Youth Initiative
Youth Initiative (YI) is a support service for young people leaving statutory out-of-home care (OOHC), who are identified as being vulnerable to experiencing homelessness on exit from care. The program aims to build the long-term capacity and resilience of young people in order to permanently divert them from the homelessness service system.
Who benefits?
All young people in out-of-home care in YI delivery locations, aged between 16 and 18 years of age are screened for eligibility into YI. As young Aboriginal people leaving OOHC have a greater risk of homelessness than non-Aboriginal young people, all Aboriginal young people aged 16-18 years old in OOHC are eligible for YI.
Eligibility lists are provided to YI services who then manage the process of offering YI services to eligible young people.
From 1 July 2024, YI also accepts Community Referrals. Young people 16-21 years old with a history of OOHC can be referred by medical professionals, educational institutions or other service providers. To receive YI via a community referral, a young person must be able to live independently following up to 3 years of support and the program must have a vacancy. YI service providers will assess young people’s suitability for the program in consultation with their caseworker.
What are the benefits for young people participating in the Youth Initiative?
YI provides young people leaving OOHC with a combination of personal advice, mentoring, transitional support and accommodation.
Young people entering YI have access to:
- Personal Advisor
The Personal Advisor acts as central contact for all YI services. They work to provide helpful advice in a mentoring capacity on how to live independently. The Personal Advisor will support the young person to identify and work toward their personal and leaving care plan goals, connect them to positive personal support networks and help the young person access any support services they need.
- Education and Employment Mentoring
All young people entering YI will have access to education and employment mentoring to help them understand their interests and aptitude to identify and find suitable education, training and/or employment options.
- Transitional Support Worker
Some young people in the program will be offered transitional accommodation support. These young people will have a Transitional Support Worker (TSW) who will assist them to develop their skills and knowledge to manage their own accommodation, both currently and in the future.
- Accommodation
Some young people in the program will be offered subsidised accommodation.
YI participants receiving accommodation in the program will be offered the opportunity to take over the lease of a tenancy when they are ready.
Where is the Youth Initiative available?
YI is available in the following DCJ districts:
- Hunter Central Coast
- Illawarra Shoalhaven and Southern NSW
- Mid North Coast and Northern NSW
- Nepean Blue Mountains
- New England
- South West Sydney
- Western NSW
Evaluation of the Youth Initiative
In 2016 the Department of Communities and Justice engaged the Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI) and its partners Monash University and the Behavioural Insights Team to deliver the evaluation of then named Premier’s Youth Initiative pilot. Findings from the evaluation were positive and showed that YI is a promising intervention for diverting young people who are exiting out-of-home-care from the homelessness service system.
The report delivers important findings and recommendations that have guided the next steps for delivering this program.
Evaluation of the Premier’s Youth Initiative (PDF, 6241.14 KB)
Contact Us
If you or someone you know is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless please contact Link2Home on 1800 152 152 or the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111. Both are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For enquiries about youth homelessness services and programs, please contact the Youth Homelessness Team at youth.homelessness@homes.nsw.gov.au.