Page 1285 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 2021
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March—it was at least my second meeting with them—to discuss their views on extended care and the ongoing work in the ACT to improve the system.
Home Stretch outlines its vision for extended care on their website. In their own words:
The Home Stretch seeks governments to support the extension of care to 21 years for those that:
• Wish to stay on in their foster care or kinship care placement and have the agreement from their carer, or
• Who are not ready to go and wish to remain in a supported care environment but either cannot remain in the care placement past 18 years; such as those exiting residential care, or do not wish to remain in foster care.
I have picked up those words in amended paragraph 2(a) in relation to any young person who wishes to remain in a supported care environment after they turn 18, in recognition of the wishes of the children and young people. Home Stretch further clarified what they envisage extended care would look like. Extending care would require governments to provide support in the form of ongoing care and reimbursements to carers and case management to the young person, and resources to access education and employment activity.
It is important to recognise that a number of jurisdictions that provide extended care determine a young person’s eligibility for that based on whether the person is engaging in education and/or employment. That is one of the issues that we need to consider as we work to extend and expand the improved extended care for 18 to 21-year-olds as per the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement. In 2012, the ACT government commenced providing support to care leavers up to the age of 25. This involved the establishment of a small team of specialist case workers and brokerage funding being made available to assist care leavers with one-off expenses.
Mrs Kikkert has admirably summarised the current situation in relation to the extended continuum of care for 18- to 20-year-olds where fostering kinship carers are caring for young people who may be eligible to receive the extended continuum of care subsidy where the child’s transition plan states that the young person will be best supported by continuing to live with the carer after they turn 18 years old. As Mrs Kikkert has indicated, this extension is currently determined on a case-by-case basis, where it can be demonstrated that the young person’s wellbeing would otherwise be jeopardised by the cessation of the carer subsidy at 18 years old, and the provision of that subsidy is subject to a review process. There is also, of course, after care support available for care leavers up to 25 years old—and that is really critical.
Some of that is provided by ACT Together, and shorter term assistance could be provided in relation to guidance, information and advice and referrals to other services. But in some circumstances, more intensive, longer term assistance may be needed. That sort of support can include case work coordination; planning and oversight of therapeutic responses and counselling; support accessing; reading and processing care
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