KEY POINTS:
Foster care agencies want to extend foster care payments for young people who stay in education or training beyond the age of 18.
Britain's biggest foster care company, which is setting up a New Zealand business, Foster Care Associates, says the issue has become important across Europe as more young people choose to stay at home until they finish their education.
The New Zealand Family and Foster Care Federation also advocates a rethink in view of recent Government decisions to raise the "education leaving age", and the ages of adult court jurisdiction and leaving state care and protection, to 18.
"I personally feel that young people do need that extra involvement up to 20, somewhere they can come back to," said federation president Carolyn Hill.
Foster Care Associates director Estella Abraham said: "We need a mind shift and additional financial resources to allow children in public care to remain living with their foster family until 21 years of age, orbeyond if still in further education."
At present young people can leave school at 16. State care and protection orders and Youth Court jurisdiction both end at 17.
A bill now before Parliament would raise the last two ages to 18, effectively also extending foster care payments for young people who stay in foster care and in school until the end of the year in which they turn 18.
The bill would also require Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS) to provide "advice and assistance", and financial assistance in "exceptional circumstances", to young people up to age 25 if they have been in state care for at least three months at any time since they turned 15.
But it stops short of extending foster care payments beyond 18, which is when young people qualify for adult welfare benefits.
Youth Law solicitor John Hancock said the bill would provide some support for 17-year-olds who now fell into a void between state care and the adult welfare system.
"Once someone turns 17, unless CYFS actually has guardianship rather than just custody, there is no care and protection," he said.
"So you do get scenarios of 17-year-olds in a nebulous situation, especially if they are in an at-risk environment, where CYFS has no jurisdiction to intervene and they can't claim adult benefits. So as the law is currently structured, 17-year-olds do fall into a bit of a gap," Mr Hancock said.
"The Care of Children Act now terminates guardianship at 18. So there has been a move to consolidate legislation in terms of the definition of when childhood ends and adulthood begins."
However, he said the Age of Majority Act still defined a "minor" as anyone under 20, although that had been superseded in practice by other laws.
Sixteen was "another magic age" when people could legally marry with parents' consent, and have sex.
"But 18 is now the age at which you reach full and independent adulthood," Mr Hancock said.
In international law, 18 was the norm in terms of adulthood cutting in, and he welcomed the move to consolidate laws towards that age.
AGE LIMITS
25: Parental income test for student allowance ends; proposed "advice and assistance" to former state wards.
20: Official age of majority (now superseded by other laws in practice).
19: "Free" schooling ends.
18: Vote; marry without parents' consent; enter a contract; become a director; change your name; fight in armed forces; buy alcohol and cigarettes; adult welfare benefits; guardianship orders end; proposed age for leaving education, adult court jurisdiction and leaving state care and protection; proposed end for foster care payments for school students.
17: Armed services with parents' nod.
16: Have sex; marry with parents' consent; parents no longer legally required to provide for children; courts can no longer grant custody orders; eligible for independent youth benefit.
