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?

You are planning on taking on a big role in this young adult’s life post foster but you don’t have any knowledge of their SW and support worker?

do you have any contact with the foster family?

Look to see if local independent fostering agencies or schools have mentoring schemes. That sounds like what you are looking to do from your latest post. As another poster said, care experienced youngsters will get a lot of this via their social work team. Other youngsters might not, but really benefit, which is the reason for me saying to look for mentoring schemes within the local community.

I think it's a more general wanting to help than it being a family member? Could be wrong!

Are you hoping to befriend a care leaver and have them move in with you?

I work with Young people age 16 upwards in the care system our company provides support up to 25 years old and prepared them to leave care and live independently. It is a lot of work but rewarding but we are trained in the support you have offered , maybe a Google to see what's in your area but you will have to have a dbs check and possibly induction to work with these young people rightly so as they are extremely vulnerable.

Have you explored being an independent visitor? I know you aren't looking for a job, I'm just trying to make the gentle point that the role you're seeking to fulfil exists and people are employed to do it. Independent visitors can befriend and mentor young people in care but it's a long term commitment.

She said there isn't a specific young person, she just wants to help young people leaving care.

If you want to volunteer with children exiting care you need to approach the leaving and after care social work team, but to be honest you don't sound like you have the right experience. They will have LAC social workers and personal advisors/support workers who are properly trained to work with children who have experienced trauma.
You might be able to provide some work experience for those interested in tech.

Actually you said "not housing", so I guess they're not moving in with you. Your intentions seem rather vague though - a kind of general wanting to do good but knowing nothing about the people you want to help? Care leavers are not pets or special projects for do-gooders.

I have never known of a leaving care service taking on volunteers.

There may be a young people's centre near you OP that you could volunteer with? It wouldn't be solely for careleavers.

Alternatively you could get on linked in and see if you can connect with any social workers in the field on there and ask their advice? I have a friend who moved from corporate to social work and she's very proactive in trying to get organisations with charitable funds to spend involved in supporting looked after children.

Could you volunteer as an independent visitor?

Or if you have a spare room your could provide supported lodgings?

In my area they look for work experience placements for those children and the people who provide those do so on a voluntary basis. The companies need to agree but there are usually identified voluntary work place mentors, especially women for the girls interested in male dominated fields

Are you related to the young person?

She's said a few times there is no specific young person in mind

I don't think there is a specific young person, OP just wants to "help" in general but knows nothing of the population she has in mind. Or he, I guess

Providing work experience could be really helpful - even apprenticeships.

There are charities where you mentor foster care leavers. You need to have a DBS and attend training and regular sessions with a supervisor.

I am sure you can find something in your area
https://family-action.org.uk/volunteers/mentor-a-care-experienced-young-adult/

Op are you looking to employ a care leaver?

Are you maybe better doing that through local schools?

What’s prompted this? If you don’t even know enough to guess that SW means social worker, why have you suddenly got this in mind? Your posts are a bit blunt and vague so it’s hard to follow.

This is really unfair. I’d love to be able to help young people leaving care too. I am well aware of the lack of support for people leaving care, despite all the “they have a SW” and “the LA is obliged to help them” posts here. SW is over-stretched and at best would provide sign-posting. Local Authorities have plenty of obligations they don’t meet and nothing could be done.

Teenagers and young adults are failed by the system. Foster carers and adopters tend to prefer younger children. Once they have aged out of the system there are few structured support systems. I remember how difficult it can be going out into the big bad world, and not having someone to turn to for advice from your mum or dad, having a base to go back to, even just someone to share your successes with, these are hugely important.

I had the privilege to have opportunities that my stable family background gave me. I want to be able to do that for other young people. Not because I am a do-gooder and want a “pet” but because the world is on fire and every young person deserves the best start to help them on their way. My current situation means I’m not able to provide accommodation, but when that changes, I’m happy to do that. For now I’d like to do whatever I can. I already mentor a young person at school, but have the time to be able to do more. My intentions may also sound vague, but that’s because there are so few organisations in my area who provide this, I’m not sure where to start. I asked my Local Authority about it and they basically said “you’d have to become a foster carer” but again, for us, that isn’t possible right now.

The phrase “it takes a village” isn’t just about helping people with babies and toddlers in your social circle, it also applies to older kids who have no-one. I’d like to be part of that village. Providing help and support to those who need it, helps society too. People bitch and moan about the benefits bill and how many people aren’t working, this is one way to make sure those who are able can find work and become contributors. Are you doing anything to help, or just sniping from the sidelines at anyone who does?

Mentoring care experienced young adults is only in London on this link.

When I was managing a Leaving Care team, we were lucky enough to have some premises to use as a day centre for the young people and we had numerous activities going on during the week, many of them with volunteers. We had arts and crafts, computers and so on.
Initially, we used a volunteers organisation that took care of essential things like police checks and supervision, but we later recruited some volunteers individually, which included interviews with a panel of young people.

@BoredZelda i don't disagree with a lot of your post but I have to disagree with this

SW is over-stretched and at best would provide sign-posting. Local Authorities have plenty of obligations they don’t meet and nothing could be done

Leaving care services are separate from main social work teams. Leaving care workers have caseloads of only careleavers and they do a huge amount of work. It's far more than signposting. I have been a leaving care personal adviser for 8 years, it's a challenging but amazing job.

Here there’s continued support for the young people who are “ageing out”, I think the leaving and aftercare team are involved from ages 16-21.
I would say this support still falls far short of the level of support a young person, particularly one who has been through the care system, actually requires.