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Leaving care report
Support young people by developing their Leaving care report while working with them on transition to adulthood tasks. Completing this information gives young people the opportunity to understand information about their birth and family details, culture and a summary of their journey in care, including details of care arrangements, schools attended and health information. Photos and important documents are also attached, including their:
- birth certificate
- Medicare card
- medical reports and vaccination records
- health care card
- school reports
- tax file number
- other personal documents.
For more information about what information can be released to young people, refer to Procedure 5, Provide a Leaving care report.
Attention
Young people have the right to receive their own information under the Human Rights Act 2019.
Financial support
Transition to independent living allowance (TILA)
The Australian Government supports young people transitioning to independence (aged from 15 to 25 years) by providing a contribution of $1,500 towards the costs involved in achieving independence and stability. Eligibility and the process to lodge a claim are outlined in the Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA) Operational Guidelines.
A young person who is preparing to leave care or who has left care cannot apply directly to Services Australia for this payment. Applications can only be submitted by a CSO or a Next Step Plus case worker. Refer to procedure 5, Assist the young person to access the Transition to Independent Living Allowance.)
Youth Housing Essentials
This provides a young person funding for one-off essential goods and services up to the value of $5000 for young people transitioning to independence from a child protection order, up to when they turn 25. Assistance may be for items of furniture, white goods or the like; education or work necessities; transport and moving costs (including removalists); mobile and prepaid phone credit.
Applications are required through the young person’s CSO or youth service worker.
Youth Housing and Reintegration Services (YARS) After care support
YARS services include the provision of individualised financial support through brokerage funds, to help young people transitioning to independence from a child protection order. Some examples include payment of utility bills or rent arrears; contribution to bond; purchasing of items required for the accommodation; enrolment or course fees; payment for the cost of employment related items.
Applications can be lodged on the young persons behalf by Child Safety, youth services or other non-government organisations.
Child related costs
Refer to the procedure Child related costs – Child and young person support for information about the range of GL account codes that could be applicable to young people transitioning from care. Requests for financial supports can be completed by the CSO in line with usual CSSC protocols.
Tip
For an easy to read document outlining the different financial supports provided available for young people transitioning from care, read the Transition from care funding support in Queensland.
Practice prompt
When a young person with impaired decision-making capacity will require their interests to be protected and their needs met after they turn 18 years of age, we need to make an application to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) as soon as possible after the young person turns seventeen and a half years. (Refer to When a young person has impaired decision-making capacity.)
Post care services
Post care services such as Extended Post Care Support and Next Step Plus assists 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 Support when you leave care for contact details of regional Next Step Plus service providers.
Next Step Plus program
Each young person transitioning to adulthood needs to be aware of Next Step Plus—a support system for young people aged 15 to 25 years who have had a care experience since their 12th birthday. Next Step Plus can assist young people to develop the skills, knowledge and connections they need to successfully transition to adulthood.
The Child Safety practitioner may make a referral to Next Step Plus during the transition to adulthood planning phase from age 15, or prior to the young person leaving care. Check the young person’s eligibility to receive post care services via Extended Post Care Support for those about to turn 18). Engaging with the service at an earlier stage strengthens the connection and provides consistency for the young person. A young person may also engage directly with the service, including after they have left care.
Practice prompt
When considering a referral to Next Step Plus, use the Next Step Plus - Request for service referral form.
Extended Post Care Support program
Extended Post Care Support services are funded to complement and not duplicate the supports already available in the service system. Services provide culturally appropriate proactive assistance to young adults leaving care from when they turn 18, up until their 21st birthday.
Extended Post Care Support has three components:
- Providing culturally appropriate and practical support to young adults leaving care from their 18th birthday up to their 21st birthday.
- Extending the care allowance for young adults who continue living with their former care or guardian up until their 21st birthday.
- Providing financial support to young adults leaving care, from their 18th birthday up to their 21st birthday to live independently.
CSOs can refer directly to Extended Post Care Support services as part of transition to adulthood planning. This should occur when the young person is 17.5 years of age to enable the Extended Post Care Support provider to make contact with the young person and participate in transitioning to adulthood planning.
Practice prompt
Use the EPCS referral form to find an EPCS provider and make a referral.
For questions about EPCS, see the Extended Post Care Support FAQ for CSOs
To understand the Difference between Next Step Plus and EPCS service responses read this information.
Housing and homelessness services
Establishing long-term housing that is safe and affordable is a critical area of need for young people. With approximately one-third of young people leaving care nationally becoming homeless in the first 12 months, it is important to explore the concept of a home early in the transition to adulthood planning.
A home can mean different things to each young person, and all options of private and public housing, share accommodation, remaining in a care arrangement and living with family or friends need to be considered.
If the best outcome for a young person is access to social housing. Housing and Homeless Services can then commence formal joint action planning with a young person from 16 years.
Education and training
Senior education and training plans
Year 10 is an important juncture in a young person's life. As young people enter the senior phase of education, they will experience new types of learning and take on more responsibility for their learning. They will also have opportunities to think about future careers, begin to set goals, and undertake planning to realise their ambitions. Senior education and training (SET) planning occurs with the young person, school and the young person’s support people.
A young person's SET plan maps out a personalised learning path for their senior phase of learning. SET plans help young people establish the necessary path to achieve their career goals by working towards a Queensland Certificate of Education, or a Certificate III or IV vocational qualification or a viable employment option.
Further information about SET plans and youth support coordinators can be found on the Department of Education website.
Education and training for 15 to 17 year olds
The Department of Education’s requirements in relation to compulsory schooling are based on national and international evidence that young people who complete schooling up until the end of year 12 have greater opportunities for further education and sustainable employment.
Supporting the compulsory participation phase, young people have more opportunities than ever before to plan for their education and future career, to set goals, and to work towards those goals in a broader range of education settings, including school, TAFE and other training.
Youth support coordinator initiative
The Youth Support Coordinator Initiative is an early intervention and prevention program aimed at preventing premature withdrawal from formal education and training. The initiative establishes collaborative relationships between schools, TAFEs and community services, to enable better responses to the needs of young people experiencing personal and family difficulties.
Youth support coordinators work directly with individual young people and their carers as well as within schools and TAFEs, and with the wider community. The availability of a youth support coordinator can be determined by contacting the young person’s school.
Useful contacts and resources for young people
The following resources may assist young people with their journey through this transitional period.
Go your own way info kit
Developed by the CREATE Foundation, the Go your own way info kit is a resource booklet for young people who are starting to plan for their transition to adulthood. It includes comprehensive information, links to additional resources and a checklist of questions to assist young people to work out their readiness for transitioning.
This 6 minute video includes young people talking about some of the challenges they faced when leaving care and how the kit assisted them with the information they needed.
CREATE Your Future program
The CREATE Your Future program provides young people aged 15–25 with the relevant skills and knowledge to effectively transition to adulthood. 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.
The program helped me to feel less scared and I now know how to deal with situations better, and what I can do if I’m in a challenging situation. CREATE Your Future helps you when you leave foster care and helps in how to map out your future.
Carla (CREATE (a))
Youth Housing and Reintegration Services
The Youth Housing and Reintegration Services 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. The service provides support, financial help, and access to different accommodation options.
Apps that support young people
Transition to adulthood planning requires a range of strategies to engage young people in thinking about and discussing their future.
Sortli (a play on the phrase ‘sort out your life’) is a free mobile app for young people that was developed through a partnership between young people, CREATE Foundation and the then Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services. The app is intended to be used by young people to help them to think about their future goals and how they see themselves living as independent adults in their community. It provides information, prompts, goal steps, and a range of links to other resources, including forms and application processes. The information that the young person enters into the app is stored on their phone only, and is not provided back to the developers, the government or anyone else. It can be used independently by young people or together with their CSO, support worker or carer as part of their journey to independence. As part of the transition to adulthood planning process, Sortli can:
- provide young people with a private, detailed and up-to-date source of information about services and resources
- help young people to engage in informed conversations about their needs and options
- be accessed 24/7 when a young person needs emergency support or advice
- help form a foundation for problem solving and independent thinking.
kicbox
A private, digital memory box to keep everything safe in one place, kicbox provides a convenient way for young people to communicate and share information with their Child Safety team. There are four main categories on kicbox:
- My life: helps young people to record their journey in care by uploading photos, describing particular events and recording their thoughts and feelings.
- My future: helps them to visualise their life goals through words and images.
- Important documents: provides a single place for storing all their documents, such as their birth certificate, certificate of Aboriginality, or school reports.
- Contact and support: lets them connect with their CSO by sending secure and private messages.
This 2-minute video introduces kicbox and showcases the benefits of using this app to bring together all the information from a young person’s Child Safety team and from foster or kinship carers, making it easier for those living in care to stay organised and connected.
Other contacts for the young person
- 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.
- TAFE Qld 1300 308 233 – to find out about TAFE opportunities.
- Drivers licence 13 23 80 – to find out how to apply for a drivers licence.
- Open Doors Youth Service 3257 7660 - offers counselling and support for LGBTQI+ young people aged 12 to 24.
- Headspace 1800 650 890 for information and resources targeting young people between 12 to 25, relating to general mental health, physical health, work and study, alcohol and other drugs.
- Sexual Health Service 13 43 25 84 - this website provides a list of sexual health clinics, community health services, and Queensland Health clinical contacts.
- Department of Housing and Public Works 13 74 68 – provides a gateway to information about public and community housing and other services.
- Medicare 132 011
- Under 25s Money Smart 1300 300 630 - this 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.
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