Carinthia's Care Leaver: Unique support for young adults!

Carinthia's Care Leaver: Unique support for young adults!

On February 21, 2025, an important specialist conference took place in Klagenfurt under the motto "Unsupported at 18? What care leavers need." instead of. This event was organized by Diakonie de La Tour, Alpen-Adria University Klagenfurt and Pro Juventute Salzburg, and coincided with International Care Day. The aim of the conference was to shed light on the special needs of “care leavers” – young adults who have spent part of their lives in public education – and to show ways in which this transition can be better managed.

Carinthia stands out because it is the only federal state in Austria that has set up unique contact points for care leavers in Klagenfurt and Villach. These facilities offer comprehensive support for young adults who are released from youth welfare at the age of 18 or 21 at the latest. The contact point offerings, which have existed since mid-2022 and are used by 60 to 70 young adults every week, are recognized by the EU Commission as a best practice example. The support of these young people begins before they are released, which builds trust and prepares them for challenges such as finding accommodation and financial independence, as the responsible Carinthian regional councilor Sara Schaar emphasizes. So far, over 200 people have been supported by these contact points, which not only offer advice but also create space for community activities and workshops.

Unique support for care leavers

Care leavers face enormous challenges: While the average Austrian young adult moves out of their parents' home at the age of 25.2, those from youth welfare services have to live independently much earlier. They often lack social networks and become independent more quickly than is emotionally and practically possible for them. The Carinthian contact points are therefore of crucial importance for the integration and support of these young people on their way to a self-determined life. The Diakonie Kärnten facilities play a central role in this development and offer urgently needed help in a critical phase of life, as in the article by Diakonie.at shown. In addition, the need for such initiatives is becoming increasingly clear, as the discussions at the conference show.