Out of Home Care Youth Support
Skilled, trauma informed support for young people in out of home care.
Young people in out of home care deserve a service that will stay when things get hard. Our out of home care support Western Sydney programme gives young people in foster care, kinship care, and residential care a trusted mentor who shows up every week, understands the system, and does the work regardless of how the placement is going.
SCA works with young people aged 12 to 20 across Western and South West Sydney, including Campbelltown, Liverpool, and Fairfield. Many of the young people we support have both NDIS funding and DCJ involvement, and our team knows how to hold both threads at once.
Who this fits
This service fits young people in care who need consistency. That is a rare commodity in a system where caseworkers, carers, and placements can change without warning. It fits young people preparing for the Leaving Care transition at 18, when the safety net gets much thinner. It fits foster carers and kinship carers who are stretched, and residential teams looking for a mentor who will engage with a young person who has been written off by other services.
How the sessions work
Sessions run weekly, usually two to three hours, in the community or at the placement depending on what the young person wants. Early sessions are all about rapport, and rapport in this context takes longer, because trust has often been broken repeatedly. We do not rush it.
From there we work on goals that fit the moment: reconnecting with school in Bankstown, preparing for a family time visit, learning to catch the train, managing a Centrelink appointment, building a driving log, planning what independent living actually looks like. We attend case meetings and court dates when it helps. We write good notes and we share the important stuff with caseworkers and carers. We do not talk about young people behind their backs.
What makes our approach different
Our practice sits inside the Elevate Youth Lab model. That means neuroaffirming, trauma informed, and honest about power. Young people in care are experts in adult inconsistency, and they can tell within one session whether a mentor is going to stay. Our mentors are trained to earn that trust and hold it.
We refuse to pathologise trauma responses as bad behaviour. A young person who runs from placement is telling us something. Our job is to listen, name what is happening, and build the skills and supports so the young person has better options next time.
Getting started with SCA
If you are a foster carer, kinship carer, residential team leader, DCJ caseworker, or support coordinator working with a young person in care, call us on 0480 800 521 or send through the referral form. We will book a free intake call, look at both the NDIS plan and the DCJ case plan where relevant, and let you know what we can offer.
Right fit if...
- Young people aged 12 to 20 living in foster care, kinship care, or residential care
- Young people transitioning from care with a DCJ Leaving Care plan
- Foster carers and kinship carers needing skilled outside support
- DCJ caseworkers looking for a provider who will actually communicate
- Young people in care who also have NDIS funding for mentoring or capacity building
How the work happens.
Weekly one to one mentoring in the community, at placement, or somewhere neutral
Practical support with identity, culture, school, and transition to independent living
Attendance at family time, court dates, and case meetings where useful
Coordination with DCJ caseworkers, carers, and residential staff so the story stays consistent
Skill building for young people preparing to leave care at 18
What good looks like.
- The young person has a trusted adult who does not disappear at the next placement change
- Better school attendance, engagement, and post school planning
- Stronger sense of identity, culture, and connection
- Fewer crisis calls because problems get picked up earlier
- Warm handover into adult supports at 18, not a cliff
Common questions about OOHC Support.
Do you work with DCJ?
Yes. We work closely with DCJ (the NSW Department of Communities and Justice) caseworkers, and we understand how the child protection system actually operates day to day. We do not pretend it is simple and we do not disappear when it gets hard.
How is this different from a support worker?
A support worker delivers hours. We deliver a relationship with structured skill building behind it. Our mentors are trained in trauma informed practice and neuroaffirming care, and they stay with the young person even when the placement changes.
Can this be funded through NDIS and DCJ together?
Often yes. Many young people in care have both NDIS funding and DCJ supports, and the two can work together if the provider knows what they are doing. We will help you map who funds what.
What happens when the young person turns 18?
Ideally we have been planning for that since they were 15 or 16. Leaving care is a major transition and we build a bridge into adult services, private rental, TAFE, work, or ongoing NDIS supports so the young person is not left standing on their own.
Do you work with kinship carers as well as foster carers?
Absolutely. Kinship carers often carry the same load with fewer supports around them. We are here for the young person and the carer, whoever they are.
Ready to talk about OOHC Support?
Free 15-minute chat. No commitment.