The economics of supporting young people leaving care

Coleen ClareCentre for Excellence in Child and

Family Welfare Melbourne

Children’s developmental needs - adolescence

Successful entry into secondary school

Continuation of academic trajectory

Close within and across gender

relationships

Extra-curricular activities

Part-time work

Autonomy and independence

Self esteem

Transition patterns of young Australians

34 per cent aged 20-24 were still living at

home

Expenditure on a 18-24 year old is greater

than for a child aged 15-17

In Australia 79.2 per cent of 18-19 year olds

37 per cent of 23-24 year olds

18.7 per cent in their late 20s live with their parents

Over 40 per cent of young adults who leave

home for reasons other than marriage return

home at least once

The ProjectSupported by Telstra Foundation

Aims: To examine the life pathways of 60 young people

leaving care in Victoria and establish the costs/benefits

of providing leaving care support services to young

people

Recommend a viable service model to support young

people transitioning from care

60 young people aged 19-25 who had been

in care for at least 2 years as teenagers

Semi-structured interviews

Data analysis

Check sample composition against known characteristics of Leaving Care population.

Summarise outcomes for use in Cost Benefit Analysis

Differentiated Outcomes Methodology: Looking for relationships between

Outcomes and In Care characteristics Outcomes and Leaving Care characteristics

IN - CARE VARIABLES

40% entered care before the age of 12

35% entered care at 12 or 13

Of those who entered care after 12: 40% had more than 10 placements 15% had more than 20 placements

62% had attended more than five different schools

Difficulties at school: Primary school = 53% Secondary school = 60%

Participation in organised activity Primary school = 80% Secondary school = 68%

Attendance at school: Primary school = 33% never missed Secondary school = 3% never missed

LEAVING-CARE VARIABLES

Age when order lapsed: 25% were 16 or younger 27% were 17 years old

Case plan on exit 22% reported having no case plan 19% directed to use SAAP or THM

Activity when leaving care 20% working 42% unemployed

Preparation for leaving care 30% had some form of preparation Substantial variation in duration and

content Almost all felt it was at least somewhat

useful

Help from family 43% received no help 42% received some type of help

Financial help 57% received no help 8% received help sometimes

Accommodation 75% never had any help 15% had some help

Food and Clothing 66% never or very rarely got some help

Finding a job 78% received no help

Emotional support 53% had no support from family in the

initial 2 years after leaving care Help organising their lives 66% did not receive support from family

Help from unrelated people CSO worker – 60% Friend or partner 47% Previous carer – 20%

Type of help 48% received financial help all the time or

often 68% had accommodation help at least

sometimes 43% had help with food and clothing 65% had help finding a job 78% received emotional support 73% had some help organising their lives

OUTCOMES

Schooling, Occupation and Income

Highest level of formal school 48% had completed year 10 Only 13% had completed year 12 (VCE)

Current status 37% were involved in some study 5% were employed full-time (35+ hrs/wk) 71% were unemployed

Income Over half had a weekly income of $100-200

Housing

Living arrangements 10% were homeless; 5% lived with a

previous carer

Stability of living arrangements 45% were in very unstable situations 52% had been at current address for <6

months 36% had moved accommodation over 5

times in the previous 12 months

Debt and Crime

Debt 53% reported having problems with debts –

phone, rental, court fines, vehicles/transport, utility etc.

Involvement with police 47% had some involvement with the law –

charged with an offence, detention, IO, eviction

Cycle of care

Young people with children 28% of YP had children (26 children) Some young people had three children Nearly half of the YP who had children had

their children while they were still in care

Cycle of care More than half of the children of YP were in

care Reasons included – YP being in care when

the child was born, domestic violence, drug use/abuse, mental health, child abuse

Health

Disability 65% had been diagnosed with a disability

23% had physical disability or illness – Hep-C; diabetes; vision impairment; arthritis; cancer

32% had mental disability or illness – schizophrenia; depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress; obsessive compulsive behaviour; bi-polar

22% had intellectual disabilities – ADHD; learning disabilities; short-term auditory memory disorder

Only 14% were accessing disability support pension

Engagement with community

Community involvement 23% involved with community organisation

(sport, social, youth etc)

Emotional support 1/3 turned to a friend or partner for support 1/3 turned to a former carer/CSO worker

Confidence levels

Confidence about living independently Only 17% were not sure or confident about

their ability to live independently

Feelings about life 27% - happy or very happy 43% - okay

Feelings about future 68% - hopeful or somewhat hopeful 23% - unsure

SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARIABLES

Lapse of order and leaving school

Placement stability and employment

Type of care and age at which a young person left school

Type of care and highest level of schooling completed

Age at which order lapsed and age at which young person left school

Leaving care case plan and: Employment status Housing stability Debts

Housing stability and leaving care

preparation

Help to find a job and employment status

Age at which young person entered care

and use of D&A services

Leaving care preparation and visits to GP

and accessing MH services

Involvement in leaving care preparation and: Confidence to live independently (1.5 times) Feeling about life now (2.2 times) Feeling about the future (1.5 times) Positive recollections about their time in

care (3.3 times)

Cost benefit analysis

 YP from care

YP from general population Difference

Child protection $98,812 $540 $98,272

GST revenue -$67,317 -$119,434 $52,117

Health $39,887 $16,074 $23,813

Mental Health $45,012 $6,302 $38,710

Drug & Alcohol $18,853 $1,244 $17,609

Police $240,134 $4,543 $235,591

Justice System & Corrective Services $175,598 $2,918 $172,680

Housing $108,883 $8,934 $99,949

Total $659,862 -$78,879 $738,741

What that means

Efficiency Gap is around $738,000 per young person over their life-time.

Approximately 450 young people have left care in Victoria during 2003/04.

The State Government could save approx. $332 million annually, if life outcomes for young people leaving care could be made comparable to those of the general population.

Preparation young people said they needed

Communication skillsFinancial management / budgetingInformation about affordable housingInformation about community servicesHome making skillsHygiene and grooming; healthy lifestyleRisk and safetyCareer assistanceLiteracy and numeracy skills

Post care support young people said they needed

HousingJob or study CounsellingSocial networks and mentoringFinancial assistance and adviceFitness and healthHelp for own children Help with their information

Wrap around model

Type of support Duration of intensive support

Duration of flexible support (needs basis)

Accommodation and life skills as a package

2 years immediately after leaving care

Access up to 25 years on a flexible basis

Mentoring and networking support

Ongoing, as required to 25 years

Education or training 2 to 3 years to complete apprenticeship, or TAFE or University course

Access any time up to 25 years

Health concession - General Health- Specialist (Mental

health, D&A etc)

3 yearsIntensive in the first 6 to

12 months on a need basis

Access to 25 years Access to 25 years

Job search/ employment support

Intensive initially for 2 years

Access to 25 years

Help with identity, learning about family, genealogy

Access to 25 years

Service/ Support description Estimated costs

Mentoring $30,429

Education & Training $15,000

Accommodation $42,703

Life Skills Training, Social Worker $61,061

General Health  Assumed as NIL cost

Specialist Health  $6,000

Job search / employment support

$15,867

 Identity  $1,000

Total Costs $172,060

Costs of the wrap around model

Cost of wrap-around model

Estimated full costs - $172,000 per individual

Estimated utilisation based on a ‘risk-profile’ of young people in care

– 54.7 per cent based on ‘resilience profile’ of young people in

our sample – 52.2

Equates to an average total cost of $86,000 per young person leaving care, over 7 years

Is it worthwhile?

The economic argument Sunk costs Federal costs, population effects Community capacity building

UK experience

The moral argument Duty of care Social trends