Being A Care Leaver
A parent should make sure that their child grows up able to fulfil their potential as adults – to become the best version of themselves
We believe the same should be expected of the corporate parent. Yet as a society, we consistently expect our most vulnerable young people to be able to live without support at a much earlier age than their peers – at a time when their peers are relying on parental support for longer. Following difficult and disrupted childhoods, most with experience of trauma and abuse, many care leavers find themselves thrust into the adult world before they are ready.
Leaving care age
In England and Wales, the leaving care age is 18, although young people can leave care from the age of 16. At 18, however, a young person’s care order ends and the local authority is no longer their corporate parent. All statutory support from the local authority will end by age 25.
Some 16 or 17-year-olds actively choose to leave care, while they are still children in the eyes of the law - too young to smoke, drink or vote. Some feel they are ready, are excited at the prospect of not having adults around to tell them what to do, or are unhappy in their placement. But independent living may be much harder than they expected.
But many young people don’t feel ready to leave their foster carers or residential home at 16, 17 or 18. They are afraid of being lonely and having no one to turn to when things go wrong.
Preparing to leave care
Leaving care should be something young people and their carers are thinking about and preparing for long before a young person’s 18th birthday. Just as any good parent supports their children to prepare for independence, children and young people in care should be helped to develop practical domestic skills like cooking healthy meals, doing their own laundry and managing their money.
When the leaving care process formally starts, somewhere around the young person’s 16th birthday, young people are assigned a personal adviser who will support them up to the age of 25 if they wish. The young person and their social worker/personal adviser will begin working on their pathway plan.
The pathway plan should set out the individual package of support that the local authority will provide to help the young person achieve their goals. It might cover their education, training or employment ambitions, where they want to live, what financial help they require or what their mental health needs are. It should be updated every six months and it must reflect the care leaver’s wishes.
In England and Wales, the leaving care age is 18, although young people can leave care from the age of 16. At 18, however, a young person’s care order ends and the local authority is no longer their corporate parent. All statutory support from the local authority will end by age 25.
Some 16 or 17-year-olds actively choose to leave care, while they are still children in the eyes of the law - too young to smoke, drink or vote. Some feel they are ready, are excited at the prospect of not having adults around to tell them what to do, or are unhappy in their placement. But independent living may be much harder than they expected.
But many young people don’t feel ready to leave their foster carers or residential home at 16, 17 or 18. They are afraid of being lonely and having no one to turn to when things go wrong.
Leaving care should be something young people and their carers are thinking about and preparing for long before a young person’s 18th birthday. Just as any good parent supports their children to prepare for independence, children and young people in care should be helped to develop practical domestic skills like cooking healthy meals, doing their own laundry and managing their money.
When the leaving care process formally starts, somewhere around the young person’s 16th birthday, young people are assigned a personal adviser who will support them up to the age of 25 if they wish. The young person and their social worker/personal adviser will begin working on their pathway plan.
The pathway plan should set out the individual package of support that the local authority will provide to help the young person achieve their goals. It might cover their education, training or employment ambitions, where they want to live, what financial help they require or what their mental health needs are. It should be updated every six months and it must reflect the care leaver’s wishes.
Local authorities have a duty to house all care leavers aged 16 and 17. Once aged 18, young people’s accommodation needs are assessed under homelessness legislation and most will need to claim Housing Benefit.
The law states that care leavers must be given ‘suitable accommodation’, which is defined as suiting a young person’s needs and lifestyle (being near work or college, for example), have received checks from the local authority and follow health and safety regulations for rented accommodation. The law also says that bed and breakfasts are not suitable for 16 and 17 year olds, and that 18 year olds should only be placed in a B&B on a temporary basis. Young people’s wishes and feelings about accommodation should also be taken in to account.
In reality, housing is one of the most significant challenges that young care leavers face; very few care leavers will have any choice about their accommodation and young people often speak of being placed in unsuitable housing.
The law states that care leavers must be given ‘suitable accommodation’, which is defined as suiting a young person’s needs and lifestyle (being near work or college, for example), have received checks from the local authority and follow health and safety regulations for rented accommodation. The law also says that bed and breakfasts are not suitable for 16 and 17 year olds, and that 18 year olds should only be placed in a B&B on a temporary basis. Young people’s wishes and feelings about accommodation should also be taken in to account.
In reality, housing is one of the most significant challenges that young care leavers face; very few care leavers will have any choice about their accommodation and young people often speak of being placed in unsuitable housing.
Young people who are in a foster placement when they turn 18 may, if their foster carers agree, remain living with their foster carers until the age of 21.
Under the policy, introduced in 2014, councils have a legal requirement to support young people in what are known as ‘Staying Put’ arrangements, if both the young person and their carers agree. The same opportunity does not yet apply to young people who are in residential care (see Staying Close).
A young person living in a Staying Put arrangement is no longer a looked after child but a young adult and care leaver, entitled to some financial support and access to a Personal Adviser. The arrangement is not a continuation of a foster placement and the foster carer becomes the young person’s ‘former foster carer’.
The benefits of the Staying Put policy are significant for many care leavers. Of course, some young people are ready to leave care and want to live independently at the age of 18 – but Staying Put allows those in foster care to decide if they are ready or not. It allows a transition into adult life that is more like that experienced by the majority of young people in the UK. Instead of support and caring relationships falling away at 18, care leavers have continuing security and support to take up education, employment or training opportunities. They also have longer to develop the practical and emotional skills necessary for independent living.
26% of 19- and 20-year olds who ceased to be looked after on their 18th birthday were taking advantage of Staying Put opportunities and still living with their former foster carers in 2019. Concerns have been raised over whether adequate funding has been provided for the initiative from central government, however, with any shortfall having to be made up from stretched local authority budgets. Former foster carers receive a lower allowance for the Staying Put arrangement than for fostering, although it is intended that the young person should make contributions to the household budget from their wages, allowances or benefits they may be entitled to claim, including Housing Benefit. Nevertheless, the reduction in income may make it difficult for some foster carers to agree to Staying Put arrangements, even when it is something that the young person would like.
Under the policy, introduced in 2014, councils have a legal requirement to support young people in what are known as ‘Staying Put’ arrangements, if both the young person and their carers agree. The same opportunity does not yet apply to young people who are in residential care (see Staying Close).
A young person living in a Staying Put arrangement is no longer a looked after child but a young adult and care leaver, entitled to some financial support and access to a Personal Adviser. The arrangement is not a continuation of a foster placement and the foster carer becomes the young person’s ‘former foster carer’.
The benefits of the Staying Put policy are significant for many care leavers. Of course, some young people are ready to leave care and want to live independently at the age of 18 – but Staying Put allows those in foster care to decide if they are ready or not. It allows a transition into adult life that is more like that experienced by the majority of young people in the UK. Instead of support and caring relationships falling away at 18, care leavers have continuing security and support to take up education, employment or training opportunities. They also have longer to develop the practical and emotional skills necessary for independent living.
26% of 19- and 20-year olds who ceased to be looked after on their 18th birthday were taking advantage of Staying Put opportunities and still living with their former foster carers in 2019. Concerns have been raised over whether adequate funding has been provided for the initiative from central government, however, with any shortfall having to be made up from stretched local authority budgets. Former foster carers receive a lower allowance for the Staying Put arrangement than for fostering, although it is intended that the young person should make contributions to the household budget from their wages, allowances or benefits they may be entitled to claim, including Housing Benefit. Nevertheless, the reduction in income may make it difficult for some foster carers to agree to Staying Put arrangements, even when it is something that the young person would like.
On its introduction, the Staying Put policy did not give young people leaving residential care the same rights as those leaving foster care.
This omission was concerning, particularly as looked after children and young people who live in residential settings are often more vulnerable than those in foster care. Many will have experienced multiple placements, have behavioural or emotional difficulties and may be even less prepared for independent living. Young people in residential care are also more likely than young people in foster care to leave care at 16 or 17.
While Staying Put brought the possibility of significant benefits to many young care leavers, extending the same arrangements to those from residential care posed a number of practical challenges. For example, how residential homes would manage the continued presence of young adult care leavers up to 21 in the same property as vulnerable young teenagers. In 2014, a number of charities including Become (formerly The Who Cares? Trust) participated in a scoping exercise to assess how any such model could be introduced. We gathered and analysed the views of young people in care and this had a significant impact on the report’s findings.
One of the four models researched for the report was called ‘Staying Close’. Under this arrangement, care leavers would live independently in their own flat close to the children’s home they were living in when they left care. He or she would be supported by a key worker, with whom they would build up a relationship before leaving the residential setting. The worker would provide continuity, emotional and practical help and assist them to adjust to living independently in the community. The Staying Close model was found to offer a cost effective way of delivering a good level of support to young people in their transition to adulthood.
Following a recommendation in Sir Martin Narey’s 2016 review of residential care, the Department for Education announced that it would be piloting different ways of delivering Staying Close in 2016/17. Funding for the existing eight pilots, worth £2m a year, will continue in 2020-21, and the government has announced £6m to support a national roll-out in 2021-22.
This omission was concerning, particularly as looked after children and young people who live in residential settings are often more vulnerable than those in foster care. Many will have experienced multiple placements, have behavioural or emotional difficulties and may be even less prepared for independent living. Young people in residential care are also more likely than young people in foster care to leave care at 16 or 17.
While Staying Put brought the possibility of significant benefits to many young care leavers, extending the same arrangements to those from residential care posed a number of practical challenges. For example, how residential homes would manage the continued presence of young adult care leavers up to 21 in the same property as vulnerable young teenagers. In 2014, a number of charities including Become (formerly The Who Cares? Trust) participated in a scoping exercise to assess how any such model could be introduced. We gathered and analysed the views of young people in care and this had a significant impact on the report’s findings.
One of the four models researched for the report was called ‘Staying Close’. Under this arrangement, care leavers would live independently in their own flat close to the children’s home they were living in when they left care. He or she would be supported by a key worker, with whom they would build up a relationship before leaving the residential setting. The worker would provide continuity, emotional and practical help and assist them to adjust to living independently in the community. The Staying Close model was found to offer a cost effective way of delivering a good level of support to young people in their transition to adulthood.
Following a recommendation in Sir Martin Narey’s 2016 review of residential care, the Department for Education announced that it would be piloting different ways of delivering Staying Close in 2016/17. Funding for the existing eight pilots, worth £2m a year, will continue in 2020-21, and the government has announced £6m to support a national roll-out in 2021-22.
Many families are able to overcome the turbulent times that led to a child being taken into care.
If the local authority is satisfied that the family's circumstances have changed enough, they may decide that it is in the best interests of the child to return to their birth family.
Around a third of children who go into care will return home after a short time; this is the most common conclusion to a period spent in care. For some children that will be the end of the state’s intervention in their family’s lives.
However, it’s estimated that around half the children who return to their birth family after time in care will later return to the care system - many after having suffered further abuse and/or neglect at home. It’s vital that significant work is put into the reunification process to prevent the upheaval and disruption that re-entry to care causes. Children’s views must be sought and properly listened to about whether they feel ready to return home, and professionals need to be adequately resourced to carry out appropriate assessments of the family’s circumstances and offer sufficient support to both parents and children.
If the local authority is satisfied that the family's circumstances have changed enough, they may decide that it is in the best interests of the child to return to their birth family.
Around a third of children who go into care will return home after a short time; this is the most common conclusion to a period spent in care. For some children that will be the end of the state’s intervention in their family’s lives.
However, it’s estimated that around half the children who return to their birth family after time in care will later return to the care system - many after having suffered further abuse and/or neglect at home. It’s vital that significant work is put into the reunification process to prevent the upheaval and disruption that re-entry to care causes. Children’s views must be sought and properly listened to about whether they feel ready to return home, and professionals need to be adequately resourced to carry out appropriate assessments of the family’s circumstances and offer sufficient support to both parents and children.
Adoption is a legal process which sees parental responsibility for a child transferred from their birth parents to their adopter/s.
It is a permanent change which cannot be reversed unless in exceptional circumstances. When a child is adopted, he or she becomes a full member of a new family. Adoption offers a child a permanent, stable home. He or she takes the family name and is given the same rights as if they had been born into the adoptive family, for example when it comes to inheritance.
A child will only be ‘placed for adoption’ when a local authority is satisfied that returning to the birth family is not in the child’s best interests and will not be in the future. The proportion of children who come into the care system and who are placed for adoption remains relatively static at around one in 20 children every year.
People who want to adopt a child go through an adoption approval process, which sees them undergoing training as well as being fully assessed for their suitability. This process can take as little as six months. Adoptive parents can come from all walks of life and may be single, married or unmarried, straight or gay. There’s no upper age limit, although people must be over 21.
It is a permanent change which cannot be reversed unless in exceptional circumstances. When a child is adopted, he or she becomes a full member of a new family. Adoption offers a child a permanent, stable home. He or she takes the family name and is given the same rights as if they had been born into the adoptive family, for example when it comes to inheritance.
A child will only be ‘placed for adoption’ when a local authority is satisfied that returning to the birth family is not in the child’s best interests and will not be in the future. The proportion of children who come into the care system and who are placed for adoption remains relatively static at around one in 20 children every year.
People who want to adopt a child go through an adoption approval process, which sees them undergoing training as well as being fully assessed for their suitability. This process can take as little as six months. Adoptive parents can come from all walks of life and may be single, married or unmarried, straight or gay. There’s no upper age limit, although people must be over 21.
Special Guardianship is a court order which allows individuals other than the birth parents to apply to hold parental responsibility for the child.
There must be an existing or possible relationship – for instance, someone applying for Special Guardianship could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, family friend or a foster carer who has been caring for the child.
When a child is subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), the local authority no longer holds parental responsibility. Unlike adoption, the birth parents remain the child’s legal parents, but the Special Guardian gains parental rights over day to day matters in the child’s life. The birth parents have parental responsibility, but are limited in their ability to exercise them.
Special Guardianship is a court order which allows individuals other than the birth parents to apply to hold parental responsibility for the child. There must be an existing or possible relationship – for instance, someone applying for Special Guardianship could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, family friend or a foster carer who has been caring for the child. When a child is subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), the local authority no longer holds parental responsibility. Unlike adoption, the birth parents remain the child’s legal parents, but the Special Guardian gains parental rights over day to day matters in the child’s life. The birth parents have parental responsibility, but are limited in their ability to exercise them. For the child and the prospective guardian, an SGO offers a legal framework within which an existing caring relationship can be formalised over the long term, without necessarily severing ties with the birth family. If a child has been fostered in a family for many years and feels loved and secure in that family, an SGO can be a chance to ensure the ongoing stability of that relationship for everyone.
Concerns have been raised over recent years that in some cases, local authorities may exert undue pressure on foster families to pursue an SGO for children in their care as this is a lower cost option than long-term fostering for the local authority.
While SGOs undoubtedly offer a welcome alternative to adoption for many children seeking permanence, it is essential that the decision to proceed with Special Guardianship is undertaken only when it is in the best interests of the child and following the child’s wishes, and not driven by budgetary pressures.
There must be an existing or possible relationship – for instance, someone applying for Special Guardianship could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, family friend or a foster carer who has been caring for the child.
When a child is subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), the local authority no longer holds parental responsibility. Unlike adoption, the birth parents remain the child’s legal parents, but the Special Guardian gains parental rights over day to day matters in the child’s life. The birth parents have parental responsibility, but are limited in their ability to exercise them.
Special Guardianship is a court order which allows individuals other than the birth parents to apply to hold parental responsibility for the child. There must be an existing or possible relationship – for instance, someone applying for Special Guardianship could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, family friend or a foster carer who has been caring for the child. When a child is subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), the local authority no longer holds parental responsibility. Unlike adoption, the birth parents remain the child’s legal parents, but the Special Guardian gains parental rights over day to day matters in the child’s life. The birth parents have parental responsibility, but are limited in their ability to exercise them. For the child and the prospective guardian, an SGO offers a legal framework within which an existing caring relationship can be formalised over the long term, without necessarily severing ties with the birth family. If a child has been fostered in a family for many years and feels loved and secure in that family, an SGO can be a chance to ensure the ongoing stability of that relationship for everyone.
Concerns have been raised over recent years that in some cases, local authorities may exert undue pressure on foster families to pursue an SGO for children in their care as this is a lower cost option than long-term fostering for the local authority.
While SGOs undoubtedly offer a welcome alternative to adoption for many children seeking permanence, it is essential that the decision to proceed with Special Guardianship is undertaken only when it is in the best interests of the child and following the child’s wishes, and not driven by budgetary pressures.