Still Our Children
Case for reforming the leaving
care system in England
Briefing for House of Commons Report
Stage of the Children and Families Bill
May 2013
the voice of foster care
For further information on the issues raised in this briefing contact:
Vicki Swain – the Fostering Network (General enquiries and Staying Put Amendment)
Campaigns Manager
t 020 7620 6434
m 07967 819591
e [email protected]
Oliver Chantler – Barnardos (Personal Adviser Amendment)
Policy and Public Affairs Officer
t 020 8498 7733
e [email protected]
Jack Smith – The Who Cares Trust (Virtual School Head Amendment)
Policy and Research Advisor
t 020 7017 8901 (direct)
e [email protected]
Still Our Children has been supported by the following organisations:
Introduction
1
A number of voluntary and community sector organisations deeply concerned with the
current state of leaving care provision in England have formed a coalition. We welcome the
positive changes introduced in the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 and revised statutory
guidance on planning transition to adulthood, but believe that there is a strong case that the
whole system of leaving care requires urgent reform.
2
The briefing is ordered as follows:
• Section one sets out the case for reform;
• Section two details a number of amendments to the Children and Families Bill that would
serve to improve outcomes for looked after children; and
• Section three sets out a broader vision for reforming leaving care beyond the Bill including
actions for central government, local authorities and charities.
3
These amendments and vision are informed by our experience of working with looked after
children and care leavers. We hope this briefing will allow Parliamentarians the opportunity to
debate these issues at the Commons Report Stage of the Children and Families Bill.
4
When the state decides to intervene in the life of a child it starts a unique long term
relationship between the child and the state as corporate parent.
5
Young people in care will have experienced difficult and often traumatic childhoods and
many of them will have been abused or neglected. Yet at the age of 18 years, or earlier, this
relationship abruptly ends for many care leavers who often find themselves having to embark
on landmark stages in their lives, their first home or job, at a far earlier age than many of their
peers and without the support network and safety net of a family.
6
Corporate parenting is not just about looked after children up to 18 but also about supporting
young people to become independent and productive members of society. No reasonable
parent would leave their child to fend for themselves at 18, nor should the state.
7
It is well evidenced that the first few years after leaving care are extremely problematic for
many young people and that care leavers are disproportionately disadvantaged, including
experiencing homelessness, poor education and employment outcomes, mental health
problems, early parenting and contact with the criminal justice system.
8
Therefore we believe the obligations that flow from the state’s unique relationship as
corporate parent should be based on support according to need rather than age.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Section 1: Case for reforming the leaving care system
9
We are disappointed that the Children and Families Bill does not address any of these issues
for care leavers and see this as a missed opportunity.
10
Young people leaving care are among the most vulnerable children in our society. Even those
who have had a stable placement may have very high levels of need. Many children who have
been in the care system have had a childhood full of instability and trauma, with over 62 per
cent i of looked after children being taken into care due to abuse or neglect.
11
During 2011-12 10,000 children aged 16 years and over ceased to be looked after, an increase
of 18 per cent since 2008 ii. More than half of these young people (63 per cent) were aged
18 years and over at the time of leaving care, but the remaining 37 per cent were only 16 or
17 years old iii. This contrasts with the average age of leaving home for the general population
increasing – a recent ONS report highlighted one in three men and one in six women aged 20
to 34 still lived with their parents. Many young people are leaving care too early.
12
In addition preparation is often poor, and planning inadequate. Many young people lack the
life skills and support they need. Young people’s transitions from care to adulthood are often
‘accelerated and compressed’ and for many leaving care can be ‘instant adulthood’ iv. These
transitions are particularly complex for young people with asylum or immigration issues, those
with disabilities or mental health issues and those who have been detained in the youth justice
system. It is hardly surprising that the outcomes for care leavers are significantly poorer than
those of other groups of young people:
• About 23 per cent of the adult prison population have spent some time in care v;
• Around a quarter of those living on the street have a background in care vi; vii ;
• Care leavers are four or five times more likely to commit suicide in adulthood viii;
• A quarter of care leavers were pregnant or young parents within a year of leaving care ix;
• In 2011 just 12.8 per cent of children who had been in care for a minimum of one year
obtained five good grade GCSEs, including English and Maths. For other children the
figure was 57.9 per cent;
• The number of 19-year-olds who were looked after when aged 16 years and who are
now NEET is 36 per cent, double the number of their non-care contemporaries;
• 11 per cent of care leavers in England live in ‘unsuitable accommodation’ upon
leaving care x;
• Between 45-49 per cent of looked after children aged 5-17 years show signs
of psychosocial adversity and psychiatric disorders, which is higher than the
most disadvantaged children living in private households. Physical and mental
problems increase at the time of leaving care xi.
13
The diagram in Appendix 1 summarises the entitlements for care leavers at different ages. The
diagram illustrates how the support available to young people falls away as they get older both
after the ages of 18 and 21 (and it is only those who are in education and training after the
age of 21 who receive additional support). Young people at 21 who are not in education or
training are not entitled to any support from leaving care services, despite the fact that this
group are the most vulnerable young people.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
14
15
16
However, despite a decade of leaving
care legislation young people continue to
fall through the gaps in provision and do
not receive adequate support from their
corporate parents to make the transition to
adulthood. In a survey of over 1,000 young
people:
• 21 per cent said that they needed to stay
in care for longer
• 27 per cent said they didn’t receive
enough help when leaving care
• 32 per cent reported finding it difficult or
not possible to contact their worker
• 32 per cent said they don’t have support
they need from their council xii.
Demos in their 2010 report In Loco Parentis,
written with Barnardo’s, identify four factors
that can significantly improve a young
person’s experience of leaving care and
give young people a chance of better adult
outcomes:
• the age at which young people leave
care;
• the speed of their transition;
• their access to preparation before leaving
care and support after leaving care; and
• maintaining stability and secure
attachments after leaving care.
The level of support young people need
varies according to their experience,
resilience and existing support networks.
However, the current system determines
how much support a young person will
receive based on their age and education
or employment status. Parents do not stop
parenting their children when they reach
the age of 18 or 21 or even 25. The values
and ideals that should lie at the heart of
any parental relationship should also lie in the
relationship between the Government and local
authorities as corporate parents and the care
leavers they work to protect.
17
It is clear that if life outcomes for care leavers
were comparable to those of the rest of the
population there would be significant savings
both for national and local Government.
Case study: Jerome
Jerome is now 24. He is a very
vulnerable young man with mental
health difficulties, a chaotic lifestyle
including drug abuse, and no
qualifications. He is also HIV positive.
Jerome entered care when he was
12. He has had over 25 different
placements in care and as a care
leaver. During his time in care he
was very vulnerable young person
with mental health difficulties, out of
education, involvement in the youth
justice system, and drug misuse.
Leaving care regulations meant that
when he turned 18 he needed to
leave his placement. He was having
problems finding a suitable home,
and was eventually placed alone in a
self-contained flat which he could not
manage.
He remained highly vulnerable and
had no qualifications and was unable
to access education or training or get
a job.
This meant that when he turned 21,
despite his considerable needs, the
local authority closed his case. They
had no further duty towards him as he
was not in education or training.
Despite his illness, he had started an
access course and had asked the local
authority for support as he wanted to
complete this course and enter higher
education. This had been refused.
Jerome needed intensive on-going
support and understanding in order
for him to make the transition to adult
life, his circumstances meant that this
support needed to continue beyond
the age of 21. However, the current
system meant that the local authority
was under no duty to provide this
support.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
There is evidence that successful leaving care services and additional specialist services help
to improve outcomes for young people leaving care. Inspections and reviews have also found
that authorities that have invested in specialist schemes tend to offer more comprehensive,
effective and age appropriate services xiii.
18
The leaving care experience has a strong impact on a young person’s ability to manage
independent living. There is a direct correlation between the age a young person leaves care
and their educational attainment. Successful educational outcomes for care leavers are linked
to placement stability and being ‘looked after’ longer xiv. The Government have recognised
the importance of education with the creation of a statutory post to oversee the education
of looked-after children but this does not extend beyond 18 (See Virtual School Headteacher
Amendment in Appendix 4). Leaving care early is also associated with higher levels of
unemployment with the view that the younger a person leaves care, the more challenges there
are for them navigating the transition to independence and the more difficult it is for them to
negotiate the youth labour market xv. Appendix 2 details the cost comparisons between a well
planned and supported care journey and a poorly planned, under resourced care journey.
19
The Government has already gone some way towards affirming this commitment to young
people. In the Charter for Care Leavers launched 6 months ago, the Government publicly
pledged to care leavers that local authorities must:
• “Continue to care for you even when we are no longer caring for you. We will make it our
responsibility to understand your needs.”
• “Work together with the services you need, including housing (and) benefits…to help you
establish yourself as an independent individual.”
• “Empower you to be the driver of your life and not the passenger. We will point you in a
positive direction and journey alongside you at your pace.”
20
So far in its first six months, the vast majority of local authorities have not signed up to the
charter. Moreover, as a voluntary framework it does not constitute enforceable obligations
or necessarily provide a remedy to care leavers who do not receive their entitlements. The
Charter is a helpful statement of aspiration for how leaving care services should be provided.
Local authorities who have signed up to the Charter should be supported by Government to
demonstrate how it is leading to change at a local level.
21
Care leavers come into contact with a range of services, yet beyond children’s services they
are often not prioritised for support. Catch22 NCAS, Care Leavers Foundation, ANV and the
Prince’s Trust’s report, Access All Areas, calls for central government departments to ‘care-proof ’
all Government policies by assessing the impact they will have on looked after children and
care leavers, with a specific focus on young people aged 18-25 xvi. Ministers and government
departments have been supportive of the principles of Access All Areas, but this collaborative
approach must continue in order to produce more tangible evidence of the changes that they
have made as a result.
22
Across the United Kingdom there is increasing recognition of the need to provide additional
support to care leavers up until age 25:
• In Scotland proposed legislation will require local authorities to assess the request for
support up until the age of 25 and are required to provide such advice, guidance and
assistance necessary if it cannot be met through other means. A new corporate parenting
duty for all public bodies is also proposed for looked after children and formerly looked
after young people under the age of 26.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
•
•
The Welsh Government is implementing a new scheme called When I’m Ready in a number
of pioneer local authorities. This scheme allows young people to stay in foster care beyond
their 18th birthday.
In England, the Department for Education funded the Staying Put pilot which began in 11
local authorities in July 2008 and ended in March 2011. The pilot was targeted at young
people who had established familial relationships with their foster carers and offered this
group the opportunity to remain with their carers until they reach the age of 21.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Section 2: Care leaver amendments to the Children and Families Bill
23
The issues facing care leavers require a wide-ranging solution with sustained effort by central
and local Government. We recognise that there is more work to be done to achieve this
change. However, steps can be taken now to extend support to care leavers. Members of this
coalition have put forward three proposals for amendments to the Children and Families Bill
which will allow parliamentarians to show their support for the principle of extending support
for care leavers. Full details of the amendments are provided in Appendix 4.
Staying Put Amendment
24
The new clause would amend the Children Act 1989 to allow children in foster care to remain
with their foster carers until at least 21 years old.
Virtual School Headteacher Amendment
25
The Bill currently calls for a new statutory role of virtual school head teacher to champion the
educational attainment of looked-after children in each local authority. We want to see this
extended to cover care leavers up to the age of 25.
Provision of further assistance up to 25 Amendment
26
The role of the personal adviser is pivotal to the success of the additional arrangements
developed to improve the outcomes for young people leaving care. The personal adviser will
help to construct the pathway plan, he or she will provide continuity of support for the young
person through transition, and will also assist in identifying the resources and services required
to meet the young person’s needs. We want access to personal advisers and pathways plans to
be extended to all care leavers until the age of 25 and not just to those who are in education
or training. It is the young people who are not in education, employment or training who may
actually be more in need of the support of a personal adviser.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Section 3: Beyond the Bill
27
The debate around the Bill would be an opportunity to raise some of the following issues with
the Minister.
28
The Voluntary and Community Sector organisations involved in this campaign support the
principle that young people who have experienced care should be able to access support
from the state up until they are 25. Ultimately we want to see this embedded in legislation.
In the long-term the savings which could accrue from minimising social problems need to be
identified and directed toward local authorities to enable them to meet the costs of a longer
period of leaving care support.
29
The charities involved propose a single, flexible model of leaving care support, set out in
Appendix 3, to replace the current tiered system based on on-going needs. The underpinning
principles of this model are:
• The obligations that flow from the state’s unique relationship as corporate parent should
be based on support according to need rather than age, or education or employment
status.
• Young people should have the right to support at any point up to the age of 25 years.
30
However, we recognise that ensuring young people with care experience can continue to
receive support up to the age of 25 if they want to, is neither a simple task nor one which
can happen overnight. Overcoming the complexities of legislation, and securing the changes
in culture and practice will all take time to achieve. So alongside our commitment to the goal
of achieving the model and principles laid out above in Section 2, we are calling for a series
of short- and medium-term tasks which will move us towards this goal. We are offering to
support our partners across local and central Government in undertaking these tasks.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Section 4: Actions
Central Government
•
•
To publish an annual progress statement on Access All Areas – the cross departmental
commitment to care proof policies across Government – and the Care Leavers Charter.
Department for Education to establish an advisory group of care leavers, local authorities,
other central Government Departments and leading Voluntary and Community Sector
organisations to lead thinking on improving the leaving care system, including scoping the
possibilities and pitfalls of raising the leaving care age and developing the model proposed
in Appendix 2. The advisory group would set out a possible route map identifying the
steps needed to raise the leaving care age covering the following areas:
o
Eligibility for support
o
Participation of young people in decision making
o
Opportunities for second chances
o
Impact on benefits
o
Access to health services
o
How to ensure young people receive their rights and entitlements, including
the role of independent advocacy and local accountability structures
o
Cost of raising the leaving care age
o
Review effectiveness of pathway planning
o
Encourage local authorities to get the best outcomes in service delivery by
taking full advantage of the opportunities, expertise and specialisation offered
by partnership working with Voluntary and Community Sector organisations,
and work to identify and resolve barriers to such partnership working.
Local government
•
•
•
•
Share best practice through Catch22 NCAS National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum,
a network of local authorities who aim to promote the development of quality leaving care
services in member authorities through a process of benchmarking and shared learning.
Work with the Fostering Network to establish how support for care leavers can be
extended without the need for additional legislation, for example through greater use of
Staying Put (including exploring how this may work for young people in children’s homes).
Sign up to Charter for Care Leavers and report annually to the relevant scrutiny
committee and children in care council on the progress of implementation.
ADCS to extend their What is Care for? Work to include care leavers up to the age of 25.
Ofsted
•
•
Implement an inspection framework which includes a separate judgement on outcomes
for care leavers.
Report to Department for Education on the outcomes of these inspections over the
first year.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Charities
• Undertake a detailed cost benefit analysis of an extended support model for care leavers.
The analysis will detail the savings which can made, and from which budgets, by shifting
the focus from crisis intervention and ancillary costs such as health, housing or custodial
provision to continued support and early intervention.
• Voluntary and community sector organisations that provide services to care leavers to
evaluate those services and share learning about what works .
• Support central and local Government in the completion of the tasks identified above.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
•
•
•
•
•
Give all the support
that comes with
being looked after.
Personal adviser
(PA)
Needs assessment
Pathway Plan to
meet the needs
identified in the
assessment and
prepare you to live
independently
Regular review of
Pathway Plan
Eligible
YES
•
•
•
•
•
•
NO
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Over 21
Continue PA
Needs assessment
Continue pathway
plan, incl. regular
review
Provide suitable
accommodation,
maintenance and
support
Provide assistance
to meet education,
training &
employment needs
Keep in touch
Relevant
18-21
How old are you?
YES
Are you still in care?
16 or 17
Continue PA
Continue Pathway Plan,
incl. regular review
Expenses associated with
living near place of
employment
Expenses with education
and training needs to
continue until end of agreed
programme of education
Responsible local authority
must keep in touch
Higher Education bursary
Vacation accommodation
Former relevant
NO
NO
Personal adviser
Needs assessment
Pathway plan
Assistance with
education & training
based on assessment
Higher Education
bursary
* You can come back at
any time up until the age
of 25. Support should
continue until the end of
the agreed programme of
education.
•
•
•
•
•
Former relevant pursuing
Education or training*
Do you want to start, or have
already gone back to,
education or training?
Have you been in care on or
th
after your 16 birthday?
Have you been in care for a total of 13 weeks or more since
you were 14 (including some point at age 16 and 17?
Local
authorities’ legal
responsibilities
under the
Children Act
1989 are detailed
in the Statutory
Guidance and
Regulations called
Children Act 1989: Vol.3
‘Planning transitions
to adulthood for care
leavers’. The diagram (right) shows
the reducing support available to
young people dependent on their
age and education/employment status.
ENTITTLEMENTS
YES
•
•
•
Must advise and
befriend
May give help with
education & training
costs
Must give vacation
accommodation
The local authority:
Qualifying
No leaving
care status
Appendix 1: Categories of care leavers and entitlements
Appendix 2: Cost comparison case studies of a poor care journey and
a well planned care journey
There have been few longitudinal studies that link the outcomes in later life of care leavers with
their leaving care age and experiences. In the Demos/Barnardo’s report In Loco Parentis, two
children’s case studies are documented in order to illustrate that poorly planned and under
resourced care journeys actually prove to be more expensive in the longer term due to the
resulting poor life outcomes for the young person and their associated costs.
The good care journey (Child A) illustrates how a supported transition from care at 18 is
associated with improved health outcomes and educational attainment. The poor care journey
(Child B) illustrates how an unstable care journey with an early exit from care at age 16 leads
to escalating social services costs and poor outcomes. The estimated total costs of Child A
aged 16-30 incorporating education costs and accommodation support are around £40,000.
However, the estimated total costs of Child B aged 16-30 including welfare benefits, mental
health treatment costs and the costs of unemployment are nearly £112,000. This is a further
£72,000 of expenditure on Child B.
The case study further explores that there were both increased immediate costs to local
authorities due to Child B’s placement instability and poor leaving care transition, as well as
the significant long term costs that would in all likelihood continue past 30 as Child B would
inevitably need ongoing support.
Appendix 3: Proposed model for leaving care
We want to explore a new model of providing support and assistance for young people
leaving care. Our suggested principles and core elements of a possible model are set out
below. This could be based on three stages during the transition to adulthood:
• Looked after status – up to the age of 18.
• Previously looked-after children from the ages of 18 to 25.
• Adults over the age of 25 who have previously been in care.
This is a long-term vision which needs to be scoped, discussed with looked-after children and
care leavers, local authorities, frontline services and practitioners. The additional costs and
opportunities for savings for local authorities and other services also need to be identified
and quantified.
The Voluntary and Community Sector organisations involved propose the following single,
flexible model of leaving care support to replace the current tiered system based on-going
needs and underpinning principles:
Principles
•
•
The obligations that flow from the state’s unique relationship as corporate parent should
be based on support according to need rather than age, or education or employment
status.
Young people should have the right to support at any point up to the age of 25 years,
even if they have temporarily ceased to access support during that period.
Model
•
•
•
•
•
Care leaving age: The Children Act 1989 to be amended to extend the age at which young
people continue to receive local authority support to 25 years, which would be more in
line with the average age of leaving home for the general population.
Involving young people: Young people have the right to be involved in decisions about their
lives. Support offered through a new model of leaving care is optional and young people
should be involved in determining whether they want to receive the support and what it
looks like. They should also have the opportunity to change their minds.
Ongoing care: Young people under 25 years who have moved into independent living
arrangements, should be able to remain in and return into, for example, foster care or
other supportive settings if they wish to do so.
Transition planning: Local authorities should have a duty to continue to assess and meet
the needs of all care leavers through pathway planning and review up to 25 and continue
to prepare them for all aspects of living independently.
Corporate parenting: Corporate parenting should refer to the collective responsibility of
all relevant public bodies, not just children’s services, to work together to meet the needs
of looked after children and young people up to the age of 25. The emphasis should be on
‘parenting’ and the relevant public bodies and agencies should act in a way a birth parent
would.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
•
•
•
Support in adulthood: Adults’ services should recognise the needs of adult care leavers,
and where appropriate prioritise them for support.
Well informed assessments: To ensure professionals involved in delivering key public
services are trained and better informed on the issues facing young people in the care
system so they are able to make better informed assessments and decisions on service
priorities.
Effective identification of care leavers: Consent-based systems should be in place to
ensure that care leavers are flagged up for support and assistance and that the intelligence
about the needs of care leavers are passed between departments and services to inform
commissioning of services, pooling of budgets and joint working.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Appendix 4: Details of care leaver amendments to the Children and
Families Bill
a) Staying Put Amendment
The following amendment amends the Children Act 1989 to allow young people in foster
care to remain with their foster carers until at least age of 21.
After section 23C(5) Children Act 1989 (continuing functions in respect of former relevant
children) add new subsection 5AA:
(5AA) (1) The assistance given under subsection 4(c) shall include the continuation of
accommodation with the former local authority foster parent, unless:
(a) the former relevant child states that he or she does not wish to continue residing
in such accommodation, or
(b) the former local authority foster parent does not wish to continue to provide
accommodation, or
(c) it is not reasonably practicable to arrange such accommodation.
(2) ‘Former local authority foster parent’ means a local authority foster parent within the meaning
of section 22C(12) with whom the former relevant child, as a looked after child, was placed under
section 22C(6)(a) or (b).
b) Virtual School Headteacher Amendment
The following amendments are proposed to:
• Extend the duty to promote the educational achievements of looked after children to
cover relevant children (children between 16 and 17 who have left care) to secure equity
with children remain in care up to the age of 18.
• Create a new role in monitoring and evaluating the local authority in delivering its
responsibilities regarding education for former relevant children aged 18-25.
• This mirrors the duty to promote the education of looked-after children for relevant
children.
“In the Children Act 1989, in section 22 after subsection (3A) (duty of local authorities to
promote the educational achievement of looked after children) insert:
(3B) A local authority in England must appoint at least one person for the purpose of discharging
the duty imposed by virtue of subsection (3A) and section 23B subsection (8A) and monitoring
and evaluating the effectiveness of that local authority in discharging its duties under section 23C
subsection (4b) and 23CA and advising them on ways to improve.
(3C) A person appointed by a local authority under subsection (3B) must be an officer employed by
that authority or another local authority in England
In the Children Act 1989, in section 23B after subsection 8 insert:
(8A) The duty of local authorities under subsection (8) to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare,
includes in particular a duty to promote the child’s educational achievement.”
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
c) Provision of further assistance up to the age of 25
These amendments build on the existing provisions introduced by the Children and Young
Persons Act 2008 that young people under the age of 25 who were previously former
relevant children can ask for further assistance from the responsible local authority in relation
to a programme of education or training. This recognises that young people may not be in a
position to take up these opportunities before the age of 21. However, it is those who are
NEET that potentially may have an increased need of having the support and guidance of a
personal adviser and pathway plan than those in education or employment.
These amendments reflect the same principle that young people may need further assistance
after the age of 21 even if they are not in education or training. The main significance is in the
requirement for the appointment of a personal adviser and new pathway plan. Provision of
assistance is most likely to be by way of providing support, guidance and negotiating on behalf
of the young person to access the adult services to which he or she is entitled. These changes
need to be reflected with changes to the relevant statutory guidance to ensure that local
authorities are informing young people of what support they would now be entitled to receive
up until the age of 25.
“In the Children Act 1989, in section 23CA (further assistance to pursue education and
training) delete:
Section(1) (c) He has informed the responsible local authority that he is pursuing, or wishes to
pursue, a programme of education or training.
Amend –
Section (4) after ‘training needs’ and before ‘require’ insert ‘or welfare’.
Add new subsection 5 (c)
Other assistance which may be in kind, or in exceptional circumstances, in cash.
Still Our Children: case for reforming the leaving care system in England
Endnotes
i
Department for Education, Statistical Release Children Looked after by local authorities in England
year ending 31 March 2012, September 2012
ii
Department for Education, Statistical Release Children Looked after by local authorities in England
year ending 31 March 2012, September 2012
iii
Department for Education, Statistical Release Children Looked after by local authorities in England
year ending 31 March 2012, September 2012
iv
Rees Centre Seminar, presentation by Mike Stein, Research Professor, ‘Young People’s Transitions
from Care to Adulthood: Research, Policy and Practice.’ April 2013v
v
Centre for Social Justice, Couldn’t Care Less, ,2008, p152
vi
Crisis & CRESR, The Hidden Truth about Homelessness, 2011, p.2
Department of Health, Preventing Suicide in England: a cross-government outcomes strategy to
save lives,2012 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-strategy-forengland
viii
ix
Dixon, J. ‘Young people leaving care: health, well-being and outcomes’, Child and Family Social
Work 13, 207-217, 2008
x
Department for Education, Statistical Release Children Looked after by local authorities in England
year ending 31 March 2012, September 2012
xi
Rees Centre Seminar presentation by Mike Stein, Research Professor, ‘Young People’s Transitions
from Care to Adulthood: Research, Policy and Practice’, April 2013,
xii
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