Young People Leaving Care and After Care

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Young People Leaving Careand After Care
Judy Cashmore After Care Forum Sydney 11 June
2003
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Outline

• Where have we come from?
• What do we know about young people leaving care?
• What do we know about the longer-term outcomes?
• Where do we go from here?

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Where have we come from?

• No legislative provision for assistance after
  care (except discretionary training) in 1987 Act
• After care as the poor cousin of service
  delivery at best informal and unfunded
  component
• (Fredman Green 1994)
• Results of continuing advocacy
• ACWA Leaving Care Forum
• AAYPIC now CREATE
• Lessons from overseas esp UK, Canada and US
• Timely independent research funded by DoCS

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Where have we come from?

• Development of specialist services
• 1.2 m funding announced in April 1996
• Allocated November 1996
• ARC (Relationships Australia) incl abuse in care
  phone line
• ALIVE (Centacare)
• ACE (Burnside)
• Murungbai ( Aboriginal state-wide)
• Additional funding and expansion of after care
  services to provide state-wide coverage

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Where have we come from?

• Specific legislative provisions (ss 165-170)
• in Children and Young Persons (Care and
  Protection) Act 1998
• Appropriate assistance based on need to age 25
  years
• Information re resources and services
• Financial and other help re accommodation,
  setting up house, education and training, finding
  employment, legal advice and accessing health
  services
• Requirement for leaving care plan in consultation
  with young person and family
• Entitlement to personal information, documents
• First After Care Forum March 1998

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LEAVING AFTER CAREResearch and evaluation

• Describing circumstances and establishing needs
  of young people leaving care
• Stein Carey (1986)
• Garnett (1992)
• Taylor (1990) Thomson (1993) Brotherhood of St
  Laurence
• Maunders, Liddell, Liddell M, Green (1999).
  Young People Leaving Care and Protection. NYARS
  Report
• 2. Evaluating leaving care schemes
• Biehal, Clayden, Stein Wade (1995). Moving on.
• Broad (1998). Young people leaving care .. After
  the Children Act 1989.
• Barnados What works in leaving care.
• US (WESTAT) and Canadian research and evaluation

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On leaving care

• Multiple jeopardies
• Experiences before coming into care
• Lack of stability in care
• Poor educational performance
• Low school completion rates
• Limited contact with family members
• Lack of support through early transition to
  independence
• (Maluccio, Krieger Pine, 1990)

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After leaving care

• Increased risk of
• ? Homelessness and mobility
• ? Unemployment
• ? Poverty financial stress
• ? Limited social support networks
• ? Drug and alcohol use/abuse
• ? Early parenthood
• ? Poor physical and mental health
• (UK and Australian studies since Stein
  Carey, 1986)

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AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH

• Cashmore Paxman (1996) Wards Leaving Care A
  longitudinal study. Sydney DoCS.
• WARDS discharged over 12 month period
• Interview group n 47/ 45 (4 not discharged)
• Non-interview n 44 (10 not discharged)
• Four interviews (1) Before discharge
• with wards (2) 3 mths after (n 47)
• (3) 12 mths after (n 45)
• (4) 4 - 5 years (n 41)
• Maunders, Liddell, Liddell M, Green (1999).
  Young People Leaving Care and Protection. NYARS
  Report.

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FACTORS INFLUENCING OUTCOMES, TRANSITION

• Positive influence
• Stable positive experience in care
• Mentor or advocate
• Extended support
• Family contact in care or re-established after
  care
• CARING RELATIONSHIPS
• (Maunders, Liddell, Liddell Green, 1999)

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FACTORS INFLUENCING OUTCOMES, TRANSITION

• Negative influence
• Poor preparation and planning
• Unstable accommodation at discharge
• Unsuitable and unstable accommodation
• Lack of support financial and emotional
• Unresolved anger to family members and workers

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STABILITY

• Long-term placement for gt 75 time in care
• ? fewer schools
• ? more years of schooling
• ? report better school progress
• ? get on better with peers
• ? fewer workers
• ? more willing to ask for financial,
  emotional
  support esp from foster carers
• Cashmore Paxman, 1996 WARDS LEAVING CARE
  STUDY

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Long-term placement for gt 75 time in care

• ? 82 say needs met cf 39 not LT
• ? 18 say miss out on affection cf 70
• ? 24 attempt / think re suicide cf 50
• ? happier after discharge
• ? closer to at home comparison group
• Childs perception of security /stability more
  important than actual stability

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Permanency? Stability? Security?

• Stability (or continuity) is means to an end
• ? sense of security and identity
• gt Capacity to form relationships
• gt Positive outcomes and adaptive adulthood
• Not just continuity/stability of placement
• Contact with parents and quality of contact
• Siblings and extended family
• School and friendships
• Known and trusted workers

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What help did you need?

• Good stable affordable accommodation
• Education / employment
• 1/3 young women pregnant or parents
• Financial support
• Mental health issues
• Contact with family
• Advice

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MANAGING FINANCIALLY

• 65 usually able to make ends meet
• But number have to
• Go without or cut back on
• Dentist 15 4 (46)
• Clothing 6 15 (51)
• Telephone 3 16 (46)
• Food 10 (24)

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SOURCES OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

• Primary sources of help
• Own family 17 (incl sibs, extended)
• Partners 8 Partners family 6
• Foster family 5 Friends 3
• Asked about
• NGOs 19 DoCS 10
• DSS 13 Credit card 12
• Gambling 8
• No-one to ask 12
• Not willing to ask 3

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Perceived SECURITY

• Coded as positive, negative, medium
• Was there anyone ever feel loved you?
• Anyone ever feel secure with?
• Feel as if listened to?
• Miss out on things other kids had?
• Miss out on affection?
• Grow up too fast bad thing?
• Based on 12 months post data

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SOCIAL SUPPORT

• Continuing contact with foster family
• Positive relationship with at least some family
  members (parents, sibs, extended)
• Friends to rely on
• Other social network (church, community)

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CONTACT WITH FAMILY4 - 5 years out of care

• 93 have some contact with family
• 48 in contact with parent/s at least monthly
• 63 in contact with some siblings
• 29 with grandparents
• 24 with aunts / uncles etc
• 56 have unresolved issues to sort out
• Quality of contact and support varied

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Contact with family ()

• The other exciting thing I have contact with my
  mother now...Now I see her all the time but we
  dont really know each other as mother and
  daughter and are having to start from day one.
  She feels guilt and shame because she never
  believed me but as I say to her, I dont hold
  any bitterness because I cant afford to.

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Contact with family (-)

• I might see her (mother) five times in 3 months
  and then I wont see her for 6 months. I got back
  in contact last year after not seeing her for
  about 6 years. She rang me up she was in a
  refuge with no money and her boyfriend had beaten
  her up.
• I havent had anything to do with her for 12
  years and until she grows up, Im not prepared
  to.

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Contact with foster carersafter care

• 60 had continuing contact at W4 but level of
  support varied
• 13 had been in LT stable care 2 with GMo
• 2 in ST stable care
• 8 in LT unstable care (3 self-selected carers)
• 2 in ST unstable care
• 9/25 (36) would have liked more contact

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SENSE OF SECURITY with foster family after care

• Continuing contact with foster carers
• Can manage contact with birth family
• Feel they can ask for support
• Emotional and financial
• See as place can call home celebrations,
• use as secure base etc
• Would ask for support eg pregnancy etc

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Contact with foster carers

• No, Im happy with the way things are. We just
  live around the corner from them and Im treated
  as part of the family birthday and Christmas
  presents like all the other kids and if Im not
  there for something, Im missed.
• Weve always been in close contact, they are
  family.
• Id like them to make more effort so it wasnt up
  to me to initiate it all the time. I get the
  feeling that now that we have moved out that
  weve gone back to being foster children.

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Better off in care? or left with your family?

• 12 months after discharge from wardship
• 78 better off in care but some
  ambivalent / wish other options or treated with
  more care
• 18 wished left in their own homes or not sure
• 4 - 5 years after left care
• 46 more positive understand more now
• 18 more negative they didnt care
• 36 same or both ve and -ve

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DOMAINS OF RESILIENCE

• Employment (ever employed?)
• Living arrangements mobility, homelessness
• Education (completed high school?)
• Drug and alcohol (ab)use
• Mental health depression, suicide ideation
• Criminal behaviour
• Relationships
• Contact, unresolved family issues
• Partner, domestic violence
• Social activity (McGloin
  Spatz Widom, 2001)

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SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS

• Drug and alcohol (ab)use
• 19.5 drugs (4 serious) 29 drink too much
• Domestic violence
• Turbulent relationships, few long-term
• Mental health depression, suicide ideation
• Future planning ?
• Lack of supportive networks
• Unresolved family issues (60)

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CLUSTER OF DIFFICULTYn 11

• All either unemployed or parents
• Have to cut back on or go without number of
  necessities / services
• Smaller subset have no savings, debts, and few,
  if anyone, to turn to
• More likely to have been in unstable care
• Stable / Unstable X 2 12.6, 2 df, p lt .002

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CLUSTER FARING WELL

• All employed or parents
• Usually make ends meet and doing better than
  others of same age
• Felt secure in care and more likely to have been
  in stable care
• Significant mentor or belong to community (eg
  church, armed forces) and/or ability to turn to
  others for help

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AFTER LEAVING CAREHelp Needed?

• ? Finding and paying for appropriate
  accommodation
• Establishing / setting up house
• Assistance with fees and information about
  training and education
• Finding and preparing for employment/interviews
• Access to income support / financial assistance
• Mentoring
• Contacting family members
• ? Access to health services drug and alcohol,
  sexual and mental health
• ? Access to records, documents

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POLICY AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

• Stable and secure care
• gt Education and employability
• gt Caring relationships
• Case planning and review
• rather than luck of the draw
• Family contact and stability
• Family for life where possible
• gt financial and emotional support beyond 18
• Voice and choice
• Ongoing support through to independence

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COSTS OF INADEQUATE PROVISION

• Unemployment
• 46 neither working/studying cf 17 nationally
  (ABS)
• Poor educational performance
• Early parenting inter-generational effects
• Drug and alcohol use
• Crime?
• Loneliness/unhappiness /? well-being ?

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VISION FOR THE FUTURE

• Greater stability and security in care
• Every young person leaving care with plan and
  support
• Clarity re State and Commonwealth responsibility
• esp18 - 25 years
• Housing, training and establishment support
• Involvement of young people and choice of
  different forms and models of support
• Proper evaluation of services
• Accessibility and equity
• Appropriateness and effectiveness