Youth Services And Priorities In The City Of Melton

This report maps services for young people in the local government area (LGA) of _

Describe and discuss your selected local government area. Your description and analysis will cover: geographical location; Department of Health and Human Service’s region; a profile of the local population: whole population with a focus on description and analysis of statistics relevant to young people. In doing so, cover health and wellbeing status, cultural diversity, socio economic status, employment, education and so on.  

Based on your analysis of the data discuss the local issues and priorities for young people in your selected LGA, and potential service implications. You will need to use and cite references for this section.

Map the local government youth services and programs that are run by or funded by the local council. Include the following:

• Name of the Department in the Council that has responsibility for young people (refer to the organizational chart – structure)

• Contact details of the council and the worker/s that you would contact in youth services including the name of the person in charge and their title.

• Services and programs delivered by the youth services (describe the services and programs that your selected Local Council offers and how this might relate to the issues or needs identified in your analysis of the demographic data.

Identify two local council policies or action plans that are relevant to young people and discuss three priorities for action.

Geographical Location and Population Profile

The selected local government area is the city of Melton. It is a satellite town that is located outside the city of Melbourne in Australia. There are plans to construct in the city a first-class healthcare hub for the whole community at the heart of the town. The name of the service will be Melton Health and Community Services. The Centre will have all the health services in the same building which will be convenient for all residents. The construction began on 2017 February, and it is expected to end in 2018 towards the end. Alongside the health care service department, there is a youth center called Melton city council youth services. The area is about 527.3 cubic kilometers and has a population of 135,443 according to the last census that was carried out in 2016.

The population between the age of 18 and 34 is 24.4%which is still lower as compared to the parental age group of 34 and above which is about 23.7%. The youths in the region who are working are relatively many as compared to those who are not working. The number is 20,955, and it has increased as compared to the previous years where it was lower than 18,000 (Forecast.id.com.au, 2018). There is one hospital in the city which is yet to be completed and could be a source of employment to the number of youths in the region. The city has a department for the youths, and it has its offices in the city which addresses the issues relating to youths affairs. Many youths are in school, and those who are out of school are working and making a living. Those above 18 years f age are independent and can support themselves without the help of their parents. Basically, the city has a shortage of young people. Most of the inhabitants in the region are parents with toddlers.

The city has diversity, and there are aboriginals as well as the other groups. There are those who do not speak English and those who came from abroad. Out of the 135443, only about 500 individuals in the city need assistance because they don’t have jobs. Over 80% of the population has employment or a source of income that sustains them financially.

There has been the problem of housing the youths in the city of Melton. There are some youths which are a small number who do not have proper accommodation and housing. The city lacks most of the essential services for the youths. According to the national budget, only about $870,000 is allocated to the city which is not sufficient to handle the youth issues (Profile.id.com.au, 2018). The Australian government formed a task force called The Youth Homeless Task Force (YHT) which was to address the issue of homelessness amongst the youth in all the cities of Australia. Melton has been one of the cities of Australia that has been of the spotlight for having a large number of youths without homes and loitering around. The YHT has been working within Melbourne to help support those groups that have no homes and are struggling among the youths. The reason for the lack of housing for the youths is because of the large families that are living in the region. Melton is among those cities in the country that has no services that have been set apart for the youths for their benefit.

Population Statistics and Youth Profile

The unemployment crisis is not far away from the youths yet in the city. Melton is part of Melbourne which has recorded a high number of unemployed youths at 16% which is alarming. The reason is that most young people were used to getting employment and short-term contracts from the manufacturing and industrial sectors. However, with the coming of the service sector which requires special skills and education, more youths are left jobless because there are jobs which they are not qualified to handle. The region is in need of opportunities for employment as the ones which are currently there are already flooded, and there are still more people who need jobs. The area has a large pool of workers who are making the wages to reduce because of the excess supply of the same.

As a result of joblessness, many youths are suffering from anxiety and mental issues which is going to become a trend if the problem is not resolved. There is hope as the national government has disbursed about $6 -8 billion to create opportunities for jobs with the youths in mind in the parts of the country (Hobday, 2015). Such an initiative is one which will see many jobs created in the city of Melton like the Health Centre that is being constructed. There is, however, the need for the education sector to offer training which will help benefit the youth of the city. Most youths after the economic crisis that struck the world lost their jobs because industries closed down or resized its employees. Those who were laid off or lost jobs began looking for other alternatives like bakeries which are already flooded. It is essential that the youths be taught how to get self-employment and become entrepreneurs instead of spending their time applying and getting frustrated over jobs.  

• Name of the Department

Melton youth Council

• Contact details of the council

(03) 9747 5373. There is no specific person as the people in the council keep changing. Whenever the number gets called there is always someone to pick up and attend to the needs of the youth that is calling.  

• Services and programs delivered by the youth services

The programs offered in this department are leadership programs for the youth who have ambitions and plans of becoming leaders. There are many other services under this department which includes the following. Youth advisory committee that brings youths together to build confidence through interacting with each other. Besides that there is the wing that deals with diversity issues that are affecting the youths like the LGBT. There is also a wing that helps boys and girls deal with their emotions and frustrations which is still under the same department (Robinson, 2018). The families in the region are diverse and therefore, the information is accurate. The city has a way of ensuring that everyone is taken care of and no one is neglected. The minority have a voice and no one steps on their privileges.

Identify two local council policies or action plans

There are many action plans for the youths under the local council initiative.

1. Supporting innovation and creativity in the city. The city through its leadership has identified ways of ensuring that the talented minds and the youth who are many in the city get a better use of their time. They have established departments and groups that allow the youth to come together to talk about issues that are affecting them and help out in offering the solutions that are needed. Additionally, this policy targets to reduce the unemployment that has been seen in the region.
2. Well designed and built city. The city through its leadership has recognized the need for better housing which has led it to forming the team that will be responsible in drawing the plan that will see the council build the houses and homes that are affordable. The households in Melton are growing and increasing and therefore, there is the need to expand housing and accommodate as many people as they should. The government statistics estimated that more youths are homeless and Melton is the most affected region with many youths lacking the basic needs like food, shelter and clothing.

The three priorities for action that are related to the action plans are as follows.

Creation of job opportunities for the youth. The youths are growing and becoming more with each year. As the number grows, there is more pressure that is exerted on to the social amenities. As a result of that, youths need to be employed and be given a source of living to sustain themselves. Another action plan is education for the youth. More youths don’t have jobs because they don’t have the skills for those jobs. Therefore, the council needs to act fast and improve the quality of education in the city and bring policies which will change the education sector. They are supposed to ensure that the education that is taught in the schools is enough to give the youths the right skills for the jobs they want to seek. Finally the mentorship programs.  Youths need direction in many areas, they need guidance in careers, family and also leadership.  The council should continue making more programs which will enable the youths to grow their skills and be mentored on all issues that affect them.   

References

Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (2004) FaCS Reconnect Self-Evaluation Report 03–04. Melbourne, CMYI 

Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues (2006) What is a Youth Centre? A guide for families wanting to find out more about youth services in Australia.

Hobday, L. (2015). Youth unemployment at 'crisis' levels in Victoria. [online] ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-04/youth-unemployment-at-crisis-levels-in-victoria/6589464 [Accessed 10 Oct. 2018].

Profile.id.com.au. (2018). Need for assistance - Employment status | City of Melton | Community profile. [online] Available at: https://profile.id.com.au/melton/assistance-by-employment-status?BMID=210 [Accessed 10 Oct. 2018].

Forecast.id.com.au. (2018). Population summary | City of Melton | forecast.id. [online] Available at: https://forecast.id.com.au/melton/population-summary [Accessed 10 Oct. 2018].

Robinson, B. (2018). Conditional Families and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth Homelessness: Gender, Sexuality, Family Instability, and Rejection. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80(2), pp.383-396.