Justin Rogers 10 February 2015, 12.32pm GMT Leaving care is hard enough without the system favouring those who are fostered AUTHOR Lecturer in Social Work at University of Bath Until a new duty on local authorities in England came into force last year, if you were in foster care you had to move on when you reached 18. This has now changed. Under the Children and Families Act (2014) local authorities now have to “facilitate, monitor and support ‘staying put’ arrangements for fostered young people until they reach the age of 21”. This is very good news – a coalition policy aiming to ease the difficult transition many young people face from care to independence. It means that care leavers are no longer made to leave their foster placements just because they have turned 18. The Office for National Statistics reported that the age at which young people leave home has shifted in recent years. The average age of young people leaving home is now 25 and the number of 20 to 34-year-olds living at home has gone up by 24%. So even with “staying put” until the age of 21, fostered young people are still leaving home earlier than their non-fostered peers. But this age extension does buy more time for foster carers and social workers to best support care leavers as they move into adulthood. It also allows individuals to do things we all begin to do at this age – get a job, consider university, all with a continuation of support and shelter. Reports that highlight the outcomes of care leavers show just how vulnerable this group is during the transition to independence and how much support they need. Studies have found that around 24% of the adult prison population has been in care and up to a third of homeless young people were care leavers. Much of the information we collect, however, is focused on the short number of years Overlooked – twice. Sad by Shutterstock Leaving care is hard enough without the system favouring those who ar... https://theconversation.com/leaving-care-is-hard-enough-without-the-s... 1 of 3 20/05/2015 11:34