Resources

External resources

Resources from the CREATE Foundation

Transition to independence month 2013: Standing on our own two feet

Reconnecting with family in a safe way: tips for young people by young people.

CREATE Foundation—Go your own way Info kit.

Go Your Own Way Info Kit Video Resource

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[Music]

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there's never a good time for children

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and young people to start preparing for

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leaving care it's a really tough

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conversation to have for caseworkers and

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carers and what we need to do is started

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early enough to make the children feel

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that they're planning for their own

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future but not too early so that they

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feel threatened

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[Music]

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when I was preparing to transition from

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care mental health was a big issue for

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me so just the struggle of all these

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upcoming changes and knowing where to

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find help and what things that I needed

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to do it was definitely scary not

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knowing exactly was gonna happen but I

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got a little bit lucky got to bit still

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very very close to my foster family

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I had just reconnected with my sister

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and I was also finishing high school at

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the same time and then I was also

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working on transitioning so I wasn't

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quite sure of who was in charge our big

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issue for me was just setting up the

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utilities so the electricity and gas I

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found a big struggle like us not knowing

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who to call and how to set it up and how

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the rates and all that work was really

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difficult for me where am I gonna go I

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was just sort of thought you know don't

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be somewhere I didn't take that moment

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to step back and have a proper think

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about where exactly I was gonna go I

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didn't get as much time as what I wanted

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to be able to prepare in terms of

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transitioning I guess when I was 14 I

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got kicked out onto the street so I

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didn't know nothing about how to survive

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or how to get by so to begin with I

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slept on the streets and lived in a bush

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after being told by a family member that

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crate existed I then went into crate and

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got the Goyo blanket where I learnt a

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bit more about what could help me

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housing the kid helps young people to

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prepare to leave care because it

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encourages them to start thinking about

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things that I might not have otherwise

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thought about how to get an F postcard

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how to get a bond loan do they know

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where their birth certificate is so just

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really important for basic sort of stuff

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and it's really accessible in an easily

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read language the other thing that I

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think is really important if it allows

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facilitation of discussion between

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caseworkers and children in care for

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example you can use it as a checklist

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with your caseworker and go through

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things so is until application been done

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are there scholarships that they can

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apply for is there living care plan

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they're very up-to-date when the Gateway

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my book I think it's a pretty cool

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resource like I've seen there's some

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things about health and well-being and

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housing and accommodations and stuff

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like that I guess that would have given

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me information of what could be possible

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part I think was most useful was

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definitely the job and employment

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training one we have I get my tax file

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number down my Medicare card render my

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passport

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get my bank details get everything all

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sorted out and really help me out there

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kids in care have to become quite

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independent very quickly compared to

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kids who don't have a care experience it

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creates a resource that gives them all

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the mate information that they need

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quite literally at their fingertips

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it also allows for accountability

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between the caseworker and the kids so

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they can literally come up to the

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caseworker with their kid and say have

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we applied for till are is this all up

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to date so that you don't find problems

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further down the road when you don't

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have the caseworker anymore the two most

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important tools for caseworkers would

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definitely be that checklist it's a nice

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easy way to engage young people and then

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of course the actual big booklet itself

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a major issue for me when leaving chair

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was been a lack of communication and

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being involved in terms of believing

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care plan and go your own way it helped

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me as it was a one-stop resource that

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had all the information involved with no

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time limits attached so the most helpful

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part of the book would be the housing

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and the legal part because you got to

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find out what you're entitled to and get

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right the booklet would have helped me

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because I would have been able to then

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after transitioning after I'm out of the

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service after I've graduated go back to

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that book look at that book and pick up

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all the little bits and pieces that I

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didn't have and later on along the truck

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knowing how to do with housing because I

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still don't understand what housing was

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although I was living in how

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with my experience I think would be good

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for workers to prepare people a little

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bit earlier you know get the Medicare

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the F box cards everything you need

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living by yourself and check and

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organize try and start the process of

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what you know and let them go down their

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path in terms of like if they want to

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try something that they think that they

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could be good at and let them try that

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why they still can knowing that they

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have somewhere to come back to if it

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doesn't work out I learnt to put a

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little bit money aside each week which

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in turn helped me by quite a nice car

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which was one of my main goals for life

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quite happy and proud of my achievement

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and dig your own awake it definitely

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helps with the budgeting I got my own

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place I'm doing Duty diploma and I'm

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going to study full-time now so I can

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complete it and start my own business I

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would suggest to workers to involve

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their young people to participate the

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blanket approach of transitioning is not

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always appropriate for all young people

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not everyone is the same what we need to

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do is make sure that we've got a system

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in place that doesn't give up on kids

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during this transition phase it's too

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easy for them to fall through the cracks

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and it's not good enough that we see so

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many of these kids homeless in their

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first year of living care

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[Music]

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you

CREATE Your Future

The CREATE Your Future program provides young people aged 15–25 with the relevant skills and knowledge to effectively transition to adulthoold. The life skills and self- and community-awareness required to successfully manage the challenges of everyday life are broad, and translating knowledge and values into abilities that enable young people to excel is the foundation of this program.

Access the site here.

Other useful contacts and resources for young people:

Next Step Plus offers assistance to young people with access to practical advice, support and referrals related to issues such as housing, money management, relationships, education and training, legal advice and health. Refer to the Queensland Government website for contact details of regional Next Step Plus service providers.

Youth Housing and Reintegration Services (YHARS) (07)3151 6666

YHARS offers assistance to young people (12 to 21 years of age) who are transitioning to adulthood and who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. It provides support, financial help, and access to different accommodation options.

Youth support services

Youth support services are intended to help children and young people aged 8 to 21 if they are having trouble with any aspect of their life such as housing, education, or family.

QLD Youth Hub 13 74 68

This offers an online space where young people can have a say about issues that affect them.

TAFE Qld 1300 308 233

Find out about TAFE opportunities.

Drivers licence 13 23 80

Find out how to apply for a drivers licence.

Open Doors Youth Service 3257 7660

This service offers counselling and support for LGBTQI young people aged 12 to 24.

Headspace 1800 650 890

Information and resources covering a wide range of relevant issues and topics.

Sexual Health Service 13 43 25 84

The website provides a list of sexual health clinics, community health services, and Queensland Health clinical contacts.

Department of Housing 13 74 68

Medicare 132 011

Under 25s Money Smart 1300 300 630

The website offers tips on challenges such as buying a first car, moving out of home, first job or dealing with a first big bill.

Australian Electoral Commission 13 23 26

Use this website to enrol to vote.

Tools for practitioners

Tools associated with the Strengthening families Protecting children Framework for practice aim to increase our engagement, assessment, planning and process skills. These tools include:

Solution-focused inquiry (SFI), which is a questioning approach and/or interviewing practice based on a simple idea with profound ramifications—that the areas people pay attention to grow. SFI provides strategies for workers to facilitate a change process effeciently and effectively by using questions to develop a vision for change. (SFI assumes the family is competent to change should they decide to do so.)
The Three Houses Tool—a process for involving young people and their families in assessment and planning
The Safety House Tool—a process for engaging young people in safety planning
The Future House—a process for assisting parents and carers to identify their vision and goals for the young person’s future safety, belonging and wellbeing. This tool can also be useful when working with young people transitioning to adulthood
The Family Roadmap—a process for eliciting the views of young people for detailed planning
Circles of Safety and Support Tool—a process to help young people identify people in their safety and support network
The Safe Contact Tool— has been designed to engage all of the significant people in the young person’s life, including the young person, in decision making and planning. This is to ensure that contact between the young person and their family is safe, and is regular and frequent enough that it enables the young person to maintain their connections with their family, community and culture.

Child Safety resources

Brochure Support service case Information for young people transitioning to adulthood.

External resources

Resources from the CREATE Foundation

CREATE Your Future

Other useful contacts and resources for young people:

Tools for practitioners

Child Safety resources

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