The economics of supporting young people leaving care

1
The economics of supporting young people leaving
care

• Coleen Clare
• Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
  
• Melbourne

2
Childrens 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

3
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

4
The Project

• Supported 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

5
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

6

• IN - CARE VARIABLES

7

• 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

8

• 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

9

• LEAVING-CARE VARIABLES

10

• 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

11

• 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

12

• 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

13

• 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

14

• OUTCOMES

15
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

16
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 lt6 months
• 36 had moved accommodation over 5 times in the
  previous 12 months

17
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

18
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

19
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

20
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

21
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

22

• SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARIABLES

23

• 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

24

• 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
  DA services
• Leaving care preparation and visits to GP and
  accessing MH services

25

• 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)

26
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
27
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.

28
Preparation young people said they needed

• Communication skills
• Financial management / budgeting
• Information about affordable housing
• Information about community services
• Home making skills
• Hygiene and grooming healthy lifestyle
• Risk and safety
• Career assistance
• Literacy and numeracy skills

29
Post care support young people said they needed

• Housing
• Job or study
• Counselling
• Social networks and mentoring
• Financial assistance and advice
• Fitness and health
• Help for own children
• Help with their information

30
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, DA etc) 3 years Intensive 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
31
Costs of the wrap around model
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
32
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

33
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