WITH more than 240 children in Gippsland in state care, local welfare agencies will eagerly await the results of a new State Government study.
Last week State Community Services Minister Mary Woolridge announced a $1 million longitudinal research study on young people transitioning from state care.
The minister said about 400 Victorians between 16 and 18 years old left child protection out-of-home care every year.
Department of Human Services figures show about seven per cent of the 240 children currently in state care in this region will transition this year, amounting to about 17 adolescents.
Anglicare Gippsland area manager Jane Anderson said these young people were particularly vulnerable as they often lacked family and social support mechanisms.
At any one time Anglicare programs oversee about 50 children in care while other local agencies, including Quantum, Uniting Care, the Salvation Army and Berry Street, do the same, according to Ms Anderson.
"When these kids leave care one of the big issues is that normally when you turn 18 you have family to fall back on, but for these kids their formal arrangements are finished and they don't have that support," she said.
"The transition to adulthood is much more abrupt and they don't have the normal support systems."
Ms Anderson said unemployment, poor education outcomes and "issues in relation to coping skills in everyday life", often resulted.
"That includes interpersonal skills and a capacity to relate to the broader community," she said.
"They may not have those stable relationships with the usual social networks.
"Then there are the skills that others take for granted, like budgeting, cooking and cleaning - basic life skills."
While the youths were usually still contending with unresolved trauma from their childhoods, 'transition' out of care was rife with potential problems, Ms Anderson said.
She welcomed news of a new research study in the area but implored the government "to actually respond to the research and act on implementing the recommendations".
"There has been research done that shows that when young people come out of state care there are poor outcomes regarding poverty, health stability and employment... but I think more research to explore that is good," Ms Anderson said.
The new study will track a cohort of young people in out-of-home care over a period of four years "to better understand the difficulties these young people face... and how these young people can be better supported and assisted," Ms Woolridge said.
"This research will be the first of its kind in Victoria and will provide an empirical evidence base that will be invaluable for policy-makers and service providers in Victoria and across the country," she said.
Out-of-home care includes kinship care, foster care and residential care.
The State Government said about 6000 children and young people lived in out-of-home care on any given day in Victoria.
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