The Intensive case management (ICM) program is an evidence-informed, integrated case management framework developed to reduce chronic juvenile offending behaviour.
ICM works intensively with high and very high-risk young people and their families or carers to address the things in their life that contribute to chronic juvenile offending.
The program:
- holds young people accountable for their offending behaviour
- supports pro-social community integration
- promotes community safety
- works to divert siblings away from the criminal justice system
- helps improve school engagement
- promotes pro-social decision-making.
Evaluation
The department commissioned Nous Group to complete an outcomes evaluation of ICM in 2022. You can learn more in the:
- ICM evaluation infographic (PDF, 184KB)
- ICM evaluation summary report (PDF, 494KB) or (DOCX, 1.3MB)
- ICM evalution final report (PDF, 3.1MB) or (DOCX, 4.1MB)
Key findings
- ICM is an appropriate program model for use in Youth Justice service centres, as it offers an effective case management approach for high-risk young people and their families.
- ICM is more effective than alternative Youth Justice approaches in reducing offending for more serious offenders.
- The ICM program model is regarded as being culturally-appropriate, particularly for First Nations families.
- Qualitative evidence suggests ICM is effective in achieving outcomes at the family and systems level.
- The reductions in reoffending due to ICM participation yield strong, positive economic benefits for the criminal justice system and broader community.
- ICM was well-implemented and understood across sites. This meant that sites stayed true to the program model.
Outcomes from ICM
- More than 40% of young people who did ICM have not reoffended since completing the program. For some young people this is a period of more than 3 years.
- ICM reduced the 6 month reoffending count by 51% for young people engaged in the program. This is a 22% greater reduction than the comparison group who received different supports.
- There has been an average (median) reduction of 51% in the frequency of offending.
- There has been an average (median) reduction of 72% in the proportion of crimes that involve harming another person.
- There is a positive cost-benefit to the justice system and the community of $9.8–19.1 million, when considering losses incurred due to youth crime.
- Early intervention with siblings as part of the program helped to lower their risk profile, potentially diverting them from the youth justice system.
- Young people's family functioning was improved with enhanced parental capacity and home environment.
- System gains were made with changed access to government services, including improved engagement with the services or no longer needing the service.
Last updated 7 June 2023
