Seen, Heard and Supported: Co-designing an evidence-based Young Carers service model

For every parent with a significant physical or mental health issue, there is a child or young person with caring responsibilities impacting their health, wellbeing and social connections. The numbers of young carers in Australia are likely to be underestimated as they are consistently not identified by services and do not self-identify as a carer. Funding and support services are routinely bundled with adults or over an unworkable age range (5 – 25 years). This project has three components co-designed in partnership with Young Carers SA’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC).
1. Seen: Systematic policy and literature review to identify the number of young carers and the state of policy and funding impacting young carers nationally.
2. Heard: Participants will tell their story of being a young carer using ‘playful research methods’ (Batsleer and Duggan 2020) to identify key barriers to engaging with support, connection and advocacy.
3. Supported: Co-produce and evaluate a program a social connection and advocacy program for young carers.