The Department of Human Services will join colleagues across Australia and New Zealand today to celebrate the 3rd Australasian Youth Justice Acknowledgement Day (AYJAD), a day dedicated to recognising, celebrating and raising awareness of the extraordinary work of youth justice staff.
Every day, in some of the most challenging environments, Youth Justice staff demonstrate dedication, compassion and resilience as they work alongside children and young people to create brighter futures.
The difference they make is profound, not only for children in contact with the justice system, but also for their families and communities.
The spirit of AYJAD is reflected in the journeys of practitioners like Ceryce Stone, Senior Programs Practitioner at Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre, whose early career in hairdressing helped build core skills - listening, trust and connection - that now shape her work with young people.
At Kurlana Tapa, children and young people from diverse backgrounds are supported through regular check-ins and programs that build confidence, strengthen cultural identity and connections, improve mental health and wellbeing, and support education, relationships and independent living skills. The focus is on giving every child the chance to grow, learn and plan for a brighter future.
As we celebrate AYJAD, we acknowledge the creativity, flexibility and unwavering belief in second chances that youth justice teams bring to their roles, across metropolitan, regional and remote settings, including work with communities that continues to inform and improve practice.
As put by Nat Cook
To our Youth Justice workforce: thank you. Your professionalism, creativity and compassion lift up children and young people, strengthen families and build a kinder, safer South Australia. You rebuild trust, teach resilience, restore dignity and hope, and transform lives by creating safer communities.
From metro Adelaide to our regions and remote communities, our YJ staff walk alongside young people and families with respect. I'm proud of a system that believes in second chances and backs that belief with real supports - education, wellbeing, culture and connection.
When you help a child see their strengths, you change the trajectory of a life.
Youth Justice staff offer stability when before there was chaos. They listen and help young people find their own voice. They provide guidance and a path to accountability.
They reconnect children skills and repair relationships. They model care and consistency, and importantly, plant seeds of hope, belief, and break cycles of disadvantage and recidivism.
As put by Ceryce Stone, Senior Programs Practitioner, Youth Justice
During my time as a hairdresser I learned how to connect with people, how to listen, how to build trust.
Most young people are capable of turning their lives around and I guess it comes down to whether they're supported in the right way and whether they have positive role models. I truly believe in second chances.
Working in youth justice offers the opportunity to make a real difference in young people's lives, to support them through challenges, and to contribute to meaningful change in the community.
