Offenders Aid & Rehabilitation Services of SA Inc
Patron : His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, AC CSC RANR, Governor of South Australia
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Offenders Aid & Rehabilitation Services of SA Inc
Patron : His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, AC CSC RANR, Governor of South Australia |
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Download PDF of Complete Newsletter here.
Release Journal PublishedThe CEO Corner of OARS SA Release Number 127 is published for your interest.June 2008
As
this issue of Release goes to print we have just received information from the
Department for Health and Ageing about funding for our Illicit Drug Intervention
Program.
Thankfully I can report that the service has been funded
for a further 3 years and at a significantly higher level.
Our counselling team has been under considerable
pressure this year with significant client loads and the uncertainty of future
funding, and whilst the notification from the Commonwealth has been very late,
we are grateful to have finally received it. This means that we can extend our
services considerably.
Funds have been around $170,000.00 per annum and
this has been raised to $220,000.00 per annum.
We have also received funding for a special
Amphetamine Treatment Program of $477,000.00.
This funding will be used to assist people who have
offended to reduce their dependence on illicit drugs and minimise the harms that
inevitably eventuate from this type of lifestyle.
We are hoping to develop a more strategic
partnership with the Department for Correctional Services as a result of this
great news.
A further part of the announcement reveals that OARS
SA has also been rewarded with a Capital Grant to increase our capacity to
assist amphetamine users.
These funds will enable us to develop a training
facility and provide significant treatment, educational and training services in
relation to amphetamine usage.
This is a great example of how we use Commonwealth funds to
assist people who have offended.
This funding increase will assist our Personal
Support Program (PSP) clients as well, and will enable us to expand our tender
for the next round of PSP funding.
Many PSP clients require significant support to
reduce their drug taking to get ready for employment, and to be able to refer
clients to an internal service with greater capacity is a huge boost.
Whilst this is great news for us, the same cannot be said
for the news related to our housing and accommodation services.
The HIR Program—which we believe was very
successful—has been defunded, and replaced with a Community Based Support
Service.
Funds available are significantly reduced from previously.
Last year we sent a submission to the Justice Department in
relation to housing and accommodation for prisoners.
Our view was that this submission was not considered
properly and we have just written to the Justice Department to seek their
further consideration.
This proposal sought to provide opportunities to
relieve overcrowding in 3 ways :
Our commitment to high quality services has also been given
a boost this year when we underwent our Quality Management external
accreditation process.
I am delighted to report that we have been awarded
interim accreditation, and after we have fixed up a few policy matters that were
identified as deficient, we will receive full accreditation in August.
Our staff continue to provide fantastic work in very
difficult circumstances.
I would also add my thanks to the volunteers who recently
received certificates at our Award Night.
They do a fantastic job and we would be lost without
them. We were very grateful that the Minister for Correctional Services, The Hon
Carmel Zollo MLC was able to assist us in this great night
Our Restorative Justice work continues to thrive and this is detailed elsewhere.
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Last Updated : Monday, 10 November 2008 Send mail to
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