Rights, Advocacy and Discrimination

This unit will provide students with an understanding of the current Local, State and Federal Government policy and legislation regarding young people with diverse abilities and their families. Service delivery, advocacy and inter professional collaboration models will be examined in order to analyse the benefits and limitations of the current legal/court system regarding young people. Students will be given the opportunity to critically examine case studies outlining ethical issues around duty of care vs dignity of risk when working with young people who have diverse abilities. Other legal issues such as guardianship and power of attorney, consent and capacity, and justice plans all have significant impacts on a young person’s life and the need for youth worker advocacy will be identified.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Critically analyse the benefits and limitations of Local, State and Federal Government policy and human rights legislation regarding young people with diverse abilities and their families;
2. Link strategic thinking in terms of policy with operational action in procedures and youth work practices;
3. Articulate the role of youth work and youth workers and the roles of advocacy within a framework of discrimination and human rights;
4. Identify and collaborate with aligned professional organisations to maximise inclusion opportunities for all young people;
5. Identify and resolve issues or professional, ethics and discrimination that may arise when working with all young people within the justice system.