Nationally, approximately 45,000 children were in out-of-home care (OOHC) nationally as at August 2024.

Many of these children have missed out on stable, positive and healthy family relationships and stable schooling.

Up to 60% of Australian children in OOHC are identified as having developmental concerns, including developmental delays and 48-61% are diagnosed with behaviour problems.

According to The Australian Institute of Family Studies, young children up to 18 years are removed from their original homes when they are unable to live with their families, often due to child abuse, trauma, and neglect, resulting in poor health and attachments. This pool of children has the worst educational outcomes of any group of children in Australia (AIHW).

Statistics indicate that young people who exit care experience significant social and economic marginalisation including a range of poor educational and health outcomes:

• They are more likely to experience homelessness and/or housing instability
• Experience significantly higher rates of mental illness compared to the general population (evidence suggests children and young people in OOHC are almost five times more likely to display suicidal behaviour than peers with no OOHC involvement)
• Are more likely to experience unemployment/underemployment
• Have substance abuse issues
• Become involved in the he youth criminal justice system
• Experience early parenthood
• Have low educational attainment

Children in OOHC have poorer health outcomes than their peers in large part due to the adverse effect of neglect, addictive behaviour, family violence and other forms of abuse on neurodevelopment, but also from the effects of disruption to family attachment and structures, (Royal Australasian College of Physicians, 2023).

The Pyjama Foundation exists to break the cycle of disadvantage and to improve the life trajectory of these children and people in care, but we need your help.