<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Social workers will be assigned to 20 government schools across </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="" title="Victoria"><span>Victoria</span></a><span> in a bid to reduce crime by preventing children from drifting into a life of violence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Premier </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/jacinta-allan" rel="" target="" title="Jacinta Allan"><span>Jacinta Allan</span></a><span> and Education Minister Ben Carroll today announced $5.6 million to implement 20 early intervention officers in at-risk schools from next year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The social workers are expected to support at-risk students with their relationships, their sense of belonging and school attendance.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-calls-reporter-piggy-after-jeffrey-epstein-question/d53a7a53-c344-4560-bfff-01de835f38cf" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Quiet, piggy': Trump insults female reporter after Epstein query</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We know the data tells us that disengagement from school is an early indicator that something's not quite right and also for some kids it does start that journey towards criminal activity," Allan said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They won't be tasked with helping the worst youth offenders, including those before the courts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The model is based on a successful program in Glasgow, where the establishment of a violence reduction unit helped achieve a 60 per cent reduction in violent crime.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-early-intervention-officers-youth-crime/cb8ac555-99af-4f61-bc95-1d7d0421bac9" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is proven policy that works," Carroll said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We know outside the family home, the school is the most important protective factor for young people, in particular at-risk youth.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Early intervention officers have been proven to halve absenteeism and also in nine out of 10 young kids at risk, show them the power of education and live a life of purpose."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/yarram-sawmill-closes-with-73-jobs-lost/36fc18a2-6743-4475-9fdc-e4713d672edf" target="_blank"><strong><span>More than 70 jobs lost in sudden closure of Gippsland town's sawmill</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About 70 per cent of Victoria's worst youth offenders were "chronically absent" from school before they turned to a life of crime, new data from Victoria's Council on Bail, Rehabilitation and Accountability (COBRA) reveals.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The data set analysed a targeted group of 70 children aged 12-17 who had engaged in the worst crimes, such as aggravated home invasions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The data is telling us that schools are an incredibly important place and provide an incredibly important opportunity for us to better support young people," Allan said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The government has not revealed which schools will benefit from early intervention officers, but said Melbourne's west would be a focus.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We'll be working through the data to guide the decision-making around those 20 schools because this is a targeted initiative," Allan said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We want to make sure that the targeting of this program is where it's needed most."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></strong></em><em><span> </span></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><em><strong><span>Apple App Store</span></strong></em></a><em><span> </span></em><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><em><span> </span></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>.</span></strong></em></div></div>