Oranga Tamariki Action Plan: Supported Accommodation Review

The Supported Accommodation service, delivered through partners, aims to support more care-experienced young people to be in safe and stable living arrangements, and to have the life skills they need to thrive as adults.

Commissioned through the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan in-depth assessment ‘Prioritising housing services for young people moving to independence from care and youth justice settings’, the review found the Supported Accommodation service creates safety, stability and improved outcomes for the young people transitioning to adulthood.

Read more about the in-depth assessment on the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan website.

Care-experienced young people transitioning out of care or custody have challenges non-care experienced young people do not face. These young people also experience worse outcomes than their non-care experienced peers. Evidence shows they are:   

• up to 80 times more likely to be involved in serious offending
• up to 20 times more likely to be involved in low-level offending
• up to 7 times more likely to be on a benefit
• up to 30 times more likely to access substance abuse services
• up to 4 times more likely to be hospitalised
• half as likely to achieve a tertiary qualification.

The challenges faced by care-experienced young people can limit their housing options and mean they often require tailored support from multiple agencies when transitioning to independence and meeting their goals.

Some young people are not able to live independently due to their life experiences and lack of experience living alone or with others. Other young people need tailored, intensive support in addition to a safe and stable home. In addition, in a competitive housing market, young people often have limited housing choices due to factors like perceptions they are less-desirable tenants, a lack of references and low incomes.

The Transition Support Service (TSS) was established in 2019 to support young people who are transitioning from care to young adulthood. Two objectives for the TSS are for more care-experienced young people transitioning to independence to have:

• safe and stable living arrangements, and
• the life skills they need to thrive as adults.

The Supported Accommodation service, managed by the TSS, aims to support these objectives by providing a safe, stable home for young people, and facilitating the development of skills needed for the transition to adulthood and living independently.

• The review found the Supported Accommodation service creates safety, stability and improved outcomes for the care-experienced young people who use it. These young people:
  • have safe and stable living arrangements
  • have the life skills they need to thrive as adults
  • are healthy and recovering from trauma
  • have a trusted adult in their lives and are engaged with family, whānau, cultural and community groups
  • are involved in education, training, employment or volunteering.
• There are reduced disparities in outcomes and experiences for rangatahi Māori and their whānau.
• The homes and supports provided vary in ways that reflect the different needs of the young people – depending on their circumstances and stage of life – and the capabilities of providers.
• The service specifications are intentionally broad to allow partners to deliver services that reflect the needs of care-experienced young people and their communities.
• As Supported Accommodation support is led by the young people’s needs, they feel more listened to and understood.
• Kaupapa Māori partners provide te ao Māori and tikanga Māori support, including developing connections to whakapapa and whānau.

The recommendations for improving the Supported Accommodation service include:

• working towards more consistent availability of supported accommodation
• working with our partners to increase the capacity and capability of the service, and
• establishing and fostering strong regional relationships between Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry’s regional partners.

The report recommends continuing to work towards prioritising partnership with kaupapa Māori providers to ensure supported accommodation places reflect the number of rangatahi Māori transitioning out of care.

The review found the Supported Accommodation service may not always address the needs of non-Māori Oranga Tamariki priority groups: Pacific, disabled and rainbow young people. More work is needed to ensure these young people are supported.