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POCLS updates

Information alert

If you are part of this Study, please let the researchers know if you change your address or phone number so we can keep in contact with you:

The study interviews

In 2026-2027 we are conducting the seventh and final round of interviews with young people aged 15-17 years and their caregivers including birth parents, guardians and adoptive parents if their child is restored, living with guardians or adopted during the study.

The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) researchers contact every caregiver to seek their permission to securely transfer their contact details to Ipsos/I-view (an independent data collection agency that specialises in social research data collection) and this is referred to as an 'opt-in' recruitment process (PDF, 221.1 KB).

The interviews are conducted by trained interviewers from Ipsos/I-view to collect detailed information on the characteristics, needs, experiences and outcomes of the children and the support needs of their caregivers.

Please click on this link to go to Information for children, young people, caregivers, parents, teachers and caseworkers involved in this Study .

Prize draw to say 'thank you'

In appreciation of your time and contribution to this study we have a prize draw at the end of the final round of interviews.

All households that completed a caregiver or young person interview in 2026–27 will be included in the prize draw for a $500 Prezzee digital voucher to thank you for your ongoing contribution and commitment to this longitudinal study.

At the end of your interview, a postcard is given to you with details about the prize draw and the contact details of the researchers if you have any questions (as shown at the top of the page).

Prize draw details:

  • The prize draw will take place unless participants opt-out. Please let us know if want to opt-out of the prize draw by contacting the Study researchers on the email or phone numbers above.
  • The announcement of a winner (no names), will be published on the POCLS Updates webpage.
  • One prize draw entry per household.
  • There will be one winner.
  • The prize will be drawn randomly at the end of the study in 2027 by Ipsos/I-view who conduct the interviews.
  • The winner will be notified by Ipsos/I-view (by phone or email) on the same day as the draw. If no contact, we will keep trying for one month.
  • If necessary, a redraw will be conducted every 4 weeks. The above arrangements will be repeated until a winner is found. 
  • Note, if the winner resides in locations outside of NSW that requires the winner’s name to be published, the winner may be ineligible for confidentiality reasons.
  • Note, careworkers/caseworkers participating in the interviews are excluded from the prize draw but the eligible young person will be included as a separate household and if they win the prize, it will be sent via their careworker/caseworker to appropriately pass onto the young person.

Ten grants awarded to Aboriginal led or partnered projects

FACSIAR awarded ten research grants in 2023 for Aboriginal led/partnered analysis projects to answer OOHC stakeholders’ priority policy and practice questions and build the evidence base to improve the outcomes for Aboriginal children and families. The POCLS projects will be published in 2027 in a First Nations Special Issue in the Australian Journal of Social Issues.

The POCLS dataset is an open data asset and holds a wealth of data. For more information, please see the POCLS data asset and the DCJ funded projects on the Information for Data Users or POCLS publications pages.

Newsletters and snapshots

Research and policy roundtables

Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) roundtables were held in 2022 with researchers, the Advisory Group and the Evidence to Action Group. A panel of researchers summarised the key insights from completed analysis of the POCLS dataset to inform policy and practice to improve children’s experiences in out-of-home care and developmental outcomes.

The roundtables recordings can be accessed through the following links:

  1. Child development, wellbeing and children with a disability
  2. Cultural connections and family time
  3. Education and Youth Justice
  4. Casework and Support
  5. Permanency and Wellbeing Outcomes

The video transcripts can be accessed through the following links:

  1. Child development, wellbeing and children with a disability video transcript (DOCX, 26.3 KB)
  2. Cultural connections and family time video transcript (DOCX, 29.6 KB)
  3. Education and Youth Justice video transcript (DOCX, 26.4 KB)
  4. Casework and Support video transcript (DOCX, 28.4 KB)
  5. Permanency and Wellbeing Outcomes video transcript (DOCX, 29.2 KB)

Research seminars

FACSIAR research seminars showcase insights from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) analysis projects. Read more information about future and past research seminars. Please subscribe to receive information about future research webinars.

Learn more about the datasets available to researchers and evaluators (refer to the July 2021 DCJ Research Strategy webinar).

Longitudinal Studies Network

The POCLS information is available on the ARACY website and the website of the Melbourne Children's consortium for LifeCourse Research. Please find links below:

POCLS Advisory Group Meeting

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