DURING her visit to Shepparton, Corrections Minister Natalie Hutchins opened the recently completed Shepparton Justice Service Centre and announced a new pilot program designed to reduce crime by ramping up support for families involved in the criminal justice system.
The Putting Families First program will assign a single case manager to families, giving them a sole point of contact and eliminating confusion of dealing with multiple people and organisations.
200 families from the Goulburn, Brimbank and Melton areas will take part in the initial roll out of the program, which will initially target mothers leaving custody and young people who are already in the justice system. The program will also provide specialist support for First Nations, Pasifika, and African community members through partnerships with relevant organisations.
The program will be delivered locally through the fit-for-purpose Justice Service Centre, that has been made possible through $3.7M funding as part of ongoing investments to improve community safety and rehabilitation.
The Justice Service Centre will be a centralised space for residents to resolve a variety of matters such as submitting birth, deaths and marriages applications, accessing dispute settlement services, making sheriff payments, seeking advice on consumer affairs issues, and more.
The Justice Service Centre is open 9-5pm Monday to Friday at 409-415 Wyndham Street, Shepparton.
