Children's Court Assistance Scheme

The Children's Court Assistance Scheme (CCAS) provides support to young people appearing on criminal charges at Parramatta and Bidura Children's Courts. There are other services auspiced by other Legal Centres operating in Children's Courts in the Hunter area, the Central Coast and the Illawarra.

Support Workers provide information about court processes and outcomes, informal counselling and conflict resolution as well as referral to welfare services such as drug and alcohol programs, counselling and accomodation.

Volunteer support workers, under the supervision of the scheme's coordinators, work with young people and their families on the day of court, both before and after the actual court appearance.

Since its beginnings in 1995 at Lidcombe Children's Court, the scheme has become an integral and indispensible part of many Children's Courts.

• Young people feel less alienated from the justice system because their questions are answered and their anxieties are dealt with;

• Cohesion between young offenders and their parents is increased through the informal conflict resolution and counselling the scheme provides;

• Compliance with court orders is likely to increase through greater understanding of the effects of orders and the consequences of breaches;

• Young people's offending behaviour is addressed through referral to appropriate programs in the community.

In these ways the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in prevention and rehabilitation is increased.

This program is auspiced by Macquarie Legal Centre and is coordinated by a team of experienced staff.

The scheme is heavily dependent on volunteer youth workers, who carry out much of the support work under supervision of the scheme coordinators. Volunteers are generally youth workers, or others with a social work background, who are skilled at making contact with and engaging young people. Most of the volunteers on the scheme are supported by their agencies, and participate in the court support roster as part of their work. If you are interested in volunteering, call 8833 0993.

The Children's Court Assistance Scheme is funded by the State government, with funds administered by the Legal Aid Commission. The scheme is part of a state-wide program of Children's Court Support Services which involves other established Schemes such as; Illawarra, Hunter, Macarthur, and the Central Coast.

We have published a manual for support workers called: "A Guide for Support Workers Children's Court Assistance Scheme." For a copy please contact our office.

There are many useful links on the web containing information on youth issues.

Disclaimer: Warning: The information contained on this site is general and is not intended to be advice on any matter. It is for information only and is not legal advice. You must not rely on the information contained in this site. if you have a legal problem you must talk with a solicitor. to the extent permissible by law, Macquarie Legal Centre disclaims all liability for anything contained on or accessed via this site and any use you make of it. The information presented is for the State of New South Wales and is only applicable for that State.