Call for government to provide ‘lifetime support’ for children in care

People who have been taken into care as a child should receive ongoing support to help them deal with the impact of their experiences, a report has recommended. A summary report of the first Care Experienced Conference, held in April to bring together people with experience of the care system and better understand the challenges they face, concluded that there is a lack of help available when statutory support ends at the age of 25. “Despite the significant life challenges care experienced people face, governments have yet to recognise, consult and engage directly with these experts with lived experience, or seek to better understand their challenges in life after the age of 25,” the report states. “It is a shared belief across all involved that the care experience is a continuous lifetime experience bringing different needs at different stages that may not accord with the statutory definition of care and leaving care, or the way care experienced people are represented in society, the media and statistics. Read more.