Evaluation of the NSW Youth Drug Court Pilot Program: First Implementation Review

Abstract

The NSW Youth Drug Court (YDC) Pilot Program is an initiative arising from the 1999 Drug Summit. It began operating on 31 July 2000 in two Children’s Courts in Western and South Western Sydney. Its aim is to reduce drug use and offending behaviour among young people charged with serious offences, where alcohol or other drug use is a contributory factor. At the end of 2000, a University of New South Wales evaluation consortium, led by the Social Policy Research Centre, was commissioned by the NSW Attorney General’s Department to evaluate the YDC Pilot Program. This report presents the findings of the first Implementation Review, carried out as part of the evaluation. The Review is based on interviews with 25 key stakeholders of the YDC and with five participants, observation of Court hearings and team meetings, and review of policy documents. The aim of the Review is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the YDC program in its initial phase, from the perspective of the different stakeholders, and to highlight critical success factors and barriers to implementation.