Katz.pptx - Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies

Young People with Disability Leaving care in

NSW

Ilan Katz, Beth Goldblatt, Robyn Edwards, Marilyn McHughACWA Conference, Sydney, August 2010

DSRCDisability Studies and Research Centre


Will cover

Issues related to young people with disability leaving care

The NSW ADHC leaving care program Evaluation methods Selected findings


Issues

YP leaving care and YP with disability approaching adulthood both create challenges.

Issues are compounded for YP with disability transitioning out of OOHC

Anecdotal evidence that these YP are particularly vulnerable to homelessness and contact with the criminal justice system

Addressing the issue requires a multi-agency response which includes adequate housing, support, advice and participation


Leaving care

Most YP do not leave home at 18 and are not expected to manage on their own at this age, but YP leaving OOHC are expected to do so.

This is even more problematic because of their experiences in care and pre care

OOHC benefits most children but YP leaving care are vulnerable to a range of challenges creating poor outcomes including:– Substance abuse, homelessness, isolation, debt,

unemployment, crime.

In order to address this YP need to be supported in their transition.


People with disability

YP with disability face particular challenges moving to adulthood.– Can become very socially excluded as their options for

participation are narrowed– Need support to sustain an ‘adult’ life, eg maintaining

tenancy, working, socialising etc– Suffer discrimination and exclusion in a number of settings –

education, employment and social– Vulnerable to dislocation of services as they move from child

to adult service sectors.


Principles for YP with disabilities transitioning to adulthood

comprehensive multi-agency engagement; full participation of young people and their families; provision of high quality information; effective transition planning; opportunities for living life. (Council for Disabled Children, 2007).


YP with disability in OOHC

Very little information on how many children in OOHC have a disability – No specific data is kept

1,299 children in care in NSW aged between 15 and 17 years at 30 September 2003 – 198 young people (15%) had a disability. (NSW Children’s

Guardian, 2004)

However proportion could be as high as 25% depending on definition

EVALUATION OF NSW ADHC LEAVING CARE PROGRAM

The Leaving Care Program

Multi agency program consisting of:Transition planning Case management Access to support Accommodation Vocational opportunities and skills development, A mentoring service Social and community participation

Began in 2007


The ADHC LCP cont

ADHC notified two years before a young person’s exit date from care, in order to facilitate referral to the LCP and enable transition planning to occur

YP are assessed and a leaving care case plan put in place.

Housing and other support agencies are engaged Program managed on a regional basis throughout

NSW


Evaluation Questions

How many young people with a disability have been referred to the Program – what are the characteristics and circumstances of the eligible young

people who have not been referred or taken up support?

What have been the outcomes of the Program for those young people with a disability participating in the Program?

To what extent has the Program been implemented as intended?

What improvements could be made to the Program to improve client outcomes?


Methods

Literature review and program document analysis; Administrative data analysis; Client survey (61 out of 187 responded = 32.6%

response rate) Fifteen case studies (clients, family/carers, case

worker); Stakeholder consultations with government, service

providers and NGOs (28 consultations with 39 individuals).


Client characteristics

193 program participants 38% women and 62% men A fifth were aboriginal Range of disability types, most with more than one

disability. Regional variability regarding numbers of clients


Findings and Recommendations

Key finding:

“the Leaving Care Program is functioning well and the services are appropriate”


Some issues raised by participants

Self definition of disability– Many did not identify as being a person with disability– Some not comfortable with disability services

Importance of Identity– Family, ethnic, Aboriginal

Re-connection with family Housing Focus on ability not disability


Case study

Emily is an 18 year old woman living in a group home. She is visually impaired. She lives a very full and active life, including attending a mainstream high school where she sits on the Student Representative Council (SRC) and completing a TAFE course in animal care. She is a member of a choir which performs at concerts and festivals, has done work experience at an ADHC regional office, goes to the gym, enjoys bowling, has contact with her sister and cousins and participates in many social activities. Emily presented the Independent Research Project she had just completed as part of her HSC studies, which examined the gaps in disability services in a regional centre. She was born with some disabilities and health problems (vision impairment and diabetes), however ‘with all these problems I had I was going to enjoy life to the full, nothing was going to stop me’.


Contact details

Ilan Katz [email protected] Goldblatt [email protected]

AcknowledgmentsThank you to the people who contributed to the research including the clients of the Leaving Care Program, family members and carers, the people who work with them, stakeholders and the Evaluation Steering Committee members.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Katz.pptx - Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies