A BRAVE NEW SUPPORT & EDUCATION PATHWAY FOR EXPECTING AND PARENTING TEENS

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

A BRAVE NEW SUPPORT AND EDUCATION PATHWAY FOR EXPECTING AND PARENTING TEENS

 National expecting and parenting teen’s (E&PT’s) charity Brave Foundation is thrilled to be working with the Department of Social Services to assist in the development of the Supporting Expecting and Parenting Teens (SEPT) initiative for trial from early 2018.

 Yesterday, Minister Porter announced four new and innovative initiatives under the Australian Government’s $96.1 million Try, Test and Learn fund to help improve the lives of E&PTs. One of these is the SEPT initiative, which provides E&PTs with access to a mentor, and connects E&PTs across Australia with health, education and employment support during pregnancy and following the birth of their child.

 Brave Foundation commissioned a national working group in 2015/2016 to develop a best practice, evidence based, industry reflective strategy to connect expecting and parenting teens (E&PT) towards support, education and workforce participation. As part of this working group, Brave Foundation consulted far and wide: teen mums, the National Children’s commissioner, State and Federal Ministers, school principals, midwives, teen parents, social workers, among many others. The Brave Pathway Plan for E&PTs was developed in this time and is being used as the basis of formulating the SEPT initiative to be implemented nationally in late February 2018.

Data demonstrates that there were 3,760 young parents aged 18 and under who were receiving a parenting payment during 2015-16 and this group has an expected average future lifetime cost to the welfare system of $648,000 per person. If nothing changes, we can expect that 79 per cent of these young people will still be receiving income support payments in 10 years, with 57 per cent still receiving income support in 20 years.

 “This pathway plan and accessibility of a mentor was something I looked for and couldn’t find as a 16-year-old mother myself,” says Bernadette Black, CEO and Founding Director of Brave Foundation. “Statistics show us that expecting and parenting teens have high hopes, dreams and aspirations for themselves, their families, and careers but have, until now, been hindered by the lack of a traditional pathway plan toward education/workforce participation and stigma in the community.”

“Our vision is to ensure that expecting and parenting teens can access the same levels of support, education and workforce opportunities like any other Australian teen, the time has come!”

www.bravefoundation.org.au