Young people and the care system

The government has updated guidance on care leaver transition arrangements. It specifies that bed and breakfasts are not suitable accommodation and should only be used in emergencies for a maximum of two working days.

For further information and to download the guidance visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-act-1989-transition-to-adulthood-for-care-leavers.

The Young People's Benchmarking Forum has worked with staff from Catch 22's National Care Advisory Service and the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum to develop a 'Staying Put' guide for care leavers, the first guide on the topic to have been produced by young people for young people.

For further information and to download the guide visit www.catch-22.org.uk/news/care-leavers-staying-put-guide-young-people.

The Who Cares? Trust, National Children’s Bureau, Action for Children, Barnardo’s, Together Trust, and the Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University have published a report of a scoping exercise for ‘Staying Put’ for young people in residential care.

The study looked at four different options for young people in residential care:

1. Staying in the same children’s home until the age of 21;
2. Living in a separate building but in the same grounds;
3. Living in supported lodgings until the age of 21; and
4. Care leavers staying close to their children’s home but living independently in their own flat.

Key points include that:

• One in four of young people questioned as part of the study chose the first option, with a further 25 percent choosing option four;
• Option three was backed by 17 percent of young people, and option two was backed by 13 percent; and
• Extrapolated across the entire residential care population, the report estimates that annual cost of extending provision in such a way to be £76million each year, or £227.9million over the three-year period.

To download the full report visit www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk/data/files/Staying_Put_for_young_people_in_residential_care_-_A_scoping_Exercise_Finalweb.pdf.