Care leavers
Housing options for care leavers age 16 or 17
We are responsible for providing you with somewhere to live. The Leaving Care team will assist you with this and will work with you to develop your pathway plan, which is your plan for training or further education, your health needs, contact with family and friends, and what help and support you need after you leave care, including accommodation and financial support.
Your social worker and your independent reviewing officer will review your pathway plan at least every six months with you and can help you plan where you want to live in the future based upon your needs, wishes and feelings.
For many young people, moving straight from foster care or residential care to your own accommodation is a big step. Sometimes young people will live in other places until they are ready for their own accommodation. Your social worker will talk to you about these options during their visits to you.
Some care leavers have some form of contact with their birth families, and you can choose to return there when you leave care. Please note that under the Children (Leaving Care) Act, returning to live with family can affect eligibility for services. If a young person aged 16 or 17 returns home successfully to a parent (or someone with parental responsibility) for a continuous period of six months, they can no longer be treated as a ‘relevant child’. They would instead be a ‘qualifying’ child. The local authority would have the power to advise and assist the young person, but there would no longer be any statutory duty to maintain your Pathway Plan.
There are a range of supported accommodation options which can offer different services and varying levels of support.
Financial support for care leavers aged 16 and 17
The Leaving Care team should give you help and advice with education, accommodation and any benefits you might be entitled to if you are a parent. We are responsible for supporting you financially if you are still under the age of 18. Your social worker will discuss your financial arrangements with you as part of your pathway plan.
Housing options for care leavers from the age of 18
Some of the options listed above will be available to you long term. However, you may also want to move on to the next stage of housing options.
