Children leaving care

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Providing the right kind of support for children leaving care is an important concern for the Every Child Matters programme, which aims to achieve five key outcomes for all young people.

Recent documents

Realising young potential: Supporting care leavers into education, employment and training (November 2009)
Produced by the Social Exclusion Task Force with support from the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the National Care Advisory Service.

Journeys to home: Care leavers' successful transition to independent accommodation
A good practice guide for local authorities and their partners on accommodation for young people from and in care. The guide is accompanied by a work planning tool.

Care leavers accommodation resources flyer
Details the resources produced as part of the DCSF-funded accommodation project which ran in 2008-9.

National protocol: Inter-authority arrangements – second revised edition
This protocol provides arrangements for negotiating support for care-leavers resident outside of their responsible authority.

The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000

The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 is based upon the consultation document Me, survive, out there? The act came into force in October 2001. Key provisions of the act are listed below.

The act provides a duty on LAs to assess and meet the needs of young people aged 16 and 17 who are in care or care leavers. Wherever the young person lives the duty will rest with the LAs to keep in touch with care leavers until they are at least 21.
Every eligible young person in care should receive a comprehensive pathway plan when they turn 16. This plan should map out a clear route to independence.
Each young person should have a young persons advisor who will coordinate the provision of support and assistance to meet the needs of the young person. Particular emphasis will be placed on helping the young person into education, training or employment.
A financial regime will be provided for care leavers to end the confusing present system and ensure they have comprehensive financial support.
Continuing assistance for care leavers aged 18 to 21, especially with education and employment, will be provided. Assistance with education or training continues to the end of the agreed programme, even if it takes some past the age of 21.

Click to view the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 on the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website.

Implementation of the Children (Leaving Care) Act: Regulations and guidance

The Children (Leaving Care) Act came into force in October 2001. Supporting regulations and guidance were published in September 2001.

The guidance was issued under section 7 of the LA Social Services Act 1970 meaning that it has to be followed unless there are exceptional circumstances that justify a variation.

Children (Leaving Care) (England) Regulations 2001

Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000: Regulations and guidance

Good practice

In order to improve services for care leavers and help LAs and key organisations design and plan their services post-implementation, we have also issued supporting literature on good practice, which is listed below (see blue box at top of page for the latest documents).

Future positive: A resource guide for people working with disabled care leavers 2006
A resource which assists LA in the development of effective, joined-up services which support young disabled people up to the age of 19 leaving LA care.

Getting it right: Good practice in leaving care resource pack 2000
This resource pack draws on published research and a survey of LAs' own examples of best practice. Hard copies can be obtained from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), PO Box 236, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS23 7NB. Email: odpm@twoten.press.net.

Audit and assessment of leaving care services and Leaving care: A time for change
In autumn 2000 the Department of Health and the Rough Sleepers Unit jointly issued the Audit and assessment of leaving care services in London by the National Children's Bureau, together with the government's response, Leaving care: A time for change.

Care leaving strategies: A good practice handbook
This handbook was developed following the work of Centrepoint with seven London boroughs under the careleaving support service funded by the Department for Transport, local government and the regions' Rough Sleepers Unit and supported by the Social Services Inspectorate.

Putting young people at the centre
A summary report of the Leaving Care Regional Seminars 2003. In mid-2003, the Department of Health and the former Department for Education and Skills held eight regional leaving care seminars, which focused on multi-agency working and young people's involvement in leaving care services. Hard copies of the document can be obtained from Prolog, Prolog House, Sudbury, Suffolk CO16 2XG. T 01787 370272.

National leaving care project group

The national leaving care project group met regularly until July 2006. Some members of this group had contributed to the development of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 and following commencement of the act the group met regularly to coordinate a programme of work to improve outcomes for care leavers.

Presentations from the group's final meeting are below. These summarise the key messages about the development of services for care leavers since the Children (Leaving Care) Act commenced in October 2001. The presentations of Prof Mike Stein and Bob Broad summarise findings from research; Rob Dunster and Stewart Betts present a view from the LA sector; and Dr Mike Lindsay summarises the views of care leavers themselves, based on the report of the Children's Rights Director.

Report and presentations

Young people's views on leaving care: Report of the Children's Rights Director (February 2006)

Young people's views on leaving care - presentation by Mike Lindsay

Young people leaving care: Reflections and challenges – presentation by Mike Stein

The 'highlights' tour: Trends in leaving care research findings – presentation by Bob Broad

Putting the act into practice: The views of LAs – presentation by Rob Dunster and Stewart Betts

Useful websites

More information about care leavers and leaving care services can be obtained from the following websites:

National Care Advisory Service's leavingcare.org

Prince's Trust: Care leavers
Includes Mentoring for care leavers: Good practice guides, produced following a three-year project sponsored by the former DfES.