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Research into the characteristics and experiences of young carers in Australia has revealed a need for stronger policies to support this group, according to a researcher from The Australian National University.
Mr Rob Bray from the ANU College of Business and Economics drew on a detailed five year longitudinal dataset study that recorded the experiences of 20,000 carers who commenced caring aged under 25 years.
The carers studied were young people who were receiving assistance from the Commonwealth Government in recognition of the care they provide to people who were frail, aged or had a severe disability or medical condition.
Mr Bray said that this group of young people was often invisible in our society despite the important caring role they provided.
?These young carers, some aged as young as 15 years, often spend extensive periods providing care,? he said.
?For those aged under 20 years around a third were still caring five years into the study period, and for those aged 21 to 25 a half were.?
The younger groups of young carers were most frequently caring for their parents and grandparents. Older young carers were more frequently caring for a child of their own who had significant disabilities.
Mr Bray said that young carers were highly concentrated in the most disadvantaged locations in Australia.
?In the least disadvantaged locations there were only two young carers receiving support for every 1000 young people, in the most disadvantaged areas the figure was 17,? he said.
Mr Bray noted that while the group of young carers he studied represented those with the most intensive care responsibilities there were many more young people providing varying levels of care and support.
Mr Bray?s research is published as an Occasional Paper by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. A copy can be found here http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/02_2013/op47_text_print_ready.pdf
Source: http://news.anu.edu.au/2013/04/09/young-carers-invisible-to-society-study/
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