Youth Treatment Intervention Court
Information for Lawyers
The Youth Treatment Intervention Court (YTIC) is still operational and is designed to assist young people to reduce their offending, improve their mental health, and address their substance misuse.
The YTIC is for young people who have been charged with offences which will not be diverted to a Family Conference and will be heard in the Adelaide Youth Court. Participation in the YTIC is a voluntary condition of bail under section 21B of the Bail Act 1985.
Judicial officers, magistrates, prosecutors, defence lawyers and Youth Justice Workers can make a referral to the YTIC when the young person appears in the general criminal list. Referral forms can be obtained from a Sherriff’s Officer at the Youth Court.
After being referred to the YTIC, program staff will complete an assessment with the young person to determine eligibility for the program. Eligibility requires a nexus between the offending behaviour and a substance use disorder, a mental health disorder, or mental impairment.
If assessed as eligible for the program, the young person will be required to plead guilty to the most serious of their offences before being accepted to participate. However, if the young person has a diagnosed mental impairment they will only be required to agree to the objective elements of the charges.
Upon acceptance for program participation, the young person will receive support from a case manager in the Intervention Programs Branch. The case manager will coordinate the young person’s treatment plan which will be individually tailored to address the conditions related to the offending behaviour. If the offending behaviour is related to substance misuse twice-weekly random drug screening may be required and fortnightly court appearances for the first couple of months.
The duration of program participation is up to 6 months. Throughout the program the young person will attend court periodically for progress reviews. Frequency of progress reviews is dependent on the criminogenic need. If the offending behaviour is related to substance misuse reviews will be more frequent compared with a mental health criminogenic need. At the end of the participation period, a detailed report will be completed for the Court summarising the young person’s participation on the program. Copies of all reports will be provided to the presiding judicial officer, prosecutor, and defence lawyer.
Successful program completion is determined by progress in treatment, compliance with other bail conditions, and a lack of new charges. At the end of program participation, the judicial officer or magistrate will take into consideration progress made on the program when sentencing the young person.
If the young person does not wish to engage in the program or has issues related to compliance with the treatment plan, the matters will be referred back to the general list under Section 21B(6). Withdrawal from the program will not adversely affect the sentencing outcome.
For more information please contact the Youth Treatment Intervention Court on 8204 8615