Reconnect has been in operation since 1999 as a national early intervention program aimed at reducing youth homelessness. An Australian Government initiative, it seeks to reconnect young people (aged 12 to 18 years) who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, with their families, education, employment and community. The program’s precursor was the Youth Homelessness Pilot Program, managed by the Prime Ministerial Youth Homeless Taskforce, whose final report, Putting Families in the Picture, was published in 1998.