Partnerships for Learning, Prevention and Opportunity Through the Partnership Outreach Education Model (POEM) Initiative

• NCJ Number: 204827
• Author(s): Greg Bryant; Paul Altschwager; Gerri Walker
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 36 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper presented at the "Juvenile Justice: From Lessons of the Past to a Road Map for the Future" conference, held December 1-2, 2003, in Sydney, Australia; downloaded March 25, 2004.

Annotation

This paper discusses a number of lessons learned from Australia's National POEM (Partnership Outreach Education Model) pilot initiatives; it then provides detailed information on the comprehensive POEM project in Adelaide.

Abstract

The Australian Government, through its Department of Education, Science, and Training (DEST), inaugurated POEM in April 2002. The aim of POEM projects is to develop and coordinate community resources to prevent youth from becoming disconnected from a community's educational system and more broadly from their families and communities. POEM's pilot efforts consist of 21 diverse project that are operating in more than 40 locations that encompass metropolitan, regional, rural, and remote jurisdictions throughout the country. The 21 projects are providing full-time learning places for almost 500 vulnerable youth at any given time; approximately 15 percent of POEM students are involved with the juvenile justice system. POEM encourages a flexible operating framework that tailors community resources to the individualized education and support needs of youth who are disconnected from the traditional educational and socializing institutions of society. The Youth Education Center in Adelaide has implemented a multifaceted and comprehensive model called the Virtual School POEM project. The center is a multicampus public school that provides educational and training services in South Australia for youth in secure care as well as an outreach program for youth at risk within the broader community. The hypothesis being tested by the POEM pilot sites is that a "broader connectedness" between government and nongovernmental agencies, industry, church, sporting clubs, and community members provides partnerships that construct pathways that will be attractive and constructive for disconnected youth. POEM project activities feature education and training based on learning plans developed and shared by participating agencies. This report discusses project management, the detailed operations of the Virtual School in Adelaide, appropriate staffing, interim findings of an evaluation of a POEM initiative, supporting learning environments, a partnership approach, intake and exit procedures, planning and coordination, and data management and analysis pertinent to measuring outcomes and achievements. An attachment briefly describes each of the 21 POEM pilot projects.