The Leaving Care consultation aims to update existing guidance to take into account new duties on councils surrounding care leavers.
This includes regulations brought in this year to ensure councils produce a clear leaving care plan for all looked-after 16- to 18-year-olds that emphasises the ongoing support they must provide to care leavers.
Keeping in touch with care leavers is a focus of the consultation, with councils being called on to regularly talk with and contact them to check on issues such as housing.
The consultation stresses that this contact must be carried out in the same way that a "reasonable parent" would and focus on building a relationship with the care leaver.
Also covered is financial support and advice councils should provide as corporate parents.
Councils are urged to stagger setting up home allowance payments, focusing the initial payments on semi-independent living. Care leavers' personal advisers should also offer help on ensuring they get the best value for money.
Looked-after children should also be encouraged to save money and prepare for independent living before they leave care.
"Young people, foster carers, residential workers and where appropriate family members should be encouraged to set up a dowry or ‘bottom drawer' of items that can be saved and used when the young person sets up their home," adds the consultation document.
The closing date for comments is 19 March.
