PEER-REVIEWED FINAL EDITED VERSION OF ARTICLE PRIOR TO PUBLICATION

frequently person turned to for support, with one third of care leavers citing them
as their closest key worker. As a consequence, many of the care leavers that had
left care after the CLCA 2000 reported receiving adequate planning prior to
leaving care and receiving the accommodation they wanted at first placement. In
addition, two-thirds of such care leavers reported receiving enough support with
their daily lives. This suggests that the CLCA 2000 is making a real difference for
care leavers accessing and using housing services.

However, even for those leaving care after the CLCA 2000, the leaving
care service was found to be variable between different parts of the country and
even within leaving care teams. Care leavers who experienced variable delivery,
reported relying more on housing support workers or other voluntary service
workers. Therefore, successful transitions to independence hinge on good
relationships between the care leaver and leaving care team and good
communication between leaving care teams, housing providers and voluntary
services to provide a multi-agency service to these young people. In addition, a
more consistent application of the CLCA 2000 across all local authority leaving
care teams would aid this process (especially to ensure finances are in place that
will enable care leavers to feel secure in their accommodation, and to pursue
education, training or employment).

Young people in difficulty were much less likely than care leavers to
assess their life as ‘easier than a year ago’. This difference in outlook was partly
due to the informal support received from friends and family and partly due to the
type of accommodation they were offered and the formal support they received.

22

<<   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   >>

More intriguing information