Judy LazarusTransition CentreCorrections Victoria

April 2007

Involvement of Local CommunityA Community Advisory Group was established in2005 and has been consulted during the course ofthe project. Membership includes interested localresidents and representatives from a range ofstakeholders, such as the City of Melbourne, NorthWest Melbourne Association, Victoria Police andCrime Victims Support Association Incorporated.

Facility Management The Judy Lazarus Transition Centre is managed bythe Department of Justice through CorrectionsVictoria. Day to day operational management of the Centre is the responsibility of the Transition Centre Manager who reports to the CorrectionalServices Commissioner through the DeputyCommissioner, Prisons.

Role of Transition OfficersThe Centre is staffed by Transition Officers trained asprison officers who are responsible for prisoners’ casemanagement activities. Their role includes identifyingeach prisoner’s needs and managing a prisoner’sreferral and placement as well as placing prisoners intoappropriate services and programs in the community tomeet those needs.

The transition program is based on a intensive casemanagement model that includes risk/needsassessment, individual management planning andreview and exit planning. Case management addressesoffending behaviour and successful reintegration into thecommunity.

The prisoner is expected to assume an appropriate level ofresponsibility for his activities and works with his allocatedTransition Officer to establish a structured week that bestmeets his needs. Activities will focus on those issueswhich have contributed to him re-offending in the past, orwhich pose a risk of doing so.

Throughout the prisoner’s time at the Centre theTransition Officer is required to monitor each prisoner’ssuccesses and difficulties, continue encouraging themto successfully participate in the program and itsactivities and counsel the prisoner as issues arise.

It is also expected that the Transition Officer assists theprisoner to establish prosocial contacts and links thatwill extend beyond their stay in the Centre.

What Happens to Prisoners After They Leavethe Centre?The majority of prisoners participating in the JudyLazarus Transition Centre will progress onto parole at theend of their sentence where they will be supported andsupervised in the community by a CommunityCorrections Officer.

Evaluating the ProgramThe effectiveness of the program is measuredthrough a formal evaluation process and data will becollected on all aspects of the program during its firstyear of operation.

For Further Information Please Contact:Judy Lazarus Transition Centre50 Adderley StreetWest Melbourne Victoria 3003Phone: 03 9320 7888Fax: 03 9320 7809Email: JLTC@justice.vic.gov.au

Published: April, 2007

The Transition Centre is part of the Government’sstrategy for reducing re-offending by addressing transitional issues critical to a prisoner’ssuccessful reintegration into the communityincluding employment, accommodation, life-skillsand family reintegration.

The Centre is named after Ms Judy Lazarus, the former Chief Executive Officer of the VictorianAssociation for the Care and Resettlement ofOffenders (VACRO). Ms Lazarus has been atireless worker and advocate for prisoners andtheir families for nearly 20 years. She continuesto do so in a voluntary capacity.

EligibilityThe Judy Lazarus Transition Centre accommodates 25male, low risk, carefully selected prisoners for a period ofthree to twelve months.

Prisoners who are deemed to pose an unacceptable riskto the community or have a history of sex offences, willnot be placed at the Transition Centre.

To be eligible, prisoners selected for the TransitionCentre must:• have identified reintegration needs that can be

addressed by placement in the Centre; • have made a commitment to participate in the

program; • have agreed to abide by the Centre’s rules and

regulations; • be able to live in a shared environment with other

prisoners.

Prisoners must continue to earn the right to stay in theCentre by abiding by its rules and regulations.

A Structured Transition ProgramEach prisoner residing at the Judy Lazarus TransitionCentre must participate in a structured program thatinvolves active participation in improving employability,developing living skills, and re-establishing communityand family ties and community networks.

During their time at the Judy Lazarus Transition Centre,prisoners learn skills that will assist them to successfullyreintegrate into the community and stay out of prison.

The Judy Lazarus Transition Centre emphasises theuse of existing community facilities and services bylinking prisoners to suitable programs and services inthe community.

SecurityPrisoners may only leave the Centre as part of anapproved program and breaches of permit conditionsmay result in reclassification to another prison.

They are subject to stringent security procedureswhich includes nightly curfews, drug and alcoholtesting, searches and regular compliance monitoring.

There is a zero tolerance of any prisoner engaging inalcohol or drug use, with breathalyser tests occurringafter each off site activity and a comprehensiveprogram of urinalysis testing.

The Judy Lazarus Transition Centre will be staffed 24hours a day.

Location of the FacilityThe Centre is located near to an existing correctionalfacility, the Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP), inWest Melbourne and is close to public transportincluding Southern Cross Station and communitysupport services. The local area consists of businessand residential properties.

The Judy Lazarus Transition

Centre is a secure residential

facility that provides up to 25

carefully selected male prisoners

who are nearing the end of their

sentence, with a supervised

pathway back into the community.

The Centre’s transition program

is aimed at better preparing

the prisoners for their release

to the community.