[Sub ID 4842] Holistic support for young indigenous parents (Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services)

Submission ID: 4842
Organisation name: Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services

Which priority group of the Try, Test and Learn Fund does your idea support?
Young parents

What need or issue are you trying to address?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are 4.3 times more likely to experience unemployment than non-indigenous people. ABS data indicates that a high proportion of young Aboriginal people are parents or carers, and that young parents are much less likely than non-parents to be fully engaged in work and/or study. This combination represents a cohort of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are likely to be unemployed with limited employability and access to the workforce at a time when workforce participation and economic stability is important.

What is your idea?
Create and deliver an enterprising employment initiative for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is proposed to pilot this idea in one of two sites: Moreton Bay region in conjunction with the First 1000 days program; or Townsville with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing services. This idea will group the enterprising employment initiative with a suite of strategies designed to holistically meet the needs of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents, especially during the first 1000 days for their child.

Taking a holistic, strengths-based approach provides an opportunity to engage young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women in skill development, training and enterprise activities to build a pathway to employment, business or workforce participation. This idea forms part of a multi-factorial response, addressing a set of risk factors that greatly impacts young parents at a life stage where employment and economic wellbeing are fundamental.