Intensive case management

Intensive case management (ICM) is an evidence-based, specialised case management program developed to reduce chronic youth offending. The program aims to:

  • hold youths accountable for their offending behaviour
  • address the complex factors that can contribute to reoffending
  • reduce serious and persistent offending behaviour
  • enhance family and kinship relationships
  • promote engagement in education and training
  • support strong integration with community supports to enable positive goal attainment.

A youth may be eligible for ICM if they:

  • are aged 10 to 17 years old
  • have been assessed as a high or very high risk of reoffending.

What it involves

ICM is an individual (not group) program that is delivered over 6 to 12 months.

ICM case managers assess past and current offending behaviour to develop targeted service response plans that address the key factors that contribute to a youth's repeat offending, including factors that:

  • have the potential to reduce risk
  • enhance positive development and wellbeing
  • build resilience.

We work intensively with youths and their families, carers and other supports (family and support group) and address the underlying issues that contribute to serious repeat offending through:

  • evidence-based change-oriented programs (up to 5 per week)
  • structured family work sessions (up to 2 per week).

The program helps to:

  • enhance family functioning and wellbeing
  • improve engagement with school, training or employment
  • reduce substance misuse
  • address childhood trauma and behaviour disorders
  • improve connections between youths and their family and support group
  • enhance housing stability and reduce out of home placements.

A holistic approach

ICM aims to help youths understand and navigate triggers and risk factors for offending. It also seeks to:

  • strengthen factors that buffer the effects of risk, stress or trauma
  • build resilience
  • develop positive life skills
  • make positive life choices to reduce their involvement in the criminal justice system
  • improve their overall wellbeing.

ICM coordinates a range of supports and services to help:

  • overcome the factors that contribute to offending
  • support youth to achieve their positive life goals
  • reduce reoffending.

  • Each youth in the program is assigned a specially trained ICM case manager who works closely with them and their family and support group to develop a tailored plan that addresses their specific needs.

    ICM case managers have a smaller and more targeted case load This means they can dedicate more time to addressing the complex issues that contribute to offending.

    The case manager:

    • provides integrated and intensive programs, support, coordination, and advocacy to ensure the youth and their family have access to appropriate programs and services
    • works with the family and support group to strengthen relationships and promote wellbeing, fostering safe and supportive home environments.

    ICM is delivered through intensive weekly contact sessions, including:

    • therapeutic programs (using cognitive behavioural techniques that target offence-related mental processes, building skills, and enhancing the youth's capacity for positive change)
    • family engagement (following the Collaborative Family Work and Strengthening Families Protective Factors framework)
    • external practical support (every youth and family engaged in ICM is actively referred and supported to connect with relevant community agencies or Staying on Track providers that specialise in providing practical and wellbeing support that will sustain the youth's engagement beyond the ICM program).

  • ICM is based on the understanding that a youth is less likely to reoffend if they can draw on support from a functional home environment.

    Through weekly family sessions, the program works to:

    • support the family and support group to identify and achieve their goals
    • build positive family relationships, trust, confidence and leadership
    • increase parental supervision and awareness of their children's activities
    • put consistent boundaries and consequences in place and maintain them
    • develop appropriate discipline
    • build parents' capacity and resilience to enhance support for their children
    • develop positive relationships with government and non-government agencies
    • increase family strengths, enhance child development and reduce the likelihood of conflict in the home.

  • Siblings of youth engaged in ICM are often exposed to similar risk factors. This may place them at risk of:

    • involvement with the court system
    • involvement with Youth Justice
    • following a similar path of offending.

    Because ICM helps provide positive outcomes for the youth and enhances overall family functioning, it helps siblings by:

    • enabling earlier intervention with services
    • providing better support.

    This reduces their risk of offending.

  • The ICM case manager works with the youth’s family and support group to coordinate, collaborate and advocate for the youth to access education, training, and employment opportunities to improve their future and reduce their risk of reoffending. This can include support for:

    • school attendance
    • vocational training
    • job readiness skills
    • job placement.

    ICM can also help family members achieve their employment goals by linking them with supports.

  • ICM may connect a youth and their family and support group with local community agencies to provide counselling and therapeutic support to address:

    • mental health concerns
    • trauma
    • drug and alcohol issues.

    Referrals can also be made to other relevant support services to address their individual needs and reduce risk factors for re-offending, such as:

    • practical and personal assistance
    • housing support
    • health services
    • legal aid.

Cultural connectedness

ICM recognises cultural connectedness as a vital factor that reduces risk, builds resilience and encourages positive development for youths and families. ICM partners with services that:

  • are culturally responsive, respectful and accessible
  • promote empowerment and self-determination
  • acknowledge the capacity and strengths of families and communities to best respond to the needs of youths.

Rehabilitation and repairing relationships

ICM is a relationship-centred model based on the principle that youths with higher levels of offending behaviour benefit from intensive, family-focused and therapeutic interventions designed to support positive behavioural change.

The ICM framework is based on evidenced-based practice approaches, including:

  • Multi-systemic therapy (MST) - an intensive family and community intervention designed to address the root causes of anti-social and offending behaviour of youths. It integrates cognitive, behavioural and family therapy approaches to deliver targeted interventions tha tmeet the unique needs of each youth and their family. MST focuses on improving family functioning as a factor for positive changes in:
    • peer relationships
    • school engagement
    • community participation.
  • Good lives model (GLM) - a strengths-based framework aimed at helping youths live a good and meaningful life. It recognises that all individuals share common life goals and that offending behaviour often stems from misguided or harmful attempts to achieve these goals. GLM helps youths understand the connection between their life goals and offending behaviour. It equips them with the skills, resources and strategies needed to pursue a fulfilling life in ways that do not harm themselves or others.
  • Collaborative family work (CFW) - an intervention that addresses family dynamics as a key factor in reducing youth offending and promoting positive developmental outcomes. It highlights the roles of:
    • supportive family environments
    • parental involvement
    • supervision.

    It addresses risks such as:

    • family conflict
    • neglect
    • lack of supervision.

    CFW is guided by 3 core principles:

    • role clarification (builds trust and understanding)
    • pro-social modelling (reinforces positive behaviours)
    • problem solving (addresses issues that contribute to offending behaviours).
  • Strengthening families protective factors framework (SFPFF) - a strengths-based framework designed to improve family functioning and reduce risks that contribute to poor outcomes for children and youth. It focuses on building 5 key protective factors that help families thrive, even under stress:
    • parental resilience
    • social connections
    • knowledge of parenting and child development
    • concrete support in times of need
    • social and emotional competence in children.

    SFPFF emphasises the capabilities and resources families already have and aligns with Youth Justice efforts to address the underlying causes of offending behaviour by strengthening family and community connections.

  • The hub principle - a collaborative approach to case management that focuses on the planning and delivery of interventions. It encourages positive support networks and disrupts the cycle of helplessness. ICM connects youths and their families with meaningful support to help them achieve their goals.
  • Offending analysis - systematically examines the factors contributing to a youth’s offending behaviour. By analysing offending patterns, ICM staff can develop targeted and effective responses, that include accurate assessments of:
    • risk factors (e.g. peer influences, substance misuse, family dysfunction)
    • need factors (e.g. education, mental health, housing)
    • responsivity factors (e.g. disabilities, cultural considerations)
    • protective and promotive factors (e.g. family support, pro-social activities).

    Offence profiling involves mapping and analysing a youth’s offending history to identify patterns, trends and changes in behaviour. This enables ICM staff to:

    • better understand their path of offending
    • develop responses and strategies to reduce offending
    • promote long-term behaviour change.

Benefits of ICM

ICM is proven to effectively reduce youth crime, with multi-layered benefits, including:

  • Reductions in youth offending - a recent evaluation shows that ICM is more effective at reducing reoffending than other Youth Justice support options. From 6  months pre-program to 6  months post-program, the offending decreased an average of:
    • 51 per cent in how often it happened
    • 72 per cent for “ ' crimes against the person” which includes:
      • common assault
      • breaking and entering
      • theft
      • armed robbery.

The outcomes were consistent across demographics including age, gender, and First Nations status. This shows ICM’s
potential to create a sustained positive impact and reduce First Nations overrepresentation within the youth justice system.

  • System gains - ICM helps youths and their family and support groups to navigate government systems and services. ICM case managers can strategically coordinate services for youths and their families when appropriate.
  • Better family relationships - research shows that working with the whole family and support group, rather than focusing solely on the youth, increases positive behaviour and reduces offending. This approach also provides an opportunity for early intervention with siblings and can prevent their involvement with the youth justice system.
  • Improved education, employment and home environment – a recent evaluation shows that positive changes in offending can be achieved by changing family circumstances, education and employment from being risk factors into factors that:
    • reduce risk
    • enhance positive development and wellbeing
    • build resilience.

Read more about the benefits and ICM outcomes in the 2023 independent evaluation of the program.

Locations

ICM runs in our service centres including:

  • Brisbane North
  • Brisbane South
  • Bundaberg
  • Cairns
  • Caboolture
  • Emerald
  • Gladstone
  • Gold Coast
  • Hervey Bay
  • Ipswich
  • Logan
  • Mount Isa
  • Redcliffe
  • Redlands
  • Rockhampton
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Tablelands and Cassowary Coast
  • Toowoomba
  • Townsville North
  • Townsville South
  • Western Districts.

Contact us

For further information contact the ICM statewide team at ICM@youthjustice.qld.gov.au.