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careers and the role played by housing-related services in reducing youth
homelessness. This is in order to ascertain how well care leavers’ transitions to
independence are supported compared with the experiences of other vulnerable
young people.

Drawing on findings from a recently completed research study funded by
the Department of Education and Skills, this paper evaluates how young people
accessed and used housing services, and what made a difference, from the
young people’s point of view, for those with positive experiences of housing.

Leaving care and housing legislation

The Children Act 1989 introduced a number of important principles which
continue to exert a powerful influence on child care practice today (Department of
Health 1989). Among these was the practice of working in partnership with
parents, and for local authorities to have powers to provide the necessary
services, including support and protection, for all children and young people in
care. However, no extra money was provided to enable local authorities to carry
out the additional powers as set out within the Children Act. As a result, Jackson
(2006, p.20) argues that the Act was deliberately vague on details of how many
of the principles of the Act might be carried out and many local authorities
therefore felt free to ignore them. An example of this is the Guidance to the Act,
which clearly states that children in care have the same entitlement as all
children to further and higher education (Department of Health 1991a & 1991b),

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