Targeted Responses to Youth Crime grants

Applications are now closed

Applications for 2023–24 Targeted Responses to Youth Crime grants (formerly Community Partnership Innovation Grants) closed on Wednesday 14 February 2024.

Learn more about our range of crime prevention grants.

With up to $2.5 million in funds available for communities across Queensland, one-off grants (of up to $300,000) are available for new ideas and projects that support young people who are, or could become, serious repeat offenders, to change their behaviours and improve community connection.

The Targeted Responses to Youth Crime grants will support change-oriented and intensive responses that:

  • address predictors of youth offending thinking and behaviour
  • support family and community to address and manage the varied, and often complex, causes of offending behaviours
  • target the unique issues being experienced by local communities
  • are designed in partnership with the local community.

What we are looking for

An idea community proposal will include:

  • a targeted engagement of individuals and groups generally aged 10 to 17 years old
  • a new idea or concept that has not already been tried or is building on a project or initiative that is already working in your community. It should have measurable impact against the A Safer Queensland – Queensland Youth Justice Strategy 2024–2028
  • a response to local youth crime matters in your community including how you engaged with community, who you met with, their concerns and how the idea/project will address these concerns. Find tips on engaging with your community below
  • a demonstration of culturally safe and local partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities
  • a demonstration of how your idea/project addresses the causes of youth crime and delivers positive outcomes for young people who are, or at risk of, committing crime
  • a performance and outcomes measure that reflects the needs and aspirations of young people in the community.

Projects must commence from 2024.

Engaging with your community

Tips for partnering with your local community:

  • raise awareness among your community and stakeholders about the grants and your plans to be involved
  • talk to your community and stakeholders about their youth justice concerns
  • identify your community's aspirations for young people
  • identify new partnerships and key organisations in your local area who can help deliver positive outcomes for young people
  • involve and work with your community and stakeholders, including young people, on an innovative proposal that addresses the community-agreed issues and meets the needs of young people.

Applications process

Applications for 2023–24 grants closed on Wednesday 14 February 2024.

To ensure fairness, applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted after the closing date.

  1. Read the Targeted Responses to Youth Crime program information and grant guidelines (PDF, 447KB) carefully to determine your eligibility and whether your application meets the relevant program funding guidelines.
  2. Consult with your community and engage local stakeholders to develop your proposal. You will need to include the following information:
    1. who you met with and how you engaged with your community to understand what they feel needs to happen to respond to youth crime issues
    2. what the localised concerns are from your community engagement
    3. how your idea/project will address the concerns identified by the community
    4. who will be involved in the delivery of your response (provide evidence of their commitment, if possible)
    5. demonstration of culturally safe and localised partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
  3. Complete and submit your application online through SmartyGrants.

You will receive an acknowledgement email from SmartyGrants once you submit your application. If you don't receive an acknowledgement email, your application has not been submitted. Check your application for errors and resubmit. If your application still doesn't submit, contact SmartyGrants Technical Support—contact details are in the program information and grant guidelines (PDF, 447KB).

The SmartyGrants system will automatically shut off at midnight on the closing dates of each quarter and will not allow applications to be submitted.

Resources

Whether you are a grants program applicant needing more information, or you are just looking to promote this great community-based initiative with your contacts, we have got you covered.

Find fact sheets, frequently asked questions (FAQs), posters, social media tiles, newsletter content and more.

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Successful 2023–24 grant recipients

Congratulations to the following successful 2023–24 recipients:

  • Lutheran Church of Australia Queensland District

    COMPASS provides case management support for young people at risk or in contact with the youth justice system. Up to 40 young people aged 10–17 and their families will receive support for up to 6 months, with focus on addressing the underlying causes of offending, helping young people and families navigate complex challenges.

    Location: Moreton Bay

  • Mareeba Community Centre Inc.

    Youth Connections & Night Patrol Service provides intensive case management support and night patrols targeting at-risk young people in Mareeba. It includes intensive Monday to Friday case management for around 30 young people aged 10–25, providing guidance and support, as well as night patrols three nights a week between 7–10pm, offering a safe presence in the community.

    Location: Mareeba Shire

  • Mission Australia

    Deadly Me offers a 14-week cultural capability program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 8–17 in Mareeba Shire and Tablelands. The program is facilitated by First Nations staff and strengthens young people's engagement with, and connection to, cultural identity, family history and heritage, Country, community and concludes with an on country camp. The program provides meaningful and positive alternatives in the community for young people to engage with. It focuses on young people, including young women, transitioning from detention, on youth justice orders, engaged in the youth justice system, or at risk of offending, aiming to support at least 40 participants annually.

    Location: Mareeba Shire, Tablelands

  • BUSY at Work

    BUSY Step Up is an adolescent family violence intervention program addressing youth violence and abuse towards family members or intimate partners. The program supports a minimum of 40 young people aged 10–17 over 12 months, offering one-on-one case management and outreach. Sessions include making a safety plan, understanding warning signs, assertive communication, and problem-solving.

    Location: Townsville

  • Save the Children Australia

    Specialist Youth Violence Prevention (SYVP) is a 12-month project in Mt Isa and Doomadgee that targets young men aged 13–18 who use or are at risk of using intimate partner violence(IPV). Delivered in partnership with Natjul Indigenous Performing Arts, the program uses culturally responsive approaches, mentoring, and one-on-one support to change young men's attitudes and behaviour towards IPV and build healthier relationships.

    Location: Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire, Mount Isa

  • Domestic Violence Prevention Centre Gold Coast Inc.

    Holding Hope, Creating Change is an early intervention program for young people aged 5–17 who use violence against their family members. It prioritises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and offers whole-family wrap-around support through care coordination and trauma-informed education. The program employs two practitioners who provide weekly or fortnightly sessions, focusing on communication skills and safety planning. Caseworkers manage up to 10 cases each.

    Location: Gold Coast

  • Adam Wenitong Adapt Mentorship and Consultancy

    In Country Kinnection is a 48-week transformative crime prevention project held at Gummingurru Traditional Site. It integrates elements of Landcare, Lore, Cultural identity, mentorship, and community development. Five very high-risk First Nations young men will receive intensive cultural mentoring, including two days per week of on-country mentoring, to improve cultural connectedness.

    Location: Toowoomba

  • Carbal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Ltd.

    CULTUREGUARD: Youth Harmony Program is an 8-month cultural safety training initiative for professionals working with young people in the justice system. Delivered online and in-person, the program is similar in structure to mental health first aid, equipping professionals to address criminogenic behaviour and tailor responses to the unique needs of young people aged 10–13 and young women at risk.

    Location: Goondiwindi, Southern Downs, Toowoomba

  • IFYS Ltd.

    The RESET Program supports young people aged 10–16 with intensive case management and outreach. It aims to serve up to 50 young people who interact with police and courts, offering focused support over the funding period. Additionally, the outreach component provides brief support, referrals, and psycho-social or social engagement opportunities to a further 100 young people, fostering positive connections within the youth justice system.

    Location: Sunshine Coast

Successful 2022–23 grant recipients

Find out the successful 2022–23 recipients of the (previously named) Community Partnerships Innovation grants.

  • Compass – Lutheran Community Care
    Targeted holistic complex case coordination and intensive case management for at-risk, vulnerable young people displaying offending behaviours. This project will target the underlying causes of criminal behaviours, focusing on social and emotional wellbeing.
    Location: Moreton Bay

    HOPE 4 Life – Holistic Recovery for Young People Impacted by Domestic and Family Violence
    Holistic early intervention to young people affected by domestic and family violence, with the goal of reducing the impact of trauma and minimising the likelihood they will engage in criminal activity.
    Location: Brisbane

    The Yili Program – Yiliyapinya Indigenous Corporation
    A neuroscience-informed program for Aboriginal 10 to 18-year-olds on bail in the Inala area whose needs cannot be met by mainstream or alternative education and training programs.
    Location: Inala

    Fire Project – Selectability
    An after-hours outreach and mentoring program in Earlville and Edmonton. It includes transportation to return young people home, and referrals for young people to connect them with existing cultural programs and key agencies.
    Location: Cairns

    Youth Into Work – Australian Training Works Group
    An Indigenous group training organisation that provides work readiness courses and builds young people's skills for the workplace, such as communication, teamwork and other interpersonal skills.
    Location: Cairns

    Proud Warrior – Queensland Youth Services
    The Proud Warrior project will provide multi-agency intervention for primarily Indigenous young people who are at risk of disengaging from school, young people from low socio-economic households, and cases where young people are known, or their family is known, to police.
    Location: Townsville

    Back to Community – Save the Children (trading as 54 Reasons)
    The Back to Community reintegration program will provide trauma-informed, culturally responsive throughcare support for young people whose home country is Mount Isa, Doomadgee or Mornington Island when leaving the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre.
    Location: Mount Isa

    Babbinyuwi Wanda-Rites of Passage – Marigurim Yalaam Indigenous Corporation
    A Rites of Passage framework which includes intensive support for young people over 6 weeks before attending a Rites of Passage camp, followed by another 6 weeks of assistance.
    Location: Hervey Bay

    T-REK (Together-Respected, Energised, Kinnected) – Youth off the Streets
    Targeted and evidence-based interventions which caters for 2 main groups – young people leaving detention and returning to the community, and young people who need to re-engage with education. Cultural groups in Logan who will benefit from the program include First Nations, Pasifika and African communities.
    Location: Logan

    Tribe of Mentors – Circuit Breaker Project, Adam Jeffrey Wenitong
    An intensive 30-week immediate response for re-offending young people, including a 7-month cultural project that will provide cultural mentoring and connection to the First Nations community.
    Location: Toowoomba

    RAW Impact On Community – Youth at Risk, Raw Impact International
    Cultural connection over an intensive period of 7 weeks for at-risk young people, with the option of ongoing engagement in meaningful cultural activities and projects that support the rejuvenation of native title land at the Yumba.
    Location: Toowoomba

    'The Block': A Community Hub Empowering Connection and Wellbeing – Winangali Infusion
    'The Block' provides young people in Goondiwindi, and in the New South Wales border towns of Boggabila and Toomelah with a safe and supervised community hub for pro-social opportunities, cultural education, recreational activities and more.
    Location: Goondiwindi

Further information

For further information, contact us at YJ_Grants@youthjustice.qld.gov.au.