What is being done for young people leaving care and why does it matter?

By Capstone Foster Care 

If you’ve switched on a television recently, chances are you may have caught BBC documentary Teens in Care with Joe Swash. In it he documents his own experiences of being part of a fostering family. One point raised again by Joe and his mum is how not enough is being done for care experienced young people when they turn eighteen.

The UK has robust systems to protect society’s most vulnerable children. To become a foster carer, you must face an intensive six-month process of assessment, delving into your life experiences, family history and finances. All for good reason, after all someone else’s child will be placed into your care at the end of it.

For the duration of their time spent in care a young person is surrounded by a whole team of individuals concerned with their wellbeing, so why then does this cease to be the case when they turn eighteen?

Help for Care Leavers

We’re here to tell you, there are organisations out there devoted to this very cause. Capstone Care Leavers Trust, for example, is a charity which provides grants for young people in England and Wales who have been in local authority care. This support gives them that extra help in beginning their journey towards independence.

The Trust will support its young people with costs of tuition fees, driving licences and goods for their first homes amongst many other things.

However, more does need to be done.

Why does it matter?

Organisations like the Trust bridge the gap between young people and the world of work. Small things can make big differences.

For example, two common types of grants approved by the Trust are for driving lessons and tuition fees or equipment.

These two examples can have large impacts on a young person’s ability to enter the workforce. Without a driving licence, how will they commute to the workplace? Without access to higher education job prospects may be limited.

Positive Outcomes

Time and time again, young people with the odds stacked against them have proven what they can achieve with just that little bit of support. Results coming out of Capstone Care Leavers Trust speak for themselves:

• The Trust funded tuition fees for a care experienced young person to study a Neurobiology degree at University of Birmingham. She has recently gone on to start her own charity.
• The Trust purchased camera equipment for a care experienced young person to follow his passion in life. He went on to set up his own successful filming business.
• The Trust granted a voucher for a care experienced young person who needed new clothes to be confident in accepting a work placement at a law firm. She is now a barrister in training, aiming to use her experiences to help others.

A person never ‘leaves’ care, they will carry those experiences with them through life. With that bit of extra support, their potential is limitless. In fact, it is often these individuals who want to channel their experiences into good and help others.

What can I do?

The Joe Swash documentary did an incredible job of highlighting this issue, let’s keep the conversation going!

• If you consider fostering, or know someone about to, a great question to ask is how they support their care leavers.
• Consider donating to charities who support care leavers.
• Look at business policies to ensure inclusivity.
• If you have a young person within your organisation who is care experienced is there anything they need referring to Capstone Care Leavers Trust for support with?

Together we can build brighter futures for our young people.