The needs of young people leaving the care system are not given sufficient priority in the Children and Young Persons Bill published today, Thursday 15 November, according to leading charity, the Fostering Network.
The Fostering Network believes that all young people should have the option to remain with their foster carers until the age of 21 if this is what they want and need. The charity argues that while most young people leave their family home at the age of 24, society’s most vulnerable teenagers are expected to fend for themselves at only 18.
Although the Care Matters white paper made provision for a number of pilot projects to enable young people to stay on in care until 21, a lack of regulation in the Bill means that fostering services will not be legally required to provide placements beyond the age of 18.
Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network said:
"Without regulation too few fostering services will provide placements up until 21. As a result many young people will still leave care at 17. Research shows that the longer a young person stays with their foster family, the better the outcomes. It’s a well-known fact that care leavers are over represented in the prison population, in adult mental health services and are much more likely to fail at school. Being able to stay in foster care until 21 will give young people in care a better chance of success later on.
"We know that many foster carers find it heart-breaking to watch young people being forced into independence before they are ready and able to cope. Some continue to provide a home and support at their own expense but this can put huge financial strain on foster carers. Regulation would mean that foster carers have the financial backing to continue fostering until a young person reaches 21."
The Fostering Network welcome the provisions that are included in the Bill and the fact that the Government recognises that outcomes for children and young people in care are not good enough and can and must be improved.
In particular, we welcome the independent appeals mechanism outlined in the Bill for foster carers who have had an allegation made against them.
Robert Tapsfield said:
"The independent appeals mechanism is a positive step forward. Unfortunately many foster carers will experience an allegation at some point during their fostering career and it is vital that we support them through the process of investigation. However, this will need to be backed up with a commitment to provide fees and allowances during an investigation. We also hope to see provision for timescales and access to independent support.
"We are also pleased to see restrictions on out-of-authority placements and on children moving schools in years 10 and 11, as this will increase stability for children in care.
"However, there is not enough in the Bill to give confidence that the Government will be able to achieve its objective to significantly improve outcomes for those in care. While we agree with the intentions of the Bill, the Fostering Network believes it does not go far enough in setting out realistic proposals to really make a difference."
The Fostering Network is also concerned that failure to introduce registration for foster carers could put some children and young people at risk of potential abuse. Registration would improve safeguards for children, as at present foster carers can move around the country without information about previous fostering emerging. Registration would also establish a code of conduct and a requirement to participate in training, thus raising standards.