'Moving On' from care into adulthood: consultation analysis

2. Planning and preparation for moving on from care into adulthood

This chapter presents the analysis of the first two consultation questions, which aimed to enhance the Scottish Government’s understanding of how better support for young people who are care experienced, caregivers and care providers can help ensure positive transitions for young people leaving care.

Planning and preparation for transitions should begin as early as possible and the young person, supported by the adults in their lives, should be at the heart of all planning and decision making. However, it is recognised that caregivers and care providers are facing increased pressures and challenges linked to matters such as workforce capacity and numbers, as well as the current financial climate.

Q1. How can we ensure that young people, and those who support them, are given enough time, advice and resources to effectively prepare them for moving on from care?

Improvements in support for young people

Over three quarters of respondents answered Q1. The most common theme raised was the need for high-quality support for young people, including the need to involve them in decision making processes. Aspects of support highlighted by respondents included ensuring a needs-based response to individuals, sufficiently resourced provision offering a choice of options, and adopting a staged approach where planning is an ongoing process. The need to put young people at the centre of planning, ensuring that they are fully aware of their rights and entitlements, was emphasised. This was reiterated by a few different organisations in relation to the recent incorporation of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. Difficulties sourcing information or support was highlighted by some, as were inconsistencies between geographic or service areas.

“In all transitions, it is clear there needs to be more future planning involved – whether that be transitioning to independent living, education, adult services or employment, etc. Care-experienced young people have told us that they feel a lot of anxiety about their future and feel that they are not present in the decision making process on their own transitions.” - Aberlour

“At times no one appears to be listening. Take a different approach: Talk to me and then my carer. Talk to me, before ticking the boxes. Talk to the person sat in front of you today, before you read my paperwork. Get to know me. Make decisions with me, not for me.” - Shared Lives Plus

Better engagement with professionals and staff

Ensuring the needs, wants and hopes of children are understood and supported by staff was pointed out as a vital component of supporting them as they leave care. Respondents called for staff involved in preparing young people for leaving care to have access to training or guidance. They also suggested addressing workforce retention and capacity issues. Ensuring consistency in processes, continuity of relationships and information sharing were suggested ways in which professionals could better support the preparation of young people for leaving care. Respondents highlighted the need for staff supporting young people to have an understanding of their rights and entitlements, as well as their own statutory obligations.

Start planning and preparation early

The need to prepare young people as early as possible was a common theme. Advantages of this were given, including that young people would be able to find out about their rights and available supports, test options and give time for support to be put in place.

Some respondents noted that a child or young person’s sense of safety and security could be impacted when discussions about leaving care begin and it was felt important to handle these conversations sensitively. Children’s Hearings Scotland also noted that young people should be empowered to hold service providers “to account if a clearly defined set of core standards and entitlements are not met.”

Examples of suitable support or information

Several respondents gave suggestions for support or information that would benefit young people preparing to leave care. These included support with employment, housing or health assessments. Help with managing finances was mentioned by some and other aspects of living independently were mentioned, such as help learning how to cook, clean and wash clothes. Specific resources such as; access to a transition flat; offering Money House, an SQA accredited programme on financial literacy skills; therapeutic life story work and a ‘Moving On rucksack’ with useful advice on entitlements, were highlighted. Examples that could be replicated included a Direct Work Bag used by practitioners in Glasgow, something similar to Shannon’s Box for young people and access to digital resources such as ABZ Works for employability.

Suggestions for helping manage finances included addressing anxieties associated with struggling financially, helping with budgeting and shopping, paying bills or finding work and clearly promoting available financial support that is easy to access.

Using technology to support young people, such as digital solutions to provide a ‘one stop’ shop for information on resources available to you was suggested by a few respondents. Others suggested more focus on talking with young people to prepare them adequately or that improvements to joint working arrangements across services should be prioritised when providing support.

“Pathway plans designed to prepare young people for leaving care must include information about the services available to improve care leavers’ financial literacy skills if they are to make them feel confident about making the transition to more independent living.” – MyBnk

Person-centred support

The need to meet the individual needs of each young person leaving care was noted by several respondents. This included delivering support in a holistic way, as and when needed and reflective of their preferences. Factors that were felt to be important to consider included social networks, reasons for transitioning out of care, staff contacts, available resources and the age and stage of the young person. Points here included that information and signposting should occur on an ongoing basis as young people approach adulthood, and that social workers should be aware of the need for early pathway planning. Additionally, one respondent felt the social determinants of health and wellbeing should be addressed such as housing, education, employment, income and access to services.

“It feels important to recognise that there isn’t a defined line or age at which a child ‘in’ care no longer requires care. Replicating the support structures that exist within family is very difficult for ‘state apparatus’ though. It is probably more realistic and useful to think about the type of information people may need at different stages of life and have that available and easily accessible – including signposting to statutory services or the third sector who can provide in-person supports.” - Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Effective multi-agency working

A strong multi-agency awareness and response was considered by several respondents to be important when helping young people prepare for leaving care. This included both joint working by staff teams and multi-agency planning processes. Specific suggestions included joint training sessions or information sharing on transitions or mapping journeys, using approaches such as ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) and ‘Looked After Child’ reviews, and ensuring collective leadership. The importance of multi-agency working was also reflected across responses throughout the consultation and at engagement events held with stakeholders.

Provide support beyond the transition

Providing support following the transition phase was mentioned by several respondents. This was felt to be a valuable way to strengthen the resilience of support packages, better supporting those less ready to transition and as a way of enabling tapered support. The positive impact of such support on young people was highlighted, both in terms of supporting independent living and improving wellbeing.

“‘Moving on from care’ is not a one off, single event. Any child developing into adulthood in 2024 will require different supports at different times in order to navigate the complexity of adult life. It feels important to recognise that there isn’t a defined line or age at which a child ‘in’ care no longer requires care. This implies that there might need to be some lifelong support available, or potentially available, should a care experienced adult ever need additional supports.” – Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Other themes

A range of other themes were raised by some respondents, including providing advocacy, the need for consistency of support across Scotland, meeting any specialist need of young people such as mental health or additional support needs, providing information in specific settings and ensuring good regulation or legislative frameworks.

Q2. Are there any barriers to starting the process of planning and preparing for young people leaving care at an early stage?

Lack of resources

Three quarters of respondents left a comment to Q2. A common theme was the suggestion that a lack of resources, staff or suitable support were barriers to starting the preparation process for young people leaving care. The availability or quality of services was thought to vary across Scotland, or was considered to be delivered on a short-term basis or difficult to source. Suitable housing provision was highlighted as being particularly challenging, as was staff continuity and capacity. Other factors included difficulties accessing assessments, a lack of consistent or flexible support such as foster care retainers or step-down support services, particularly in rural areas, and funding constraints impacting on available supports.

Lack of engagement with young people

Another common theme was that a lack of engagement with young people, for a variety of reasons, was perceived to be a barrier to starting preparation for leaving care. Reasons for a lack of engagement were either centred on service related issues or on young people’s willingness to engage.

Respondents raised professional concerns about increasing anxiety in young people who did not feel ready to leave care, a lack of communication due to staff turnover or capacity issues, the short-term nature of services, early endings or unstable placements, and the impact of moving on to adult services and the lack of continuity with a trusted adult.

A perceived lack of trust was also raised by respondents as a reason why lack of engagement might occur. One organisation shared reasons why some specific groups of young people might not engage, including outstanding criminal charges, vulnerable behaviour, mental health difficulties or neurodevelopmental needs. The nature of adolescence itself was also highlighted as being a challenge by a few respondents. Aberdeen City Council highlighted the perceived disconnect between what young people can be expected to achieve, compared to the reality of their experiences and the impact of complex trauma on executive functioning.

Alignment between processes or systems

Aligned with the above theme, several respondents expressed a view that the system could act as a barrier to starting preparation with children and young people. These barriers included limits to support caused by the interactions between different systems and processes, a lack of forward planning or conversely, a sense of planning ‘endings’ instead of ensuring quality scaffolding and maintaining a sense of childhood. For example, the need to focus on fulfilling statutory duties at the expense of preventative work, or being risk averse rather than making decisions in a person-centred way.

The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration reported that waiting for the outcome or review of a Compulsory Supervision Order, which could take some time, as a barrier to effective throughcare and aftercare planning. Other respondents highlighted issues within the system which might impact effective preparation for moving on, such as changing placements or the perception that practice is age, rather than needs, driven.

Lack of staff awareness or expertise

Several respondents highlighted the lack of knowledge or skills of staff to begin preparing children or young people for adulthood. Being able to provide financial education, an awareness of entitlements or supports, including being prioritised for support, and the impact of trauma were all cited as gaps. Another issue raised was the ability of staff to manage discussions around transitions effectively. Comments included that staff could be risk averse, unaware of their responsibilities, lack confidence or have low expectations. It was also acknowledged that some staff may prefer to prioritise calm after a crisis move, which might be perceived as a barrier. For instance, one individual felt staff wanted to focus on keeping a child safe and in a stable environment, building a positive long standing relationship rather than discussing them leaving care.

Suggested actions which could be taken to address these issues included creating the correct conditions for staff; including sufficient resources, such as suitable housing and support, addressing recruitment challenges, encouraging the shift towards preventative approaches and adopting a robust care planning process, underpinned by ‘Getting it right for every child’, which promotes independence, rather than dependence.

Delays in accessing support

A lack of timely support was raised as a perceived barrier by some respondents. Limited time to plan ahead or review plans was highlighted, as were long waiting lists for placements, leading to placements only accepting emergency or short term placements, and the involvement of social workers only during times of crisis.