The journey the New Belongings project has been on exemplifies what happens when the expertise of care leavers is harnessed and nurtured to enable their views to be taken seriously in the development of policy and practice.
New Belongings was conceived, designed and, to a significant extent, delivered by young adults who understand the systems inside out.
The original idea was for a "taskforce" of care leavers "to go into every local authority and show them where they are going wrong".
What we discovered was a system in crisis. Corporate parenting was fragile or non-existent and leaving care workers often felt so overwhelmed that they focused on daily fire-fighting and meeting minimum statutory duties.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
