By Alesha Capone
Ground works at the $419 million youth justice centre being built at Cherry Creek are on track to be completed by the end of June.
More than 400 workers are on-site, with multiple buildings under construction.
According to an update recently posted on the official Cherry Creek youth justice centre’s website, more than 500,000 labour hours have been worked on the project since construction began.
The new youth justice centre, located about 11 kilometres from the Werribee train station and 1.5 kilometres north-east of where Little River Road joins the Princes Freeway, is expected to open in 2022.
About 250 jobs will be created at the facility, including youth justice custodial officers, psychologists, teachers, health workers and administrative and maintenance staff.
The new 140-bed youth facility will include a mental health unit, an intensive intervention unit, a specialised health care unit and an intensive alcohol and drug treatment program.
It will also offer education, vocational skills training, recreational and spiritual facilities.
In 2019, the design of the Cherry Creek facility was revised to deliver “a more specialised facility that focuses on staff safety and reducing re-offending among Victoria’s most complex and challenging young males aged 15-18 years”.
According to the state government’s Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2020–2030, this will include youths who are on remand and who have been sentenced.
The Cherry Creek site has been designed to offer “smaller, more rehabilitative and normalised environments” for youths, so it will “promote security through positive relationships, as opposed to large facilities that are like adult prisons”.
Details: csba.vic.gov.au/cherry-creek
