Disability receives scant attention to the point of invisibility in much of the extensive literature on child protection, despite suggestions that the prevalence of young people with disability in care is high.

The Social Policy Research Centre has been commissioned by the New South Wales Government to conduct a program evaluation of the NSW Leaving Care Program. The program offers support to young people with disability who are leaving care: transition planning, case management, accommodation, vocational opportunities and skills development, a mentoring service and community participation.

The evaluation includes a literature review, survey of young participants, and case studies. An important objective of the evaluation is to listen to the voices of young with disability, their experiences of leaving care and the support they need to move towards adulthood.

An article that discusses highlights from the literature review is available here.