The Victorian government’s announcement it will provide $11.6 million funding to extend foster care beyond the age of 18 has been welcomed by a group that has campaigned for such a move for some time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The funding will roll out for five years from next year and will give an estimated 250 young people in out-of-home care the option of staying in care until they are 21.
Currently, young people leave care at 18.
The Home Stretch, a national campaign for the care and support of young people until the age of 21, welcomed the announcement.
Paul McDonald, chairman of the Home Stretch and chief executive officer of Anglicare Victoria, the peak foster care agency in the Bendigo region, described the funding as “the most important reform in this area for many years”.
“Research shows that giving young people the option of an extra three years in care will halve youth homelessness and double education and employment outcomes for young people,” Mr McDonald said.
The Home Stretch group called for extended care arrangements because young people in out-of-home care were not receiving the same support into young adulthood as their counterparts who still lived with the parents or family.
The campaign reports 50 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds have never left home, but the child protection system has, to date, had to prepare children in out-of-home care for independence from as young as 15 years old.
It is acknowledged that while there are some services to assist in the transition out of care, many young people struggle after leaving.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.
