Ladder delivers the Ladder Step Up Program in western Sydney that engages and supports young people in out-of-home care to build their self-efficacy, develop foundational skills and engage in education, employment and training pathways. The GWS GIANTS Football Club is a proud community partner of the program.  

The Step Up Sydney program commenced operations in 2017 and since then, more than 213 young people have benefited from Ladder’s support. Ladder has formed meaningful partnerships across the western Sydney region, demonstrated by more than 50 referral sources, including out-of-home care providers, juvenile justice services, NSW Police, education providers and the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

Ladder Step Up Sydney is addressing a gap in the leaving care and aftercare space and directly contributing to improving the quality of leaving care planning. Program outcomes to date include:

• 100 per cent of young people reported an improvement in social functioning
• 100 per cent of young people reported an improvement in daily living skills
• 100 per cent of young people reported an improvement in self-efficacy
• 100 per cent of young people reported having identified and tested vocational pathways

To review the complete report, click here.

In addition, the Step Up Sydney Program Evaluation undertaken by the Translational Research and Social Innovation (TReSI) Team at Western Sydney University has importantly proven that these outcomes are not just sustained over the course of the program, but young people are sustaining these outcomes into the future. You can access a snapshot of the research here.