Introduction

This audit assessed whether the Department of Communities (the Department) effectively supports young people leaving its care to successfully transition into independent living by examining:

• Is the Department clear about what it needs to deliver?
• Does the Department ensure that young people get the support they need?
• Are support services making a positive difference for young people leaving care?

Background

Young people who are removed from their family and placed into care are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Many have experienced severe neglect or other forms of abuse. This trauma can have an ongoing impact on their mental and physical health regardless of how well they are looked after while in care. When they leave care they can find it hard to get a house or a job, and they often do not have a family safety net when things go wrong.

In the last 10 years the number of children in care has more than doubled. At 31 December 2017, there were 4,800 children and young people in the care of the Department.

The Children and Community Services Act 2004 (the Act) requires the Department to help a child who is about to leave care prepare for this and provide support after they have left care, until they reach the age of 25 to:

• find accommodation
• undertake education and training
• get employment
• access legal advice
• access health and counselling services.

The Department delivers ‘leaving care support’ by:

• requiring district office staff to commence ‘leaving care planning’ when the young person turns 15. Leaving care planning involves outlining clear goals relating to independent living in a document called a care plan. The Act requires that each young person has a care plan which is reviewed at least once every 12 months. Policy requires that the care plan be modified when the child reaches 15 years to specifically address the young person’s leaving care needs
• providing financial support for eligible young people after they have left care. The Department makes available a total of around $900,000 each year to help young people that have left care with furnishing and equipping accommodation, expenses connected with education or training and any other expenses that the CEO considers appropriate. Under the Act the provision of the financial support is discretionary

providing around $2 million per annum to 3 leaving care providers, who also support young people who are preparing to leave care and those who have left care. The leaving care providers contracted by the Department provide support up to the age of 25. Young people should be referred by the Department as part of leaving care planning. Referrals can also be made by the young person, their carer/s, or a government or non-government agency involved with the young person.