The "Copping On" programme, aimed specifically at early schoolleavers between the ages of 15 and 18 years, will be expanded this year to reach a larger group. The Centre for Adult Education at NUI Maynooth is coordinating the initiative. Launched as a pilot project last year as part of the national crime awareness programme, it was delivered by over 100 youth workers, Garda juvenile liaison officers and Youthreach staff at centres around the country. This year the programme will be expanded to involve teachers.
A resource pack will be launched in Dublin this Thursday, as part of a joint initiative between the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Justice. It aims to reduce offending behaviour, improve Garda and youth relations, give young people the opportunity to understand the justice system and develop young people's cognitive skills.
Training will involve two residential days plus two separate follow-up days. The programme "is still developing and shifting," says Marian Quinn, co-ordinator of the national Youthreach crime prevention initiative at the Centre for Adult Education in Maynooth. "It's currently being evaluated by the Children's Centre in TCD," she says.
The pack outlines a personal development programme, including activities and discussions related to bullying, drugs and alcohol, decision-making, and the reality of prison life.
Contact Marian Quinn at the Centre for Adult Education, NUI Maynooth, Co Kildare - phone (01) 708 3468, fax (01) 819 7688.
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