Aftercare....do you care?

We, the EPIC Youth Board, are petitioning the government to provide adequate funding to Tusla (Child and Family Agency) and for Tusla to implement Aftercare for all young people leaving care.

Young people who are in care have been marganalised from achieving their full potential in their lives., for most of their lives. 'We face barriers and difficulties that no young person should have to face.' (Young Person)

One of the key areas to allowing people in care equal opportunities and equal outcomes is an Aftercare Plan and it's implementation.

'Young people leaving care need ongoing support in order to achieve their potential. The provision of an appropriate aftercare service has been highlighted as a key element to achieving positive outcomes for young people upon leaving care. It is essential that young people leaving care are provided with the type of transitional support that their individual situation requires.' (Department of Children and Youth Affairs)

The Child Care Amendment Act 2015 states all young people in care are legally entitled to an Aftercare Plan once they have been in care for twelve months or more. However the right to Aftercare itself is not placed on a statutory footing.

In Ireland today there are too many young people who are leaving care with no Aftercare Plan or an Aftercare Plan but no action on it's implementation. There are many young people leaving care who have an Aftercare Plan which is being implementated with great success.

This difference between those that have a good Aftercare Plan and those that have none can be the geographical area they live in. Young people who have been discriminated against for most of their lives are again being discriminated against through no fault of their own.

The harsh reality for those young people is that they are at best under huge stress in a time of uncertaintity, which is affecting their whole lives, or at worst they are falling through the cracks and put in a position where they are accessing services such as homeless services.

'Our vision is to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to grow up and raise a family, and where the rights of all children and young people are respected, protected and fullfilled; where their voices are heard and where they are supported to realise their maximum potential now and into the future' (Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, the national policy framework for children and young people, 2014-2020.)

Our government makes choices all the time, we are calling on Tusla and the government to choose to give young people in care an equal chance in life.

Make your vision for young people be for all young people!