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| Café Horizons: Referral Process |
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"Young people have been referred by 24 different community agencies with the largest source of
referral coming from Juvenile Justice and the Youth Drug Court (17%) - Café Horizons
The majority of young people in the Café Horizons program have been referred by refuge centres. The
general referral protocol is to submit a ‘Referral To Links To Learning’ form. When nominating a potential
student for the program it requests that the referring agency offers support and encourages their clients’
participation if accepted into the program; the Café is a firm believer that the likelihood of a student to
complete the course is heightened by the level of support they receive externally.
Referrals to the program can include any young person who has experienced difficulty in the mainstream
system, early school leavers looking for further education and work experience. Many of Café Horizons
target group include young people who are; in recovery from drug dependence, homeless, long term
unemployed, early school leavers, involved with criminal justice system and indigenous young people. As
of the end of 2004 a vast majority of students (62%) had completed only year nine (third year of High
School in NSW) - with 88% having completed year 10 or less.
Interviews are held two weeks prior to intake dates which take place about ten times each year.
Prospective students are asked to give details of their work experience, legal history, accommodation
status, Centrelink benefits, education, medical background and how they envisage that they will get to
and from the program. Students are also asked to articulate their short-term (1 month) and long-term (5
month) goals and any external factors that they believe may inhibit them from completing the course. This
is what the Café believe to be a necessary measure to address strengths and weaknesses of the student
as well as any potential barriers early in the piece.
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