Aboriginal community-controlled organisation Broome Youth and Families Hub will lead the Target 120 program in Broome and has been awarded a $750,000 grant to deliver the program until 30 June 2025.
Target 120 is an Indigenous-led youth crime prevention program. To date, almost half of the participants in Target 120 have had no further contact with police whatsoever since commencing the program.
Broome Youth and Families Hub (BYFB) is a subsidiary of Kullarri Regional Communities Indigenous Corporation and has been working with children and young people in the Kimberley since 2014.
BYFB currently delivers a range of services including a drop-in centre, a playgroup and parenting support group, girls group, school holiday activities, and programs for young people who are leaving out-of-home care.
The transition to Aboriginal community-controlled organisation (ACCO) leadership builds on the Target 120 early intervention program's success in other locations, where it is helping to steer young people at risk of offending away from the criminal justice system by connecting them with tailored services and supports.
In March community organisation Ngala was announced as the service provider to deliver Target 120 in Carnarvon, and on Thursday it was announced that Emama Nguda Aboriginal Corporation would lead the program in Derby.
The WA government invested a further $11.7 million as part of the 2023-24 State Budget to extend the program across all sites until June 2025, taking the total investment in the early intervention program to more than $43 million.
Kimberley MP Divina D'Anna said on Friday that programs led by Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations achieve the best outcomes for Aboriginal young people and their families.
"The Broome Youth and Families Hub already has a strong local presence and good relationships with the community. It will be great to see them build on that as they assume leadership of the Target 120 program here," she said.
Community Services Minister Sabine Winton said a "huge key" to the program's success is "making sure we appoint the right service providers with good local knowledge and community relationships".
"I'm looking forward to seeing how Broome Youth and Families Hub are able to utilise their local connections and rapport to connect with at-risk young people and help them turn their lives around," she said.
"This announcement further highlights the McGowan government's genuine commitment to making a difference in our community and addressing longstanding and complex issues like youth crime."
