October 2024: Navigating leaving care and after care

Webinar

Missed the live webinar? A captioned recording is available to view now.

Details

Young people leaving care often face a number of vulnerabilities and disadvantages when they transition from care. Many care leavers experience disproportionately poor educational outcomes, homelessness, elevated contact with the justice or youth justice systems, and estrangement from culture and community. Despite this, there is a lack of reliable and comprehensive data on the characteristics, experiences, and transition pathways of young people leaving care which creates problems for adequately informing policy.

In this webinar, Professor Melissa O’Donnell, Deputy Director Research, Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia and Dr Lauren Parsons, Research Fellow, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University presented findings from a recent longitudinal study of young people transitioning from care highlighting specific pathways that may be influential to a range of post-care outcomes. Experienced After Care experts from the Department of Communities and Justice presented and discussed the various leaving and after care services available for NSW care leavers and how frontline workers can best guide young people through transition planning and aftercare. We also had a representative from Youth Consult for Change who provided her reflections and advice for practitioners based on her experience in care.

This webinar was chaired by Jessica Stewart (Executive Director, FACSIAR).

Presentations

Navigating Through Life – Western Australian study of transitions from out-of-home care

Prof Melissa O’Donnell - Deputy Director Research, Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia

Dr Lauren Parsons - Research Fellow, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University

Download Melissa O'Donnell and Lauren Parson's Presentation Slides  (PDF, 1.1 MB)

Leaving and After Care - Conversations

Melissa Pearce - Manager, Leaving and Aftercare Programs, OOHC Programs, Child and Family DCJ

Download Melissa Pearce's Presentation Slides  (PDF, 693.7 KB)

Additional resources

Published research articles

• Shedding light on the social and health realities of care-experienced young people in Western Australia: A population-level study
• Trajectories of homelessness and association with mental health and substance use disorders among young people transitioning from out-of-home care in Australia
• Exploring outcomes for young people who have experienced out-of-home care

Leaving and after care resources

For staff:

• Leaving and after care resources is a public facing portal with links to many resources including the 'Leaving care and after care resources pack'
• Developing a Leaving and After Care Plan which is a public page that steps you through developing a plan
• Financial assistance as part of a leaving care plan
• The Thrive eLearning module Leaving and aftercare planning with young people (DCJ staff only)
• PSP Learning Hub – psplearninghub.com.au
• Independent Living Skills checklist – inform conversations, not just a list!

For care leavers:

• Youth Hub page - Planning for your future
• Your next step – booklet to help young people prepare for leaving care (go to nsw.gov.au and search for ‘Your next step’)
• DCJ Care leavers Line – call 1800 994 686 or email Careleavers@dcj.nsw.gov.au 
• Leaving care information for young people
• CREATE Foundation - care leaver resources
• DCJ Youth Consult for Change – young people’s voices

For carers:

• Leading the way – a guide for carers
• Caring for children and young people

Contact

Email: ResearchPartnerships@dcj.nsw.gov.au