Better Futures

Better Futures is a prevention and early intervention program which aims to improve outcomes for young people aged 9 – 18 years. It is undertaken in the context of the NSW State Plan and the NSW Youth Action Plan priorities.

NSW State Plan

The Government of New South Wales is committed to improving the services it delivers to the community and the NSW State Plan (2006) is the blueprint for how the Government intends to achieve these improvements.

The Plan reflects the hopes and goals of people across NSW and the priorities for the public sector.  It sets the goals the community wants the NSW Government to work towards and identifies priorities for Government action that will help achieve each of these goals over a 10 year period.

NSW Youth Action Plan

The themes for the NSW Youth Action Plan are priority action areas which are strongly linked to the Government’s goals in the State Plan.  The Youth Action Plan relates to young people aged between 12 and 24 years.  The themes of the Plan are set out below.

·  Belonging to Family and Community

·  Learning and Earning

·  Feeling Good and Staying Healthy

·  Engaging in Culture, Sport and Recreation

·  Feeling and Being Safe.

Encouraging and enabling more young people to be involved with family and community benefits everyone.  Evidence has shown that young people prosper when they have strong relationships with family and friends and a strong connection with community and these in turn contribute to positive outcomes in education, health and safety.

The Government recognises the importance of education.  The Plan gives particular attention to young people who are at risk of disconnecting from school and aligns with the goals and priorities of the State Plan.

Good physical and mental health is a basic component of young people’s wellbeing.  Adolescence is the ideal time to prevent health problems before they start and to intervene early for individuals with signs or symptoms of a health problem.

For young people participation in recreation, cultural activity and leisure offers protective factors. Participation in sporting activities also has important health benefits for young people as it helps to maintain acceptable weight levels in adolescence and promotes young people’s resistance to drug-taking and alcohol consumption.

Being safe is essential to young people’s wellbeing and includes having access to secure shelter and living in an environment free of violence and crime. 

Overview of Better Futures

Better Futures is a prevention and early intervention program which aims to improve results for young people aged 9 – 18 years.  Better Futures is a state-wide, whole-of government program administered by the NSW Commission for Children and Young People.

Client population

The client population is young people aged 9-18, in particular disadvantaged young people. 

No specific sub-populations have been nominated for Better Futures but projects may address specific sub-populations. Sub-populations of interest to Better Futures include:

·  Young people from disadvantaged communities[1]

·  Young people from rural and remote communities

·  Young people with a disability/special needs[2]

·  Young people with an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander background

·  Young people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds

·  Young people at risk of, or currently exhibiting, antisocial behaviours

[1] Disadvantaged communities are those who lack access to fundamental material and social resources and/or are socially excluded.

[2]Includes people with mental health/drug and alcohol issues as well

For further information

Contact	:	NSW Commission for Children and Young People
Phone	:	9286 7276