The Engagement and Support Program

Office of Community Safety and Cohesion Strategy, Policy and Commissioning Department of Communities and Justice

Type of Organisation: Governmental institution

The Engagement and Support Unit’s (ESU) primary goal is to build resilience to radicalisation through diversion, disengagement and desistance. The ESU is a voluntary programme that uses a multidisciplinary, multi-agency case management approach to provide holistic intervention to participants who are at risk of radicalisation or who have been convicted of a terrorism-related offence.

The ESU works with community-based services to build capacity and support the successful reintegration of participants. The programme utilises the support of several government agencies that provide expertise and advice. This includes specialists from across the Department of Communities and Justice in the areas of Child Protection, Corrective Services, Community Corrections and Youth Justice as well as Police, Education and Health.

These agencies contribute to the programme by way of a multi-agency advisory panel that meets monthly to review the progress of participants and case plans in place, as well as make recommendations for holistic intervention.

Each client gets assigned an ESU case manager to help them build protective factors and develop a positive sense of identity, belonging and self-worth by:

• planning goals based on individual risks, needs, circumstances and strengths;
• accessing programmes and services to address these goals, including linking to education, employment and mental health support;
• connecting with local social and community support for the individual;
• working with other government and non-government agencies to access services required as part of each client’s individual case plan.

The programme is open to clients starting from the age of 14.

Forthcoming

Contact person: Stephanie Scott-Smith
Senior Specialist Psychologist
ESPjustice [dot] nsw [dot] gov [dot] au (Email)