5.4 Extend economic support to all families and young people that need it, and make skills development and youth employment a key focus of recovery In addition to the economic supports provided to job seekers, governments will need to address the long-term effects of the restrictions on future employment of young people. In a recovery phase, the government should invest in the skills development and education of young people, and a tertiary education sector that can meet these needs. Some children and young people, and their families, are facing significant economic hardships because of COVID-19. This places families under extreme pressure which increases the risk of family and domestic violence. There should also be public acknowledgment of the many young workers that work in frontline services, including supermarkets, healthcare and hospitality, who have put themselves at risk of contracting the virus, and verbal abuse and overwork. In March 2020, government supports such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper were put in place. In July 2020, these were extended, however at reduced rates and with changes to eligibility from September 2020 and further reductions in 2021. 5.5 Prioritise services for vulnerable children and young people While these are welcome, the federal government needs to make sure that all families with children and young people that have lost employment can access them, including families and young people on temporary visas such as asylum seeker families and international students. The successful introduction of JobSeeker has also made it clear that the levels of unemployment benefits prior to lockdown were inadequate. Any reduced rates from September onwards should not return to the low levels of payment pre-COVID-19. This analysis also suggests that a major challenge will be improving the labour market prospects of young people who are overrepresented in occupations that have been directly affected by the early economic fallout of COVID-19, including hospitality, retail, the arts, sports and recreation, and child care, especially those employed casually. The unemployment rate for those aged 15-25 years increased 0.4 pts to 16.4% between May 2020 and June 2020.19 For some children and young people and their families, COVID-19 has created some very specific challenges which need to be acknowledged and addressed. Child-related services for vulnerable children should be considered essential services, and their continuity should be prioritised during any shutdown, and in any recovery phase. These children and young people include: • children at risk of family and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect. Family and domestic violence services and child protection and welfare services need to be resourced and supported to address the potential for increased demand from children and young people and their families during periods of shutdown. Services may need to implement innovative and proactive ways of contacting and supporting these children and young people and be resourced to do so. • children with disability. For many children with disability and their families, disability support services including respite services are essential. Disability services provided under NDIS need to be continued, and any changes to delivery implemented with the least impact on children and their families as possible. Impacts of COVID-19 on children and young people who contact Kids Helpline • 2020 • 45