To feel desperately sorry for kids leaving state "care"?

It's obscene how little they are supported and guided. Some of that will be down to cuts.

Much, much better for University student care leavers than when I was one, thankfully.

I'm a foster carer.
Care leavers definitely get a raw deal.
I had two turn 18 in the same year. One went off to Uni and still requires a lot of emotional and financial support from us. The other has severe special needs and will need to live in a supported facility for life. If we didn't continue to see him then he would have no family interaction.
They desperately need that secure base/family safety net to fall back on and it's often not available. Not all foster carers can or will offer continuous support past 18.
They are both still a massive part of our family and we have them both for Christmas/events and support them as best we can alongside caring for new foster children and our own yet it still never feels enough.
They are expected to function as adults as soon as they turn 18. The emotional support is all but stopped or stripped to the bare minimum including acsess to mental health professionals and social workers.
I dont know what the answer is but the current system makes it very difficult for them to function let alone flourish.

@Roaringkittens so sorry you went through that.

This was my DH 30 years ago. TBF he was moved into a halfway type home at 16, where he had his own bedsit and the other bedsits were also occupied by other teens. They had a social worker on-site 24/7 and were taught how to cook, budget etc. He then got a HA flat when he turned 18. Was working in a shitty job on £1.60ph.

My DM was so lucky well not really because she had me just shy of her 18th birthday and only had to stay in a mother and baby home for a few weeks before she was offered a 2 bed maisonette from the council.
I say lucky because it would be impossible now - even though we are in the Midlands and not London.

I know a couple who are voluntarily going to keep their foster child beyond 18. The alternative options are not at all good and they don't want the child to struggle or suffer. They have put several years into turning that child's life round, from neglect and abuse to a hardworking teenager with good GCSEs.

As well as the guaranteed income for care leavers in Wales, I think it's about £1600 a month. Foster carers are also encouraged and paid to keep young people until they are 21 under a scheme called When I'm ready. Nothing will ever be perfect but its positive that Wales is leading on trying to help these young people.

There should be national standards of continuing support.

I saw an appeal a couple of years ago locally for donations to go into Christmas hampers for care leavers aged 18-25, organised by the council. I arrange a collection at my village and people have been very generous and happy to help (quite a wealthy area) so you could look for a similar scheme. It's not much compared to what most young people get, but I get feedback that it's appreciated.

It's dire.

Follow https://twitter.com/ccwild79 on Twitter he was bought up in care and has done a lot of campaigning

And as for supported accommodation... in a lot of cases there's so support and some of it barely warrants the title of accommodation. The sector should be subject to tight checks and regulation

My parents are foster carers. One of the kids they fostered left their care at 18 and was set up with his own flat. He was offered ongoing support from social work which he rejected. While attending college he was paid over £800 a month just for attending and was offered free laptops and phone.

She has 2 teenagers in the house at the moment. One 16, one 18. 16yo at college and being paid over £800 to attend college. He has requested to leave foster care and wants his own flat which will be provided and paid for and he'll continue to have social work support.

18yo is working. Lovely girl. She is considering moving in with her boyfriend soon which she'll fund herself since she's working however will still have a social worker should she need anything.

All the kids are allowed to stay in foster care until their early 20s but have chosen to leave. The boys because they're not willing to stick to the house rules and think life will be better on their own where they can smoke as much weed as they like and game all through the night without waking the whole house up.

It can't be easy starting out on your own so young and without family support but from my experience, these kids are supported should they want it. They're offered more money and resources than a lot of other kids and are also given priority for college places. Not that any of that makes up for having a rough start in life but there are plenty of kids not in care who are struggling too and don't get the same support.

Things have never change, I left care at 17 with black bags.
Back then they wanted you to be 'independent living' from age 16.
The sw who I had came to see me and give me bags full of personal bits (presumably out of her money).

Where I live care leavers are put on a waiting list for accommodation but with the housing crisis in full swing in practice it will be years before they get anywhere, if ever. They are supported financially until they are finished education though, so into their early 20s if they go to uni. Unfortunately many drop out of school and don't engage with the aftercare service (which is limited anyway). We have a 20 year old and a young teen and we will be supporting them well into adulthood. The teen has mild SN and is unlikely to go to uni, so not sure what her future holds but there is a possibility that she will never leave our care and live independently. It's very sad.

What have I just read - a tent ! If they can put up asylum seekers in hotels then surely they can do that for someone rather than giving them a tent !

I'm pretty sure that even if you took the human suffering element out of it, the financial side would justify itself e.g. looking after care leavers would save money in terms of economic productivity, reduced crime rate etc.

You don't need to play one vulnerable group off another. Neither group is exactly staying at the Ritz.

Asylum seekers don't ask for hotels, and I'm sure they're uncomfortable and unpleasant to live in long term.

In terms of support for care leavers it is far from
ideal but they aren’t on their own completely on turning 18. They get access to personal advisers until they’re 21, and sometimes until they’re 25. I’ve known advisers to support with moves, secure furniture for a young person, apply for charity grants, help with decorating homes, assist with accessing services, help with filling out forms, help with getting young people in to education, support them with parenting, provide emotional support etc etc. It’s not perfect of course but it’s nice to know that that is available to young people trying to navigate leaving the care system.

This is the reality of it so who, within the "state system", is going to the police and monitor the activities of an adult and exactly how are they supposed to do that?

Oh come on a tent ! Esp in winter . I'm not playing one against the other . Surely they could put them in a hotel ?

This is not my experience of care leavers. I sit on fostering panels and many of the young people who are reaching 18/school
leaving remain with their carers on a Continuing Care basis. This is in Scotland so I appreciate other places will be different. It takes young people through to age 21 when they are better equipped to live independently.

Yep this. I have worked with many kids in care and a huge amount get shoved into 'semi independent ' placements at 16 which basically means a flat share with another young person and ten hours a week of key work. The ones who do stay in residential care homes or foster placements to 18 do tend to flounder unless they receive significant support. I don't know any who reached their full potential.

The 17 year old, who had mental health issues and a drug problem, ended up being sectioned. The council ended up being ordered to pay him £2500 as "compensation".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55246562

That's lovely. I must admit I know foster caring is essentially a job but I'm not sure how someone can take care of a child for potentially years then see them struggle like that.

Well, I guess biological parents can do the same thing...