CYP Now - Editorial: Post-care support is a right not a privilege

According to Roger Morgan, the children's rights director at the Commission for Social Care Inspection, young people leaving care share a couple of characteristics. The first is the age at which they leave the care system, which tends to be 16 or 17, compared to the national average age at which young people leave their parents' home, which is 23. And the second is that the way they're treated is too often dependent on the actions of individuals rather than because of a systematic approach to post-care support (see News, p8).

The overwhelming impression after reading Morgan's report, YoungPeople's Views on Leaving Care, is that these youngsters face a lotterywhen it comes to receiving support, even though it is enshrined in theChildren (Leaving Care) Act 2000. Put bluntly, it seems that once achild becomes a young adult, the way they're treated depends on thekindness, understanding and commitment of staff rather than becauselocal authorities recognise their legal entitlement to support.

It's not surprising then that Morgan's report paints a picture ofvulnerable young adults moved from a system that they believe is safeand secure to a situation where they're left to fend for themselvesoften in insecure, and potentially unsafe, environments such as bed andbreakfast or hostel accommodation.

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