Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the government response to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee's report Out of home care. It has been more than two years since the committee tabled its report. In that time, there is an issue in relation to out-of-home care that has gained considerable attention. While it is not directly referenced in the report and the government's response, I wish to speak briefly about the need for consideration to be given to extending options for continued support for young people and out-of-home care from the age of 18 to 21.

I recently met with Mr Paul McDonald, the CEO of Anglicare Victoria. Through the work of his organisation and many others involved in the Home Stretch project, there is a compelling case to be made to provide options for continued out-of-home care for support to young people who need it, to the age of 21. The Home Stretch is a national campaign formed to seek change to the current leaving arrangements for young people in state care. For too long we have been witnessing poor outcomes for kids being required to leave the care system on or before 18 years of age. Many who are required to leave their care setting at this age become homeless, involved with the criminal justice system, unemployed or a new parent within the first 12 months of being exited from care.

There are many reasons why change is needed. Findings from a 2009 survey conducted by the CREATE Foundation on care leavers demonstrated that 35 per cent were homeless in the first year of leaving care, 46 per cent of boys were involved in the juvenile justice system and 29 per cent were left unemployed. Furthermore, a 2008 study by the Care Leavers Australia Network reported that 41 per cent were pregnant during their adolescence and 43 to 65 per cent of care leavers have poor mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks and sleep disorders. I have been advised by some NGOs that young people were being groomed while homeless and on the street.

Extending care would require governments to provide support in the form of ongoing reimbursements to carers, case management to the young person and resources to access education or employment activity. Some models internationally require participation in employment or educational pursuits as a condition for a person to be supported in extended care. Other models provide financial reimbursement in the form of an allowance. Current government policies require the child protection system to begin preparing a young person to leave care as early as 15 years, while most would leave their care placement during their 16th or 17th year. In comparison, children residing at home in the wider community, with one or both parents, are remaining at home longer, with almost 50 per cent of young people aged 18 to 24 having never left the family home. Moreover, international research where care is extended until the age of 21 shows that education participation doubles and homelessness rates are halved.

While there are some available services to assist the transition to leaving care, too many young people are still struggling to cope independently at 18 years after a life in state care. The termination of care by state governments at 18 years is not consistent with parenting that is seeing most young people remain at home well into their 20s. As soon as a young person in out-of-home care reaches 18 years of age, the state, as the effective parent, abruptly ceases to provide ongoing financial, social and emotional support as a caregiver. While parents are increasingly providing support for their children well into their 20s, there are few supports available through governments to assist the young people for whom the state has assumed guardianship to help them into independent adulthood beyond the age of 18.

In light of the belated tabling of the government's response to the Out of home care report, it is timely and topical to have a public discussion about the extension of care to young people up to the age of 21. A number of jurisdictions outside Australia have implemented policies to extend care beyond the age of 18. In the UK, a program called Staying Put allows eligible young people at age 18 to voluntarily continue with support to age 21. Ontario, Canada, operates a model which provides a thick sum of money to support independent living to age 21. In California, state and federal funding provides for a flexible care model to young people in out-of-home care to the age of 21. Comparable programs are in place in other states across the US.

These programs have been evaluated, and there are important and long-term benefits. Extended care supports higher levels of engagement with education and improved employment prospects; improved housing stability and lower long-term reliance on homelessness services and public housing programs; improved physical and mental health outcomes, driven by improved access to care and early intervention; reduced incidence of alcohol and drug dependency; reduced involvement with the justice system, including reduced likelihood of being incarcerated; and improved social integration and civic engagement. These outcomes demonstrate the value of supporting young people and stand in sharp contrast to the approach taken by this government in the policies that have been promoted. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted.