Young people leaving care and protection

A report to the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme in 1999 by David Maunders, Max Liddell, Margaret Liddell and Sue Green

This report is the property of the National Youth Affairs Research Scheme.

Contents of Report

The purpose of this research was to describe the experiences of young people discharged from State care and to identify factors which assisted and impeded their transition to independent living. The research objectives were to:

1. provide an overview of Australian Government youth policy as this relates to young people leaving care and protection arrangements;
   
2. provide an overview of care and protection exit arrangements of Australian governments;
   
3. identify the circumstances and needs of young people making the transition from State care; and
   
4. identify mechanisms or initiatives which Australian governments could set in place to improve levels of support to young people making the transition from State care to independence, with a view to minimising their risk of becoming homeless.

In addressing the objectives, the research was required to examine assumptions of dependence and independence implicit in government policy, identify how the role of the family could be supported, and examine models of effective support to young people leaving care.

The research established a clear need for exit policies and procedures to assist young people to make effective transitions to independent, and interdependent living. The reader will observe that there is a great deal of consistency in the issues and themes identified from different sources, from interviews with workers, interviews with young people, the literature and the team's own research analysis. The research team has not attempted to eliminate some repetition of issues through the report. Rather, it is valued for the greater confidence it gives in the accuracy of the findings reported here.

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