Aim
To provide support to young carers at risk of prematurely leaving their education programs, by providing access to respite which will help them better manage and/or balance their education and caring responsibilities.
Target Group
- Young carers under the age of 25 years who have a primary role in the care of a parent, child, relative or friend who has a disability, is frail aged, who has a mental illness or other long term illness
- Young carers who are at risk of not completing their education or vocational training due to their caring responsibilities
Young carers identified as being at risk, include those who:
- Frequently miss school
- Have no time to complete home work
- Are distracted whilst at school
- Feel disconnected with the school environment
- Are considering leaving secondary school or equivalent education prematurely
Objectives
- To increase attendance at school
- To improve educational opportunities
- To improve employment skills
- To improve access to employment
- To improve family stability
How We Work
We provide support to young carers through a number of means. The support may include one or more of the following interventions:
- Respite during the school term to enable homework to be completed or at the time of exams to provide the carer with time to study
- Assistance to enable the young carer to attend recreational activities
- Assistance with schoolwork, for example tutoring services
- We link the young carers to Carers NSW
- We link young carers to appropriate support services that will meet their ongoing needs if required
- We work closely with other community service organisations, schools, and health care providers in the support of young carers
The Process
- We determine eligibility for assistance through the intake and assessment process, which includes the use of a Young Carer Screening Tool.
- We may visit the young carer at home to determine the level of support required and assistance needed
- We are flexible in the type of support that we provide which may include the organisation and purchase of private tutoring, recreational courses, gardening, meal preparation, housework, camps, assistance with getting siblings off to school or rental of equipment
As with all Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre Programs our intervention is short term, planned or emergency support.
Who Can Refer To Us
Young Carers, Family Members, Community Service Providers, Health Care Workers, General Practitioners (GPs), School Staff.
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