Every child has the right to a happy home, to be loved, listened to and cared for, but when this is not the case, the repercussions can be life-long.
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From a young age, children pick up on their surroundings, whether it be good or bad, and in many cases, these parenting techniques will flow from generation to generation.
Taking a child away from their family is still the final step, the last resort for a struggling family, but the stigma for a child who has grown up in care can often, unfortunately, follow them around for life.
According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the ongoing effects of an abusive childhood can effect each person differently, with the impact for some people being “chronic and debilitating”.
It is important to note that not all children in the child protection system have been abused or neglected, some enter through the sickness or disability of a parent, or a range of other factors.
The amount a child’s past can effect their future depends on a range of different factors, such as the age the maltreatment occurred, the severity, the survivor’s perception of abuse, what action was taken, and the therapeutic treatment they received afterwards, according to the institute.
For Youth Network of Tasmania chief executive Joanna Siejka, meeting and supporting young people is something she does on a daily basis.
Ms Siejka said the impact living in a dysfunctional home could have on a young person was significant.
“Witnessing and experiencing family violence in the home can lead to cumulative trauma, repeat homelessness, difficulty in forming respectful relationships, limited education and contact with police,” she said.
“This makes it difficult for a young person to have a future where they have completed their education, can gain and maintain employment and are able to contribute to the community.
“These impacts often correlate to poor health, social skills and low level literacy, which increase the likelihood of unstable housing into adult life.”
Ms Siejka said that having a secure and safe place to stay was the foundation for all other aspects of a young person’s life.
“It is extremely difficult for young people to continue going to school, training or work if they do not have a place to stay, or are staying somewhere they are not safe,” she said.
“Without a stable living environment, young people are at an increased risk of mental health issues and poor physical health and nutrition.
“This then presents challenges in their functioning for everyday life and ability to achieve their goals.”
But Ms Siejka said there was still not enough support available to address the complex issues young people were facing, with children having significant issues at home often left with nowhere to go.
“There needs to be a range of appropriate and affordable housing options to ensure young people who cannot stay with their families will have a safe and secure place to stay,” she said.
“There also needs to be increased promotion and communication about what these options are and support for young people to navigate the complex process for accessing them.
“Young people need long-term planning and coordination of support to provide stability and certainty for their future.”
Sarah, 22, knows firsthand what it is like to grow up in the child protection system in Tasmania.
She was so young when she entered the system she cannot be certain how old she actually was.
Sarah was in and out of care for most of her childhood, separated from her siblings for years without being told why.
She says there was ups and downs to her time in care, but today, Sarah is proving wrong the, often untrue, stereotype of children from care.
She became independent when she was 18 years old, and now works full-time and is studying.
While Sarah has turned her own experiences into a positive, she said much more needed to be done to ensure children in the Tasmanian care system were safe, happy and loved.
“One big thing that I’m passionate about is sibling placement,” Sarah said.
“Having a sibling there would have made that experience a little bit easier because we knew each other and we had each other.
“It’s the unknowing of what’s going to happen next that’s scary.”
There were two priorities Sarah said would make a big difference to the lives of children, one was having the constant support of one worker, and the second was increasing the age children leave care to 21.
“Eighteen is when you’ve just become an adult and you’re still learning things,” she said.
“As soon as you’re 18 you’re basically out and living independently and then you have no support.
“Twenty-one would be so much better because at least then we could work on having those extra years learning and understanding how to be independent and what we need to do to be able to succeed in life.
“We need to make sure we actually have that say in what group home we go to because we get thrown from one to another and then it’s the same with case workers.”
Sarah said that while she had experienced good and bad days in care, today she had already achieved many of her goals.
“I get really passionate when I speak about my story because yes there are negative things about it, but I turn my experiences into a positive thing and then I can encourage other young people to do that,” she said.
“I had good and bad experiences and homes, but I’m still the person I am today, I achieved everything that I wanted to.
“The stigma that’s out there really holds back a lot of young people and it puts a negative idea in their mind.
“Yes I was a child in care but I still have the same hopes and dreams as any other person.”
Look out for the final edition of Keeping Our Kids Safe on August 31.