Children and young people in out-of-home care (OOHC) often have high and unmet health needs and are more disadvantaged and vulnerable than other children. NSW Health provides coordinated health assessments for children and young people aged 0 – 17 years in statutory OOHC living in NSW who are expected to remain in care for longer than 90 days.
Independent evaluation has demonstrated that the program improves access to early intervention and improves short- and long-term health, development and wellbeing.
Out-of-Home Care Health Pathway - Information for children and young people
Out-of-Home Care Health Pathway - Information for Carers
Children and young people entering statutory OOHC are referred by the Department of Communities and Justice to commence a primary health assessment as soon as possible, ideally within 30 days of a child or young person entering care.
These assessments are undertaken by a range of health care providers, including General Practitioners, Aboriginal Medical Services, Child and Family Health Nurses, and headspace and Youth Health Services where available.
After the primary health assessment, the health professional may then refer the child or young person for a comprehensive multidisciplinary health assessment. On the basis of these assessments, each child or young person has a Health Management Plan developed for/with them. The Health Management Plan identifies their state of health, recommended interventions and appropriate review process.
The program is a collaboration between NSW Health, Department of Communities and Justice, OOHC service providers, Department of Education, carers, and children and young people themselves.
The OOHC health assessments do not replace the services offered by a GP or emergency department. If a child or young person in your care is unwell or injured, and requires attention, please seek immediate medical attention.
Each local health district has an OOHC Health Pathway coordinator responsible for managing and coordinating referrals. The contact details for each local coordinator, and information about local programs, can be found below. To find out which local health district you live in, search for your closest town using this map locator.
Sharon Cameron
Phone: 08 8080 1100 Email: fwlhd-oohc@health.nsw.gov.au Address: PO Box 457, Broken Hill NSW 2880
Alexandra Hamilton
Two independent evaluations of the Out-of-Home Care Health Pathway Program have been completed. The first evaluation in 2014 found that the Program significantly improved access to health services for children and young people entering statutory (court ordered) out-of-home care. The 2014 evaluation also found that service providers and agencies reported that the program improved health outcomes for these children and young people.
The second evaluation, which concluded in 2022, examined the impact of increased Program funding that began in July 2019. The 2022 evaluation found that the additional funding led to program improvements, such as increases in the numbers of assessments and health management plans, and in the number of staff employed under the program. The 2022 evaluation report made 16 recommendations to improve the Program. Key Program partners met in November 2022 to identify priority recommendations and actions, which are now underway.
