Will social workers in schools stop young people committing violent crimes?

The Victorian government has announced it will send social workers to 20 of the state’s schools to try to reduce violent youth crime.

It will spend A$5.6 million on “targeted” schools next year. The aim is to “intervene early in the lives of children who are heading down the wrong path […] drifting towards violence, crime and anti-social behaviour”.

This is a positive idea, but it requires careful implementation. And will need support from police, teachers and health professionals to work.

What has been announced?

The government says the social workers – called “early intervention officers” – would work within schools and help teachers, principals, wellbeing coordinators and school nurses. They would:

• identify children who are most at risk of drifting towards anti-social behaviour and violent crime

• keep a constant eye on troubled children, supporting them through a case management approach

• focus on improving their school attendance and sense of belonging, and their relationships with peers

• support schools in monitoring the status and movements of students who are suspended.

The social workers will not work with what the government terms “the worst youth offenders”. They will target children most likely to become youth offenders if there’s no intervention.

Read more: We tracked 72,000 NSW public school students over a decade and found 19% had been suspended or expelled

What’s the justification?

In support of the social workers plan, the state government reported new data from Victoria’s Council on Bail, Rehabilitation and Accountability which shows 70% of Victoria’s worst alleged youth offenders were chronically absent from school before they turned to crime. Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the data shows

disengagement from school to be a big factor pushing children, particularly those with limited support at home, down a pathway towards violent crime.

This is supported by other studies, which emphasise the importance of education in crime prevention.

The social workers announcement also follows more punitive recent policies aimed at reducing violent crime in Victoria. This includes adult sentences for young people committing violent crimes, such as home invasions. This approach has been criticised by legal experts and advocates as unlikely to reduce offending.

Read more: Victoria's 'adult time for violent crime' reforms will not solve the youth crime problem

Do we already have social workers in schools?

Victoria already has social workers in schools as part of “student support services”. They work with kids, families and teachers to address barriers to learning and wellbeing.

But they are area-based. They might be spread across a number of schools so their capacity to be on the ground with teachers can be limited.

On the face of it, Wednesday’s announcement is a good idea. We can see this as a positive, proactive attempt to help children’s wellbeing and socialisation. We know young people need to have enough education to be employable and included in our society.

How could children be identified?

Teachers are generally able to identify children who are at risk.

These will be children who are not regularly coming to school (provided there is no illness or other reason invovled), who are chronically late, tired, hungry, not producing homework and not engaged in the classroom. Perhaps they are also disruptive and getting into fights.

What is missing?

The Victorian government says it is borrowing from a Scottish model, which set up a “Violence Reduction Unit” in Glasgow in 2005.

However there are a couple of key differences with the Scottish system. The first is, Scotland is dealing with children who had already been referred to the justice system for offending behaviour. It is trying to divert children from prosecution.

So, working with social workers is required for Scottish children and their families. If they did not, they faced sanctions, such as supervision measures. In extreme circumstances, the child might be placed in alternative care, if the parents lacked capacity to care for their child.

At this stage, the Victorian model does not talk about what it expects from children. If it’s all voluntary, there’s no compulsion on the part of the child or family to really engage with it.

Are we looking at the root causes?

The Scottish system also sees social workers as part of a broader team of health professionals, teachers and police, all of whom had expertise with children and youth justice. It takes a broad perspective – to understand the root causes of a child’s behaviour and needs.

This is why we should be careful not to just plonk social workers into schools with no further supports.

Perhaps there are issues around poverty, homelessness, family dysfunction, mental health or learning disabilities that make it difficult – or impossible – for a child to attend school. Perhaps a child has low literacy levels or needs speech or hearing support.

We have to widen our scope beyond school attendance to why a child isn’t able to engage with school.

Don’t forget role models

Research also tells us children need positive role models in their lives. They need to be able to see what going to school could look like, and what that might mean for their lives.

As well as positive peer relationships, they need to have adults closely involved who can mentor the child and show them there are other ways to behave than being dysfunctional or disruptive.

Ultimately it’s about ensuring children and young people feel like they are part of the community.