Calls to increase foster care age to 21 in Vic

A lobby group is urging the Victorian government to increase the foster care age from 18 to 21 to prevent youth homelessness.

Home Stretch has called on both major political parties to make promises to join South Australia and Tasmania in increasing the age to 21.

Paul McDonald, Chair of Home Stretch, said, “This is a simple, proven reform that has enormous potential to change the lives of our state’s most vulnerable young people for the better.

“There are also added benefits of relieving pressure on other services such as housing and the justice system.”

This comes ahead of the state election in November, and Home Stretch and its supporters gathered at the State Library of Victoria on Tuesday to kick off the group’s election campaign.

Currently around 700 adolescents emerge from the foster care system each year at the age of 18 without vital support. Half of those have been found to be struggling to make ends meet.

Home Stretch argues that by extending the age to 21, the transition to independence and early adulthood would be a much smoother process.

“It’s unrealistic to expect any young person to have everything they need organised by the time they turn 18,” Tsorbaris said.

Research conducted by ReachTEL has found that 76 per cent of Victorians support extending the age of care with 71 per cent supporting the view that children leaving at 21 will prevent homelessness, unemployment and reliance on social services.

Currently services provided as part of the Foster Care program cease to exist for families after the child turns 18 and are no longer able to access support and resources.

The US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK have all extended the age of care and have seen both social and economic benefits from the reform.

Victorian co-chair of Home Stretch, Deb Tsorbaris, said: “Young people in foster care have the potential to be leaders and role models in our community.”

Research from these countries found that by extending the age to 21, homeless rates were halved and there was a doubling in educational participation.

The survey results are on the back of a 2016 Home Stretch data commission that found Victoria would derive a financial return of anywhere between $1.84 and $2.53 for every dollar it invested into extending state care.

With the 2018 Victorian state election just a month away, Home Stretch is encouraging voters to embrace the changes to support those in care.

“If politicians aren’t listening to the fiscal data then we hope that the voter’s sentiment will kick them into gear,” McDonald said.