South Australian Child Protection System Accused of Leaving 18-Year-Olds Leaving Care 'Effectively Pushed Off a Cliff'

South Australia's Department for Child Protection has been accused of providing almost no transition support sufficient for independent living to vulnerable young people who leave the state care system at age 18, effectively offloading the parenting responsibilities that should be borne by public institutions onto these newly adult young people themselves.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Joshua Prosso, now 19, spent nearly eight years in residential care facilities run by the South Australian Department for Child Protection (DCP). During his childhood he was forcibly separated from his relatives and placed for an extended period in a series of group care institutions alongside other traumatised young people. 'In a way, being in that department was like psychological torture, because I felt like I was locked in a room for years, pounding on the door and yelling through it,' he told ABC.

Prosso now lives in subsidised rental housing, but admits he lacks the life skills typically possessed by his peers — he has had insufficient driving lessons, and his schooling was extremely limited, 'twice a week, a few hours each time.' He currently devotes his spare time to genealogical research, tracing relatives he has never met, and has channelled that experience into advocacy for other young people leaving care.

The South Australian Office of the Guardian for Children and Young People recently conducted an investigation together with a group of young people with relevant lived experience, issuing seven reform recommendations. The core demands include more secure housing guarantees, a clear framework for transitioning to adulthood, the maintenance of trusting and stable relationships with carers, and the extension of support services to at least age 21.

Acting Guardian for Children and Young People Sue Macdonald told ABC bluntly that the young people interviewed described their feelings when leaving state care at 18 as being like 'falling off the edge of a cliff,' full of 'helplessness and despair.' She noted: 'When you take on the role of being a parent, you can't pick and choose, only doing the part you want to do.'

Macdonald further drew a contrast, pointing out that young people in ordinary families extend the time they live with their parents and receive more support because they cannot afford to buy a home, but this model has never been replicated for those who have been in care. 'They are still expected to be independent on their own at 18, and the support available is extremely limited,' she said. She added that investment in the transition support system would translate into benefits for the whole community — fewer emergency department visits, less contact with the justice system, and more positive action oriented towards employment and education.

However, in the face of accusations from both those with lived experience and the oversight body, DCP Chief Executive Jackie Bray responded only with a written statement, saying the government had invested in transition and post-care programs such as the 'Independent Living Support Service,' covering housing, education, training, employment, health and disability services. The statement did not specify any concrete investment scale, the number of people covered, or outcome evaluation, making it difficult to compare with the 'cliff-edge fall' described by those with lived experience and the oversight body. Prosso, for his part, told ABC that reform 'cannot wait.'