
Care Leaver Offer has introduced a new comparison tool which allows local authorities to log in and update their offers while care leavers can find out about the services they are entitled to in their area.
The tool has been developed pro-bono by social care digital solutions organisation focusgov.
Simon Newing, managing director of focusgov said: “I think this is a great use of tech that allows both young people and local authorities to quickly compare what each council offer their care experienced young people.
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Legal Update: Care – A protected characteristic?
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Website helps care leavers compare councils’ support
“Innovation like this can help justify change and better outcomes. Our own experience in working extensively with young people is that digital tools like the Care Leaver Offer website, the Compare Councils tool and our own Care Leavers App are vital for engagement.
“Councils must learn that young people don’t want to engage with corporate websites or leaflets, letters and printed outdated promotional material to find out what they are entitled to. They live their lives digitally and through digital devices, the sector must step up and meet their expectations.”
The comparison tool is also designed to allow councils to call for improvements in their care leaver offers.
Care Leaver Offer was founded by care-experienced campaigner Terry Galloway last year as part of his campaign to see councils adopt care experience as a protected characteristic.
He said: “Care Leaver Local Offer is about amplifying the voice of our care-experienced people and empowers care leavers to also fight for improvements themselves.
“I think it’s really important that there is a level playing field for care leavers, they are too often discriminated against in policy. The fact some care leavers experience downward social mobility because they have to go back to live in the area they were originally from when they transition out of care, sometimes with no networks whatsoever means they are more vulnerable.
“We never wanted to call councils out for what they were not doing, which is why our new compare tool shows who is doing what rather than who is not doing things for care leavers. Although it’s easy to work it out, we would rather councils use their energy to make things better for our care leavers rather than spending time and resources defending themselves.”
Data will be used to form the basis of a submission to an Education Committee inquiry into the pace and scale of the government’s planned reforms to children’s social care.
“I’m so grateful to focusgov for pulling out all the stops in getting this out so local authorities have time to update their listing intime for the Education Select Committee deadline,” Galloway added.
The call for evidence ends on 15 January.