Lucinda's blog on 'All of Us, We are One'
Lucinda shares what the theme of National Care Leavers' Week means to her and the difference we can make together.
‘All of Us, We are One’ is this year’s National Care Leavers Week #NCLW theme. One care leaver can make a small difference on their own, but if everyone affected by the Care Cliff comes together, then we can make a big difference.
Since May 2014, fostered young people in England have the right to stay with their foster families when they reach 18, if both parties agree,”
⎯⎯ The Fostering Network
My lived experiences on the transition from the Leaving Care Team to Staying Put was both negative and positive. I was not allocated a social worker until I was 17 by the Leaving Care Team, yet the delay taught me to be self-reliant, and I had support from my foster carers who were instrumental in helping me with independence skills. Unfortunately, other care leavers might not have the same level of support, so a Leaving Care Team social worker should be allocated as soon as the young person turns 16.
I was also one of the first young people to have a Staying Put agreement in my area. But I closed my case in my last year of university as soon as my financial benefits terminated because I continued to have a healthy relationship with my former foster carers without a PA. In an ideal world, all care leavers would be able to stay with their foster carers post 18 to avoid the risk of homelessness due to the lack of available council/social housing. I myself was not allocated appropriate council housing, and I am now dependent on my partner’s family and my former foster carers for somewhere to live.
The latest data shows that in 2019/20, 58 per cent of 18-year-olds were still living with their foster carer three months after their 18th birthday. This fell to 34 per cent of 19-year-olds and 22 per cent of 20-year-olds.
⎯⎯ Children & Young People Now states
Some of the reasons for these statistics are financial. It is not unusual for foster carers to be entirely dependent on their income from fostering, but the allowances for Staying Put go down after the first year and again after the second year, so they cannot afford to continue looking after a care leaver if there is just one bedroom available. So we need additional funding to maintain the level of allowances that foster carers get for Staying Put throughout the three years of the agreement.
Together, we can campaign to change this. All of Us, We are One! #EndTheCareCliff
