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Young Brits in foster care not being looked after

Support for vulnerable young people leaving foster care in chaos

Vulnerable young people leaving foster care are not being adequately taken care of, according to Whitehall’s spending watchdog.

New data shows a third of those aged 16 or over who left foster homes or residential care did so before their 18th birthday, according to the report by the National Audit Office, NAO.

The report identifies the deterioration of services which has taken place for the past seven consecutive years have been a result of government cuts as well as poor management. This, according to the report is the suggest reason for the increasing number of young people leaving care earlier than what is legally obligated.

Many who leave care before 18 experience social exclusion

The newly released information highlights young people’s inability to cope with the transition between living in care and entering adulthood, where most have been known to suffer from unemployment, health problems and social exclusion.

Eight of the 151 councils in England, including Rochdale, Birmingham, Devon and Somerset are aware of the whereabouts and progress of those who have left care.

In a statement, Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said there is a need for a stronger central and local leadership to “get a grip of the problem”.

He said: “The cost of [young people] not moving into adulthood successfully is high. The government has made a commitment to improve the support for these young people, but the outcomes for many have been deteriorating over the past seven years.”

Report finds that cuts and poor management causing many over-16s to leave care

Testimonials from a number of care leavers were shared in the report.

One said: “There’s been all these fractured parts of myself that I have had to reconnect with ... but if that had happened when I was leaving care at 18, perhaps I’d have had a chance then to have had a family, a relationship.”

The Conservative government cuts to local mental health services were also noted in the report.

One testimony reads: “I was telling my social worker time and time again like, I’m not okay … and she was just kind of like ... oh … you’ve been to CAMHS [Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services]. Things got so bad, I ended up in A&E.”

 Auditors find lack of correlation between local authorities’ spending and services

Meg Hillier, the chair of the public accounts committee, said: “Many young people in care have had difficult lives and face challenging social problems on leaving care. The least these young people should expect after receiving local authority care is to feel supported as they start living independently.”

Although the law states children in care must leave by their 18th birthday, it does state they are to be given support until the age of 21. Data shows 10,000 16 to 18-year-olds leave foster or residential care in England every year.


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