Urgent Action Needed
The Crisis
Up to 80% of New Zealand's prison population has experienced state care.

Every year, a third of the young people in state care that reach 18, go to prison. 

30% of care leavers become homeless within a year of turning 18.

Our most vulnerable young people are being set up to fail. After enduring significant childhood trauma, they're abandoned at age 18 with:

Inadequate life skills
Limited literacy
Few support networks
No stable housing
Unhealed trauma
The result? A devastating pipeline from state care to homelessness and prison, with Māori youth disproportionately affected. Over 53% of our prison population is Māori – a stark failure of our systems to protect indigenous youth.

The Human Cost
Young people who have already suffered trauma find themselves:

Struggling to navigate adult systems with limited literacy
Rejected from housing opportunities as the housing crisis intensifies
Forced into unstable "couch surfing" arrangements with no permanent home
Exposed to unsafe environments where gang recruitment is common
Isolated once incarcerated, often locked in cells for 22-23 hours daily
Forgotten by the system when they enter prison, with case files frequently closed by OT and the Transition Services. The advocacy system designed specifically to advocate for them are not present in the prisons as they are inadequately resourced.
Young people are overrepresented in the suicide stats in New Zealand (a quarter of them).

After inadequate support during their most vulnerable years, these young people enter adulthood without the tools to succeed. Most don't even know a Transition Service exists. For the few who do, the approach fails to meet their needs of intensive support.

We Demand Action
The state has a responsibility to these young people that doesn't end at age 18.

We call on lawmakers to:

Transform support systems: Replace the current inadequate Transition Service with robust, intensive support that extends well beyond age 21
Ensure safe housing: Develop dedicated housing pathways with ongoing mentorship for ALL care leavers, especially those at risk of entering Corrections. I.e. Not a single one of them is left homeless. 
Prevent incarceration: Create small-scale youth rehabilitation homes/hubs instead of mixing vulnerable youth with the adult prison population where they are pressured.
Build life skills: Implement structured transition programs that include practical life skills, literacy support, and emotional regulation
Support rehabilitation: Make prison rehabilitation programs genuinely accessible and effective, focusing on healing rather than punishment
Enable reintegration: Create viable community pathways with supported accommodation for those leaving the prison system
Your signature can help ensure that turning 18 becomes a pathway to opportunity rather than a gateway to incarceration.

Sign now to protect New Zealand's most vulnerable youth and break the state care to prison pipeline.

 
"Sometimes you want to go back [to prison] for a reset." – Youth who experienced state care

These aren't just statistics. They're young people who deserve better.