Parkville Youth Residential Centre (part of the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct from 2009-ct) (also known as Melbourne Youth Residential Centre)

Full description

In late 1993, the Parkville Youth Residential Centre opened in Park Street, Parkville, on the site of the former Baltara Reception Centre (VA 5090), which closed in 1992. Parkville was also unofficially known as the Melbourne Youth Residential Centre.

After the Nunawading Youth Residential Centre (VA 3962) closed in 1993, its residents were transferred to Parkville.

Parkville Youth Residential Centre houses young people sentenced or on remand. It provides separate accommodation for males and females with a range of security options.

The centre accommodates:
- Barnett Unit: males 10-14 years remanded or sentenced by the Children's Court
;- Cullity Unit: females 10-17 years remanded or sentenced by the Children's Court and females 18-21 years remanded or sentenced by an adult court to a senior youth training centre (now a youth justice centre order) as an alternative to prison.

In 2009 Parkville Youth Residential Centre became part of the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct that comprises two separate custodial centres: Parkville Youth Residential Centre (930 Park Street, Parkville); and Melbourne Youth Justice Centre (900 Park Street, Parkville). As part of the same precinct, both centres have been able to maximise the efficient use of support service for their clients.

Parkville Youth Residential Centre remains an operational centre for sentenced youth.

Legislation and record keeping

The Children and Young Persons Act 1989 replaced the terms 'ward of state' (introduced by the Neglected Children's Act 1887) and 'trainee' (introduced by the Social Welfare Act 1960), with the new term, 'children in need of protection'. The old terminology was phased out in the 1990s, whereafter both child protection cases and sentenced young people were classified as 'clients'.
Young people who entered into the youth justice system before implementation of the 1989 Act, kept their trainee case history files, and not the later Client Relationship Information System institutional files (JJ CRIS prefix). This explains why the older records continued until the late 1990s, well after the terminology had changed.