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Invest in Me Fund

Home Stretch WA offers young people the ‘right’ to a visible and secure financial safety net. Invest in Me Funding is used to support young people towards their aspirations, to help them in times of crisis, and to grow their skills, knowledge and connections to community and culture. Invest In Me funding is not just about paying for things; every time it is used it is an opportunity to grow a young person's agency and self reliance.

Invest in Me funding is offered through the coaching relationship and administered by Home Stretch WA service providers. Home Stretch providers are provided a funding pool costed at an average of $2500 for each Home Stretch place they support per annum. By following the Invest In Me Practice guidelines, a broad range of support needs can be met whilst also growing young people's financial self-reliance.

Young people are supported to access mainstream resources and public services, and where there are gaps the Invest In Me Funding should be used as part of a plan. There is always an expectation that young people contribute (chip-in) to costs, but this isn't always financial.

 

Invest In Me effectively replaces young people's need to access Leaving Care Funding through a district office, but for some high value costs (dental braces, travel costs to reconnect with family), a transition coach will work collaboratively with the district office to agree on how these costs might be covered. 

Invest In Me Flow Chart 

Practice Tools & Resources

All the tools and resources to provide a young person with Invest in Me Funds to support their needs are in the table below.

 

You can filter by the Stage the resource is used by the Transition Coach in providing a young person with access to Invest In Me Funds or by the Document Type, to easily find the one you want and click on the document's title to open the document.

* Don't forget there are more Invest In Me Funds Resources on the Training page

#
Document Title & Link
Stage
Purpose of Document
Document Type
1
Invest In Me - Flow Chart
Awareness
Invest in Me Flow Chart and Application & approval process
Practice Guide (PG)
2
Invest In Me - Fact Sheet - Young People
Awareness
Information to provide to a young person explaining all about the Invest In Me funding
Fact Sheet (FS)
3
Invest in Me - Practice Guide
Awareness
Practice Guide for Invest in Me Funding
Practice Guide (PG)
4
Invest In Me - DoC Guidelines for Providers
Awareness
Department of Communities Invest In Me Guidelines for Providers
DoC Policy/Guideline (DCP)
5
Invest In Me - Data Definitions for Funding
Funding request
Funding Definitions for Invest in Me funding Safety net spending categories and data recording
Practice Guide (PG)
6
Invest in Me - Decision Matrix - Practice Guide
Funding Request
Practice Guide for Invest in Me Funding
Practice Guide (PG)
7
Invest In Me - Decision Matrix - Young Person
Funding Request
Practice Tool to explain Invest in Me
Practice Tool (PT)
8
Invest In Me - Centrelink & Home Stretch WA Payments - Reference Guide
Awareness
Handy reference guide for available Home Stretch WA and Centrelink payments that can support young people financially
Practice Guide (PG)
9
Invest In Me - Application Form - Over 100
Application
Core Form for Transition Coach to complete with Young Person to apply for Invest In Me funding over $100 to submit to Coordinator
Form (FOR)
10
Invest In Me - Bulk Application Form
Application
This form is for multiple amounts over $100 which require coordinator approval.
Form (FOR)
11
Invest In Me - Leaving Care Fund Form
Funding request
This form is for recording the financial support costs that have been agreed in a Leaving Care Plan that exceed the funds available through the Invest In Me funding or identified as required from the Leaving Care Fund during receiving support through Home Stretch WA
Form (FOR)
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