Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for referral, the young person must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Be aged 18-24 and have moderate to high needs.
•  Be aged 18-24, has moved, and is no longer able to be supported by the Permanency Support Program (PSP) provider.
• ·Specialist assistance is required regarding cultural elements of the young person’s leaving care plan.
• ·For young people aged 17 where there are high and complex needs, early referral to a specialist aftercare provider is required to support transition planning and coordination.
• ·Exceptional circumstances, where mentoring is required to help with goal setting and to provide consistency through the transition period from 17 to beyond 18 years of age.

As a guide regarding whether a young person is considered moderate to high needs and therefore eligible for a Specialist Aftercare Program referral, consider if they have three or more of the following:

• Placement prior to turning 18 was non-home based.
• Child Assessment Tool (CAT) score is/was medium or high.
• Multiple placements while in care e.g. three or more since turning 15, not including respite.
• Limited involvement in education e.g. has not completed Year 10.
• Dependants i.e. is a young parent or is expecting a child.
• Unstable accommodation e.g. homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Not currently employed.
• Limited contact with family and other personal supports e.g. a lack of positive relationships with birth family, relatives or significant others.
• Limited capacity to live independently e.g. lack of independent living skills, particularly to find accommodation and establish an income.
• Issues impacting health and wellbeing e.g. drug and alcohol addiction or psychiatric illness.
• Involvement with the Justice system.

In most cases, generalist aftercare support should be provided by the agency that managed the young person’s most recent Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) placement, including referrals and access to a variety of programs (e.g. job readiness, living skills) and entitlements.

Note: Young people receiving Supported Independent Living (SIL), Therapeutic Supported Independent Living (TSIL) and/or Youth Initiative (YI) are not eligible for referral to the Specialist Aftercare Program.