CYP Now - Boosting Staying Put take up 'could reduce care leaver homelessness'

Increasing the number of young people in care involved in Staying Put foster care schemes could prevent hundreds of care leavers a year becoming homeless, evaluation of the initiative has found.

Staying Put arrangements are proven to reduce youth homelessness, research finds. Picture: Highwaystarz/Adobe Stock

Researchers found there is “consistent and strong evidence” that the schemes "significantly lower the risk of homelessness for care leavers”.

They found that if the number taking part increased by 13 percentage points more than 300 care leavers could be prevented from being homeless.

Staying Put has been in place for the last decade. It enables those in care to stay with foster carers from the age of 18 to 21, as long as both agree to the arrangement.

Researchers estimate that 1,745 care leavers may have been prevented from being at risk of or experiencing homelessness since it began being used by councils in 2014.

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