How to help children coming out of foster care?

[LadyGillingham]

Im assuming children in foster care are on their own after 18? Or does someone look after them?

What kind of help/support will they need?

presumabmy they have a SW? It will be child dependent op. You need to talk to the SW

They generally need a hell of a lot of support

They usually have a young person's advisor from The local authority when they are apporaching 18 amd then after. Some stay with Foster carers under something called staying put and others move on. I am a children's s.w (although not directly in fostering) and I know I'm our la there are care leavers support groups and financial support for setting up home.

Thinking of my own dc at 18, they still need support and to know someone is there they can ask questions of.

There are various support groups and charities you could search -

The Care Leavers Association
Become Charity
Rees Foundation

for example.

it can vary sometimes they are under the care of barnardos, others i presume its the social worker.

then it depends on the person as to the help they require, that said any help is aways appricated

They do t get much support and are pretty much left to fend for themselves. Happened to my daughter’s friend. He has gone off thee rails and is now taking drugs and borrowing and stealing money wherever he can. I did let him stay at ours for a bit and sorted out gp benefits and getting him into drug rehab but he sees his parents and falls off the wagon again. They have let him down massively x

Is it someone specific you are wanting to help OP?

Care leavers get very little to no support, its very much a recognised problem.

Is it LA dependent or set by government that it has to be 18? I do think if the age was set higher eg 21 and some kind of graduated support scheme from 18-21 outcomes could be vastly improved for care leavers

Generally speaking, an eighteen year old leaving care will still be supported by a leaving care worker who they should have been introduced to from sixteen onwards. Housing etc should all be set up. From my own experience, there can be difficulties particularly for young people who aren’t in education or work around being lonely, and vulnerable to being taken advantage of.

Are you talking about a specific young person or careleavers in general?
You can have a look at the leaving care act if you want to see what careleavers are entitled to in law.

Another difficulty is that at eighteen support is very much consent based, adults are allowed to make ‘unwise decisions’, but an eighteen year old living with family or who hasn’t been in care may have stronger guidance around them.

In some parts of Scotland there is continuing care for some care experienced youngsters. They stay until, I think, 21. There's also permanence orders which are almost being adopted, where the care experienced youngster can expect to be part of the family for life.
Even with these long-term mechanisms, care experienced youngsters tend to need a lot of support to transition into being independent adults, especially so they don't end up being taken advantage of.

Varies on the child so does the age. A lot are still in education after 18.

The local council are obliged to provide support until age 25: https://www.gov.uk/leaving-foster-or-local-authority-care. If you know a child who needs signposting to support then you can start them off here. An adult over 18 is not obliged to take any help if they do not want it.

They have specific care leaver workers in my LA.

I would love to do some voluntary work in this area of need. Does anyone know of any charities?

I have a fruebd who fostered two teenage twins. They are now 19 and they have an ‘onward care’ agreement so they come home to them in uni holidays. It’s a lovely arrangement.

LAs are supposed to provide support until 25, this varies greatly and in many cases is completely inadequate. It was non-existent where I was at 17, nevermind 18, I know that LA still performs very poorly.

In my LA they have a PA from 16/18 and ongoing support until they are 25.

thanks for the replies.
Im looking to help (in general). I can provide them with basics (not housing), support with they need guidance, talk about finances, relationships, making responsible choices, career options, motivate/encourage.

I can also guide them to learn to code (I work in tech), arrange workexp and help with job hunt.

Are you in contact with their SW?

These are all the role and remit of a leaving care personal adviser, which every care leaver will have. Have you got relevant experience that would suit you for this role?

I’m not looking for a job.

There is no individual in mind. I don’t know who SW is.

Even if these particular children should have a SW, you can help advocate for them and having extra helpful adults can only be a good thing. While the SW will help with work etc and you can advise where asked, if you are an involved adult then it is worth considering how to help fill the gap they may have in general family support So offering a monthly Sunday lunch, a celebration meal around Easter and Christmas, thoughtful gifts for Birthday and Christmas, celebration drinks out for first job offer etc.