In Tennant Creek, the Northern Territory town where a two-year-old girl was raped in February, it's the people who work at night who can best gauge whether the community's social problems are being better tackled.

Key points: Demand for free food from children has not dropped

Demand for free food from children has not dropped Tennant Creek Night Patrol has had to give some children to authorities

Tennant Creek Night Patrol has had to give some children to authorities Federal Government is considering whether to continue the youth patrol

"I will take children home at 2:00am… and every kid down to the ones in nappies will still be awake," said Alba Brockie, coordinator of the Barkly Regional Council's After Hours Youth Centre.

"They'll be outside the house running around on the road because there's no space inside the house."

Each night she feeds 70 children at the centre — where they also play sports and music, and create art projects — before they are given a lift home.

Alba Brockie gives most of the children a lift home from the youth centre. ( ABC News: Jane Bardon )

"Alba and the staff have it under control and supervise us, and there's no fighting here or no drunk people come here," said Nakaylah Plummer, 12.

Often Ms Brockie has to bring children to the houses of several extended family members before she can find a place for them to stay where people aren't drunk.

"Young people will say to you themselves, 'keep going miss, keep going, they're drinking'. Or they'll say, 'can you wait?' and then they'll come out and say 'I'm not staying here, I'm going to stay with somebody else'," she said.

"It's tragic, really."

Nakaylah Pummer and Martina Mangaraka come to the Barkly Council after hours youth centre most days after school. ( ABC News: Jane Bardon )

'They'll break in to get a feed'

In March after the Northern Territory Government imposed tougher restrictions on takeaway alcohol sales demand for the centre's services dropped, but Ms Brockie said it has now returned to pre-restriction levels.

"Some young people still come here for their main feed of the day and if we're not open, and school is not on, they'll break in in order to get a feed," she said.

"We view it as a badge of honour that they only take food, and computer games and footballs stay behind."

She is keenly aware that the centre's $415,000 annual NT Government budget only extends to being able to respond to the town's problems of poverty, welfare reliance and overcrowded housing, and to trying to tackle them.

"The most useful thing I think I could do is start working with families about raising their own kids," she said.

"It's no good myself — and other organisations like us — raising other people's children for them."

Simon Johnston sometimes has to hand children over to child protection authorities. ( ABC News: Jane Bardon )

'We have to give them to Children's Services'

Sometimes Simon Johnston can't find any family where he can drop children found wandering the streets late at night.

He works for the town's Federal Government-funded Julalikari Aboriginal Council Night Patrol.

"Sometimes we have to actually give children over to Children's Services because there's nowhere else to actually take them, that's not a nice feeling," he said.

Regularly children beg to come and stay with the officers.

"They stay a night or two, and the saddest part about it is, there's no-one actually looking for those kids. Whereas, if it was my kids I'd be driving round the whole town looking for them," he said.

Three months ago the Federal Government bolstered the adult night patrol service with pilot funding for a youth patrol.

Because the children are fed sandwiches when they are picked up wandering the streets "the breaking into and stealing from shops has dropped", said youth patrol officer Kade Green.

Youth patrol officer Kade Green and his colleague take young people home if they are out on the streets at night. ( ABC News: Jane Bardon )

'Children are safer, without a doubt'

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion is still considering whether to keep funding the youth patrol.

It has had three months of trial funding and its effectiveness will be officially reviewed before the Commonwealth decides whether it will become a permanent service.

"But it's looking fantastic. If the measure is, 'are the children safer because we've got youth patrol?' [Then the answer is] 'without a doubt'. So on that measure it's very successful," Senator Scullion said.

The NT Government has committed to providing more money to tackle housing overcrowding by building three replacement and five extra public houses with year.

It has committed $5 million for a better alcohol rehabilitation services building.

"We're not only investing in the Territory Families Department, we're investing in education, we're investing in housing, we're investing in more policing," Territory Families Minister Dale Wakefield said.

Every night as she drives the kids home, Ms Brockie focuses firmly on her immediate task.

"You have to bury the sadness or you can't cope in the job, and so we have to look for the positives in it," she said.

"What I'm happy about is that… the young people who've come with us have had a feed and they've gone back to a safe place."

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion is considering whether to keep funding the youth patrol. ( ABC News: Jane Bardon )

Watch an ABC News special Rough Justice: A new future for our youth? on the ABC News Channel, this Friday at 21:15 and on Sunday at 18.30, and on iview.