AN Aboriginal teenager has a brighter future because of a key program that helped her settle into life, study and work in Dubbo.
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Leticia Quince,19, believes her achievements would be fewer but for Uniting’s Aftercare program.
Currently she holds down four jobs and three volunteer positions, including chairperson of Dubbo City Youth Council and youth ambassador with AbSec, the peak NSW Aboriginal body providing child protection and out-of-home care policy advice.
In out-of-home care since the age of 12, Ms Quince moved to Dubbo in 2014 from a small town in the region.
An Aftercare case worker helped her find accommodation and set her on a path to early success including the completion of a Diploma of Community Services.
‘If there was no Aftercare program, I wouldn’t have had the financial assistance and support I needed to get through my studies,” Ms Quince said.
“The financial assistance for furniture was crucial too – wouldn’t have been able to set up home without it.”
Ms Quince wants to see more Aboriginal teenagers accessing available help to avoid the pitfalls of leaving foster care.
Uniting supports the view.
It reports that 43,000 Australian children are in out-of-home care, 37 per cent of them Aboriginal.
Turning 18 can be “scary” for for some as they enter the world alone.
Uniting’s Aftercare program provides the “same kinds of supports a family might” when a son or daughter leaves home for the first time.
The support ranges from financial help for an accommodation bond to filling in enrolment forms for a university degree and enrolling to vote.
Last Tuesday’s 2016-2017 NSW Budget included $40 million across four years to assist teenagers who are leaving state care find their feet in the community with education, housing and jobs.
Uniting’s director family solutions Bob Mulcahy said international research had consistently shown that young people leaving care were at high risk of social exclusion, poverty and poor outcomes in later life.
“Providing adequate support for young people leaving care is a value-for-money investment, which does not only provide social and economic benefits to young people but to our community as well,” he said.
Ms Quince has five brothers and sisters,“all of who went into care”, and a strong relationship with her foster parents.
The young woman is advocating for a more youth-friendly process for accessing support upon leaving out-of-home care and much greater promotion of available assistance.
“I was very fortunate I had a lot of support,” Ms Quince said.