on track. - 6 -
Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring Program Evaluation Decreasing young people’s contact with the juvenile justice system It was apparent from the range of qualitative data gained, that Panyappi clients decreased their contact with the juvenile justice system in terms of their level of and frequency of offending. This was confirmed through system data with substantial decreases in formal cautions, court orders, family conferences and convictions. Due to a previous history of offending it was common that some young people were still involved in court appearances or orders. Panyappi supported them through and, wherever possible, beyond this period. Whether this decreased contact is maintained will depend on the capacity to track these young people’s progress over a longer period of time, which will require ongoing program and evaluation funding. Supporting self-discovery and self-determination by young people and families There were consistent reports from a range of stakeholders that young people developed in their self-belief, and personal and cultural identity during their involvement with Panyappi. Many young people re-engaged with education, whether through schooling or VET options, started to develop other interests and friendships, and were developing better relationships with their families. Family members agreed to be involved with other support agencies to address personal or family issues, started to improve their skills in responding constructively to their young people, and became more convinced that their young person was making substantial changes. They reported experiencing a decrease in stress over time. They valued the way in which Panyappi included and supported them in the process. Family members, mentors and program collaborators believed that if young people were going to maintain belief in their ability to cope, stay motivated and achieve their goals, it would depend on further support from Panyappi at a similar or reduced intensity for a further period of time (i.e. at least 6-12 months). If this occurred, they were more confident that young people would become self-determining. Recommendations These outcomes lead to the following recommendations. Recommendations 1 through 6 specifically focus on the Panyappi program, while recommendations 7 and 8 apply to future Indigenous youth programs. Recommendation 1: Ongoing commitment to Panyappi ω ω Develop a long-term funding strategy for Panyappi involving two or more partners from the juvenile justice, crime prevention, and family and community service sectors, including Indigenous based agencies. Support Panyappi to document its model of work to be used as an example of good practice for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth mentoring programs, as well as a training tool within and beyond Panyappi. - 7 -
Page 1 and 2: Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring
Page 3 and 4: © Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentor
Page 5 and 6: Beginning the Story… Panyappi Ind
Page 7 and 8: Executive Summary What is Panyappi?
Page 9: Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring
Page 17 and 18: Program funding Panyappi Indigenous
Page 21 and 22: JUSTICE Strong support from the Cri
Page 29 and 30: ATSIC recently reported: Panyappi I
Page 37 and 38: Evaluation questions Panyappi Indig
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Panyappi Indigenous Youth Mentoring
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Support for mentors Panyappi Indige
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Weaving the Threads Together Achiev
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ω ω ω Panyappi Indigenous Youth
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Recommendations Panyappi Indigenous
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Outcome Formative or process Append
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