Positive life pathways for vulnerable adolescents: The role of a life management program approach

A team of researchers at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine together with the Ted Noffs Foundation and academics from the Centre for Social Research in Health and the School of Social Sciences have been awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, funded this year for three years. The award of over $250,000 from the ARC together with matched funding of cash and in-kind from the Ted Noffs Foundation will enable the team to do vital research to understand the pathways of vulnerable adolescents and the role of the Ted Noffs Program for Adolescent Life Management (PALM) in assisting young people to get their lives back on track.Young people in contact with the criminal justice system who have problematic use of drugs and alcohol often lack opportunities for social and economic participation in society and many continue offending into adulthood.

The project will examine and analyse the short and longer term outcomes and pathways of young people who participate in PALM compared with similar young people who have not completed such a program.

The findings aim to directly inform policies and programs, including life management, drug and alcohol and other support programs to better address multiple needs among this vulnerable group.

Project team

Dr Patrick Rawstorne
Medicine & Health
Professor Joanne Bryant
Arts,Design & Architecture
Emeritus Professor Eileen Baldry
Societal Impact Equity Engage

Project collaborators: External

Mark Ferry
Ted Noffs Foundation

Key contact

02 9385 1061
s.nathan@unsw.edu.au