An initiative to support children leaving care has only enough funding to support one in five young people, councils have warned. Currently all care leavers are entitled to support from a personal adviser, providing them with practical and emotional support, up to the age of 21. But through a new duty introduced through the Children and Social Work Act 2017, from 1 April personal adviser support will extend to all carer leavers to age 25. Last month, the DfE announced it will increase funding to councils by £12m for the period up to 2021 to cover the new responsibility. However, the Local Government Association has warned that the government is providing only enough funding for 20 per cent of care leavers. This amounts to around 4,700 young people out of an estimated total of more than 23,000. Read more.
You may also like
England’s care system is failing children. This new overhaul is based on a middle-class fantasy by Rebekah Pierre
Like a protective sibling, I am the first to both criticise and defend the care system. It failed and saved me in equal measure. In adult life, I returned to it as a social worker. I know its flaws and its potential to...
May 24, 2022
Child protection: Without change thousands more kids face care – review
Tens of thousands more youngsters will end up in care unless radical changes are made to child protection in England, a major review has warned. The independent review on council-run children’s services said...
May 23, 2022
Kinship Care: Lack of legal support has ‘devastating consequences’
Almost four in 10 kinship carers had not received any legal advice about their rights and options for their kinship child, according to a new report from the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on kinship care. Some 82...
May 17, 2022