Australian Community Support Organisation (ACSO) – CREST Program

Abstract

Queensland – Supports people, in custody and beyond

From the organic beginnings of our founder, Stan McCormack the Australian Community Support Organisation (ACSO) has grown to be a long-term partner of choice for government and industry to help break the cycle of people repeatedly entering the justice system because they lack the support to make change.

ACSO work with people at risk of entering or who have already entered the justice system. Our work supports, diverts or reintegrates people through a range of services including mental health, alcohol and other drug treatment, intensive residential support, housing and employment. These services span the entire justice continuum from prevention to rehabilitation. ACSO do not exclude people based on their offending history and are equipped to effectively manage risk alongside government.

CREST PROGRAM, Queensland

CREST is a regionally based program focusing on success on parole. The program directly targets needs identified for the parolee before release and during their transition into the community. It is delivered in partnership with Queensland Corrective Services and ACSO in the South-East Queensland region.

CREST has three primary components:

• In Prison Information and Referral Service – available to all prisoners for support with basic information and referral requests to plan successfully for release.
• Post-Release Managed Service – providing pre-release planning and post-release support to eligible prisoners being released on parole, with complex reintegration needs.
• Parole Support Service – providing five days of community-based support for people on parole. Referrals for this service are through probation and parole only.

​For more information, please contact CREST on (07) 3228 2700.