Picture: Jacob, Michelle & Lydia

“My biggest fear was what was going to happen to them when they turned 18,” Michelle said.

“I didn’t want them to become another statistic.

“I knew kids can have a hard time when they leave care.”

Michelle, a single mother who had raised five daughters of her own, was able to access the Department for Child Protection’s Stability in Family-Based Care (SFBC) program.

Under the program, Michelle’s carer payments continue until Lydia and Jacob were 21.

“The program is very, very helpful,” Michelle said.

“It’s important for these kids (in care) to know they have someone to rely on when they turn 18.

“Every kid deserves a good life, and what happened to them shouldn’t define them.”

Lydia said Michelle’s been amazing caring for her, and her brother.

She knows what a great help the SFBC program has been to the entire family.

“It just took the pressure of adulthood off me,” she said. “I didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do.”

Michelle’s daughters were young adults and more or less raised, when Lydia and Jacob joined the household.

“It (caring for the twins) was one of the best things I ever did,” Michelle said.

“Basically all they needed was love and care.

“Now they’ve grown into young adults and they’re still at home. It’s a good feeling.”

Jacob said the funding initiative gave him opportunities he may not have had otherwise.

“I would recommend it if you feel safe and if your family is there,” he said of the scheme.

“It gave me security and the opportunity to go back to school and get the grades I wanted to go to uni.”

Both Lydia and Jacob, now 21, work and still live at home.

Lydia is debating whether to study nursing or a diploma of beauty.

Michelle has even talked to her case worker about another DCP program, the Over 18 Education Initiative to help Lydia with her goals. Jacob is also considering studying social media engineering.

That initiative provides carer payments and study allowances for young people with a care experience until the age of 25.

“That will take the pressure off working and studying,” Lydia said. “As you know, everything is so expensive now.”