Projects

This project was a partnership with the Centre for Adolescent Health, the YRC, the Youth Substance Abuse Service and the Centre for Youth Drug Studies. It was designed to investigate the relationship between truancy and problematic substance use in the Australian context. It focussed particularly on high risk young people who are poorly connected to school and who have high rates of truancy and non-attendance at school. The project worked with select school communities to generate evidence about 'what works' to assist school communities during 2004. This project generated guidelines for the dealing with substance misuse in the school setting.

This resource, Preventing Drug-related Harm: A guide for the Student Welfare Coordinator, can be downloaded from the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood website. It contains guidelines to assist schools and their communities to address issues relating to truancy and the associated risk of problematic substance abuse.

Contact: Helen Cahill

Contact: yrc-info@unimelb.edu.au