Unaccompanied 12 to 15-year olds experiencing homelessness are an extremely vulnerable group who have traditionally had few service options for support in New South Wales. The Homeless Youth Assistance Program (HYAP), a $54 million, six-year initiative from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), aims to reunify children and young people with their families and broader support networks, or enable this group to transition to longer-term supported accommodation.
An evaluation consortium led by CEI with partners Monash University and the Behavioural Insights Team used a hybrid effectiveness-implementation evaluation design to assess the HYAP model. Extensive consultation from a range of sources was undertaken and, for the first-time, administrative data from the homeless and child protection sectors was linked.
The team found that while HYAP was designed as an early intervention service to prevent homelessness, the group who sought the most help from the program were highly vulnerable children and young people who had already had contact with the child protection system. NGOs adapted HYAP where possible to meet the diverse (and often complex) needs of this group but were often limited by a lack of appropriate services in their area. This meant that the help children and young people received was driven more by the availability of local services rather than the problem for which they had sought support.
Whilst HYAP demonstrated positive outcomes for some client groups, not all young people benefited. The independent evaluation delivered important findings and recommendations that will guide the next steps for delivering the HYAP program into the future. In the Illawarra Mercury News (Oct 23, 2021) the NSW government said it will "continue to work closely with the sector to build on its responses for young people, informed by the recent evaluation of the Homelessness Youth Assistance Program.” (Read the full article here)
The NSW Department of Communities and Justice have now published the report, Evaluation of the Homeless Youth Assistance Program, which can be read in full here.
The team discussed the study's findings and recommendations at a webinar hosted by Yfoundation: the peak body for young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness in NSW. The recording is available here.
Suggested citation:
Taylor D, Chakraborty S, Ng J, Rose V, Gyani A, Roberts J, Harrigan S & Shlonsky A. 2020. Evaluation of the Homeless Youth Assistance Program: Final Report, Centre for Evidence and Implementation, Sydney.
