Cairns and Yarrabah Youth Bail Support Service

By providing the required support and interventions to young people, CYYBSS aims to increase the confidence of a court or police that a young person will comply with the conditions of their bail.

CYYBSS aims to provide a holistic response to addressing the risk factors that have contributed to a young person’s involvement in the youth justice system.

The objectives of the service are:

• Increase the number of young people receiving bail instead of being remanded in custody
• Assist in the timely resolution of Court matters
• Increase the number of young people completing bail
• Reduce the risk factors that lead to non-compliance with bail
• Increase the confidence of bail decision makers (police and magistrates) so remand is not used to limit reoffending or as a protective placement option

CYYBS is for young people who:

• Have involvement in the youth justice system
• Aged 10 – 17 years
• Have committed or are alleged to have committed an offence
• Are living in or on release from detention
• Are living in the Cairns or Yarrabah catchment area
• Are remanded in custody, or at risk of being remanded in custody
• May experience lack of positive support from their community and require support to prepare for release
• Exiting detention and may be at risk of reoffending
• Appearing in court on offences and are at risk of being remanded in custody
• Have been granted bail and require support to meet the conditions of bail, without support may be at risk of entering detention
• Are early in their offending career or are a sibling of known offenders and are exhibiting offending behaviour

CYYBSS provides:

• Assertive outreach which meets the holistic needs of young people
• Face-to-face and phone support as required
• Shared case planning and case management
• Practical individual support
• Help to access housing and other support
• Intensive support using a trauma-informed approach to young people and families, including outreach support and engagement
• Work with young people’s families, significant others and key stakeholders in appropriate cultural contexts