CREATE Foundation Support for Young People

The Australian Government has announced a $165,000 grant for the CREATE Foundation to provide more support and help to young people in out-of-home care and the organisations and agencies working with them with them.

CREATE will use the funding for its CREATE Your Future program, providing support to young people leaving out-of-home care, described as one of the most vulnerable groups in our community.

The CREATE Your Future program is an empowerment program that helps and encourages young people to develop skills such as job readiness, health, nutrition, life and independent living skills.

Funding will support:
– updating the existing CREATE Your Future website to improve information provided to young people as they leave care; and
– developing resources and training materials to help agencies respond to the particular needs of this group of young people.

We know that young people leaving out-of-home care face many challenges.

The Federal Government says that in the five years between 2003 and 2008, the number of children in out-of-home care rose by more than 50 per cent, to over 30,000 children.

The CREATE Your Future website has been specifically developed for young people transitioning from care and will be promoted throughout the out-of-home care sector, targeting youth services and related departments to keep workers informed about the issues and services available to young people.

With this funding CREATE says it will also further develop the CREATE Your Future training package and train the trainer package as national resources.

It says this will give agencies, services and government departments access to national resources that will assist young people during the transition process.

CREATE Foundation is an Australian Not for Profit organisation that seeks to empower children and young people placed in out-of-home care through a combination of direct service provision and advocacy.

For more information go to: www.create.org.au