1. The economics of supporting young people leaving care Coleen Clare Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare Melbourne

2. Children’s developmental needs - adolescence Successful entry into secondary school Continuation of academic trajectory Close within and across gender relationships Extra-curricular activities Part-time work Autonomy and independence Self esteem

3. Transition patterns of young Australians 34 per cent aged 20-24 were still living at home Expenditure on a 18-24 year old is greater than for a child aged 15-17 In Australia 79.2 per cent of 18-19 year olds 37 per cent of 23-24 year olds 18.7 per cent in their late 20s live with their parents Over 40 per cent of young adults who leave home for reasons other than marriage return home at least once

4. The Project Supported by Telstra Foundation Aims: To examine the life pathways of 60 young people leaving care in Victoria and establish the costs/benefits of providing leaving care support services to young people Recommend a viable service model to support young people transitioning from care 60 young people aged 19-25 who had been in care for at least 2 years as teenagers Semi-structured interviews

5. Data analysis Check sample composition against known characteristics of Leaving Care population. Summarise outcomes for use in Cost Benefit Analysis Differentiated Outcomes Methodology: Looking for relationships between Outcomes and In Care characteristics Outcomes and Leaving Care characteristics

6. IN - CARE VARIABLES

7. 40% entered care before the age of 12 35% entered care at 12 or 13 Of those who entered care after 12: 40% had more than 10 placements 15% had more than 20 placements

8. 62% had attended more than five different schools Difficulties at school:  Primary school = 53%  Secondary school = 60% Participation in organised activity  Primary school = 80%  Secondary school = 68% Attendance at school:  Primary school = 33% never missed  Secondary school = 3% never missed

9. LEAVING-CARE VARIABLES

10. Age when order lapsed: 25% were 16 or younger 27% were 17 years old Case plan on exit 22% reported having no case plan 19% directed to use SAAP or THM Activity when leaving care 20% working 42% unemployed

11. Preparation for leaving care 30% had some form of preparation Substantial variation in duration and content Almost all felt it was at least somewhat useful Help from family 43% received no help 42% received some type of help Financial help 57% received no help 8% received help sometimes

12. Accommodation 75% never had any help 15% had some help Food and Clothing 66% never or very rarely got some help Finding a job 78% received no help Emotional support 53% had no support from family in the initial 2 years after leaving care Help organising their lives 66% did not receive support from family

13. Help from unrelated people CSO worker – 60% Friend or partner 47% Previous carer – 20% Type of help 48% received financial help all the time or often 68% had accommodation help at least sometimes 43% had help with food and clothing 65% had help finding a job 78% received emotional support 73% had some help organising their lives

14. OUTCOMES

15. Schooling, Occupation and Income Highest level of formal school 48% had completed year 10 Only 13% had completed year 12 (VCE) Current status 37% were involved in some study 5% were employed full-time (35+ hrs/wk) 71% were unemployed Income Over half had a weekly income of $100-200

16. Housing Living arrangements 10% were homeless; 5% lived with a previous carer Stability of living arrangements 45% were in very unstable situations 52% had been at current address for <6 months 36% had moved accommodation over 5 times in the previous 12 months

17. Debt and Crime Debt 53% reported having problems with debts – phone, rental, court fines, vehicles/transport, utility etc. Involvement with police 47% had some involvement with the law – charged with an offence, detention, IO, eviction

18. Cycle of care Young people with children 28% of YP had children (26 children) Some young people had three children Nearly half of the YP who had children had their children while they were still in care Cycle of care More than half of the children of YP were in care Reasons included – YP being in care when the child was born, domestic violence, drug use/abuse, mental health, child abuse

19. Health Disability 65% had been diagnosed with a disability  23% had physical disability or illness – Hep-C; diabetes; vision impairment; arthritis; cancer  32% had mental disability or illness – schizophrenia; depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress; obsessive compulsive behaviour; bi-polar  22% had intellectual disabilities – ADHD; learning disabilities; short-term auditory memory disorder Only 14% were accessing disability support pension

20. Engagement with community Community involvement 23% involved with community organisation (sport, social, youth etc) Emotional support 1/3 turned to a friend or partner for support 1/3 turned to a former carer/CSO worker

21. Confidence levels Confidence about living independently Only 17% were not sure or confident about their ability to live independently Feelings about life 27% - happy or very happy 43% - okay Feelings about future 68% - hopeful or somewhat hopeful 23% - unsure

22. SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARIABLES

23. Lapse of order and leaving school Placement stability and employment Type of care and age at which a young person left school Type of care and highest level of schooling completed Age at which order lapsed and age at which young person left school

24. Leaving care case plan and: Employment status Housing stability Debts Housing stability and leaving care preparation Help to find a job and employment status Age at which young person entered care and use of D&A services Leaving care preparation and visits to GP and accessing MH services

25. Involvement in leaving care preparation and: Confidence to live independently (1.5 times) Feeling about life now (2.2 times) Feeling about the future (1.5 times) Positive recollections about their time in care (3.3 times)

26. Cost benefit analysis YP from care YP from general populationDifference Child protection$98,812$540$98,272 GST revenue-$67,317-$119,434$52,117 Health$39,887$16,074$23,813 Mental Health$45,012$6,302$38,710 Drug & Alcohol$18,853$1,244$17,609 Police$240,134$4,543$235,591 Justice System & Corrective Services $175,598$2,918$172,680 Housing$108,883$8,934$99,949 Total$659,862-$78,879$738,741

27. What that means Efficiency Gap is around $738,000 per young person over their life-time. Approximately 450 young people have left care in Victoria during 2003/04. The State Government could save approx. $332 million annually, if life outcomes for young people leaving care could be made comparable to those of the general population.

28. Preparation young people said they needed Communication skills Financial management / budgeting Information about affordable housing Information about community services Home making skills Hygiene and grooming; healthy lifestyle Risk and safety Career assistance Literacy and numeracy skills

29. Post care support young people said they needed Housing Job or study Counselling Social networks and mentoring Financial assistance and advice Fitness and health Help for own children Help with their information

30. Wrap around model Type of support Duration of intensive supportDuration of flexible support (needs basis) Accommodation and life skills as a package 2 years immediately after leaving care Access up to 25 years on a flexible basis Mentoring and networking support Ongoing, as required to 25 years Education or training2 to 3 years to complete apprenticeship, or TAFE or University course Access any time up to 25 years Health concession - General Health - Specialist (Mental health, D&A etc) 3 years Intensive in the first 6 to 12 months on a need basis Access to 25 years Job search/ employment support Intensive initially for 2 yearsAccess to 25 years Help with identity, learning about family, genealogy Access to 25 years

31. Service/ Support description Estimated costs Mentoring $30,429 Education & Training$15,000 Accommodation$42,703 Life Skills Training, Social Worker$61,061 General Health Assumed as NIL cost Specialist Health $6,000 Job search / employment support $15,867 Identity $1,000 Total Costs$172,060 Costs of the wrap around model

32. Cost of wrap-around model Estimated full costs - $172,000 per individual Estimated utilisation based on a ‘risk-profile’ of young people in care – 54.7 per cent based on ‘resilience profile’ of young people in our sample – 52.2 Equates to an average total cost of $86,000 per young person leaving care, over 7 years

33. Is it worthwhile? The economic argument Sunk costs Federal costs, population effects Community capacity building UK experience The moral argument Duty of care Social trends