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Don't abandon young people leaving care, top charities urge minister

16 June 2008

Twelve top child care charities are today (16 June 2008) urging the Government not to condemn young people leaving care to a life of poverty and underachievement, by calling for a change to the rules which currently see them fending for themselves at 18.

In an open letter sent to children’s secretary Ed Balls, the charities said: “As MPs debate the Children and Young Persons Bill today, hundreds of 17-year-olds in care across England will be packing their bags and getting ready to "go it alone", because local authorities are not required to look after them after their 18th birthdays.

“We urge the Government to take this opportunity to ensure all young people have the option to remain with their foster carers until the age of 21. This means giving a clear commitment to roll out proposed pilots across England as soon as possible, to support the foster carers looking after these young people and to provide the funding required to make the ability to stay until 21 a reality.

“We welcome many aspects of the Bill but failing to enable children to stay with their foster carers beyond the age of 17 will have serious consequences for this Government’s stated intention of transforming outcomes for young people in care.”

The letter was signed by representatives of the Fostering Network, NCH, Barnardo’s, NCB, The Children’s Society, BAAF, Voice, A National Voice, The Who Cares? Trust, TACT, Rainer and The Frank Buttle Trust.

Robert Tapsfield, chief executive of the Fostering Network, added: “Many young people in care are pushed out into independent living before they are ready, due to lack of local authority support. In fact those that get to stay until they are 18 are in some respects the “lucky ones”, as many children in care have to fend for themselves when they are just 16 or 17. Without significant personal sacrifices from foster carers, many others would face the same fate.

“This is just not good enough. We need a commitment from the secretary of state to ensure all children in care have the option to stay with foster carers until they are 21, and we need it now. Research and experience show that the longer young people stay with their foster carers, the better they do later on. This Government cannot condemn another generation of care leavers to a lifetime of poverty and underachievement.”

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Notes to Editors

  1. The Children and Young Persons Bill is receiving its second reading in the House of Commons today (Monday 16 June). It provides an ideal opportunity for the Government to commit to ensuring all 18 to 21-year-old care leavers have the option to stay with foster carers.
  2. Currently, English local authorities have a duty of care only until the age of 18. This means that some of society's most vulnerable young people are effectively being kicked out of home at 17 – if not before – despite the fact that the average age for leaving home for those who live with their own families is 24.
  3. Some foster carers offer a home to young people beyond 18 because they don't feel the young adults are ready to face the world alone, but they often do so without financial support from their local authority. Most foster carers are unable to do this, as if they keep the young person on, they lose the space they would otherwise be able to offer a new fostered child. This means that they lose their fostering fee (if they receive one) and allowances, which for many is their livelihood.
  4. Care leavers struggle to reach the same levels of educational attainment as their peers and often find it difficult to make a successful transition to adult life. They are over represented in prison populations, and are more likely to be unemployed, single parents, mental health service users and homeless than those who grew up within their own families. Research shows that the longer a young person stays with their foster family, the better the outcomes – being able to stay with their foster carers until 21 will give them a better chance of succeeding when they do live independently.
  5. The Fostering Network is organising a mass lobby of Parliament on Monday 16 June. More than 190 MPs (including about 150 Labour MPs) have currently signed EDM 1413 (Helen Southworth MP), which calls on the Government to take steps to ensure that young people in care have access to effective support, including where appropriate the opportunity to remain with their foster carers until they are 21 years of age.
  6. There are 42,000 children living with 37,000 foster families on any given day in England.
  7. For more info contact 020 7620 6416/37 or 07963 458 953 (weekend) or email media@fostering.net.