Tuesday, 12 November 2024

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (19:04): (1269) My adjournment today is to the Minister for Education, and the action I seek from the minister is to sustain and increase ongoing funding for the young mothers transition program, the YMTP, which is set to fold at the end of this year when all funds to support it are gone. I recently had the privilege of meeting with the remaining educational case manager for the program, whose passion and commitment to her work and the local women was evident. The young mothers transition program has assisted young mothers from as young as 13 until they are about 22 or marginally older. Predominantly the dried-up funding focused on helping young women parents who are under the age of 18 years to continue their education. This has been happening in Melbourne’s south-east region, for which I am a member of Parliament. Out of less than 50 programs in Australia the young mothers transition program is the only program – I want to repeat that: the only program – in the whole of Australia that combines wellbeing, emotional and practical support for new young mothers with educational support to empower future employment and to help them to finish school or get some sort of education. All of the other programs in Australia have identified they are working in silos and recognise the importance of having the opportunity to provide young parents with both school education and vocational employment support with transitional parenting support, which also includes wellbeing, emotional and practical support.

The south-east region experiences low year 12 completion rates, at 16.9 per cent, and in many areas the south-east has one of the highest unemployment rates. Many young mothers lack family and support networks for education and employment, and teenage mothers are a vulnerable population at risk of social and economic disadvantage. According to studies like Egan et al, 2020, unplanned pregnancies are associated with low educational attainment, and this can put families into a situation where it is difficult for them to be a parent when they are a teenager. Teenagers who choose to keep their babies struggle to continue their education and look after their babies, and their challenges compound if they do not have the appropriate support networks.

The young mothers transition program was launched in 2022 to bridge the gap between education and employment for young mothers. It has a case management model that works alongside the parents in the YPEP program – that is, the young parents education program. It aligns the education and employment goals of young mothers while also assisting with appropriate referrals and links to additional services. Case managers work with each young parent to identify their individual support requirements to help them as they need, and the support from the transition coach, the educator or the teacher allows the young parent to focus on learning while they are also having someone helping them with their personal needs. I highly recommend this program continues, and it needs to be funded.