Charity calls for more information for care leavers

The charity says requests for information for records held by local authorities currently fall under the Data Protection Act 1998, but the Act restricts the sharing of third party information, which causes problems for people who grew up in care.
As a result they can receive little or disjointed information from their care records, such as not receiving identifying information about a sibling they are trying to trace.
A former care leaver said: "I had been in care for 15 years and found out I could apply for my records, but all I got was 10 sheets of paper with lots of information blanked out - I wondered why I bothered to access the information as what I got did not make a lot of sense."
BAAF says forthcoming legislation through the Children and Young Persons Bill, which gets its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 16 June, provides an opportunity to address the issue.
There is already a legislative framework in place to help adopted people get information about their origins, family background and circumstances of their adoption.
The same opportunities do not extend to post care adults, although they are likely to share the same quest for information about their own personal history and desire to re-establish contact with family members, says BAAF.
Julia Feast, BAAF policy research and development consultant, said: "We should not underestimate the importance of information for post care adults. It can assist in resolving issues about their past, provide a sense of personal history and identity and have a huge positive impact on their own children and family life."