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Legal Update: In a Nutshell - Support for foster children up to age 21

The DfE proposes a legal duty on councils to provide financial support for young people who want to stay with foster families until they are 21.

What are the new proposals?

Currently, when a young person turns 18 and is legally considered to be an adult, they can no longer be considered a "child in care", and therefore cannot be placed in foster care. A new clause proposed in the Children and Families Bill, to be laid down during the bill's third reading next year, proposes raising this age to 21; allowing young people to continue in foster care beyond 18 years. This will affect some 10,000 18-year-olds who leave their foster homes every year, following the withdrawal of funding for their placement from their local authority.

Why raise the age from 18 to 21?

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