'Moving on' from care into adulthood: consultation

4. Questionnaire

Planning and preparation for moving on from care into adulthood

Positive transitions for those moving on from care go some way in improving the opportunities and likelihood of positive destinations. We know that the planning and preparation for transition should begin as early as possible and that the young person, supported by the adults in their lives, should be at the heart of all planning and decision making.

ARC Scotland’s Principles of Good Transitions advocate that planning should start early (from the age of 14) and should continue to age 25 (up until a young person’s 26th birthday).

A pathway plan is produced which aims to prepare young people for leaving care. It sets out what is required to make sure the young person feels confident about making the transition to more independent living. This might include information on suitable accommodation, mental health, education, counselling or advice and skills to manage their home, health and income. During 2022-23, 71% of children who were 16 years or over on the date they ceased to be looked after had a pathway plan upon discharge and just over half (52%) had a pathway co-ordinator. Planning can, and should, begin before the young person turns 16. Sharing knowledge and information is crucial to build confidence in young people moving on from care into adulthood.

We want to improve our understanding of how we can better support caregivers and care providers to support positive transitions for our young people leaving care. We know that caregivers and care providers are facing increased pressures and challenges, linked to matters such as workforce gaps, the financial climate, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

1. 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? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

2. Are there any barriers to starting the process of planning and preparing for young people leaving care at an early stage? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

Accessing information, services and support

Every young person will need different support, but services should align in a way that supports their needs so that children and young people can thrive. Similar to their peers, people leaving care may have additional needs, for example, due to disabilities or complex health needs. Consideration should be given to all the support young people may need when they are moving on from care into adulthood and, where possible, more independent living.

A community is stronger when all its people feel supported and with the right scaffolding in place, young people can thrive during the transition to independent living. All young people, including those with experience of care may need additional help in the form of guidance, emotional support or practical support. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide support to people leaving care where there is an eligible need.

Support could include signposting to financial and non-financial services that support people leaving care. It could include a wide-range of support in line with a holistic understanding of wellbeing from the Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) framework. Emotional support could include counselling, peer support and continued relationships with caregivers. Practical support could include support and learning related to key life skills such as paying bills and managing finances, personal care, arranging medical appointments and basic household management skills such as cooking and laundry.

We have been told by people leaving care, and the adults in their lives, that information on what services and support are out there for young people moving on from care is not always easily accessible.

The Promise tells us that children and their carers must have access to information about their individual rights and entitlements at any point in their journey of care. It also notes that the workforce must be supported to be the trusted adults that children need to help them access their rights and entitlements, ensuring that all children can achieve their rights and live their lives to the full.

3. How can we ensure young people receive the right support and guidance to build the life skills they need for adulthood before they move on from care? Please provide suggestions in the open text box.

The trauma of the separation of parent(s) and their child can be profound and lifelong. The Promise tells us that families who have had a child removed should not be abandoned. These families must continue to be provided with therapeutic support, advocacy and engagement in line with principles of intensive family support. For some young people leaving care, returning home to live with their birth family may be the best option for them. However, we must support families to ensure it is safe and in the best interest of the young person to return home.

4. What services and support should be considered and provided to a care leaver who returns home to live with their birth family? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

5. Can you provide examples of good practice where services have worked together in a holistic way to support birth families and young people moving on from care when the young person returns to live with their birth family? Please provide any examples and share your views in the open text box.

6. How do we ensure that young people with care experience, and those who provide them with care, can easily access information about entitlements and support? Please provide any examples of good practice you are aware of in the open text box.

Continuing Care

Continuing Care effectively offers eligible young persons the entitlement to remain in their care setting up to their twenty-first birthday where they cease to be looked after by a local authority. People leaving care may also be offered Aftercare until their 26^th birthday, and potentially beyond, if they are found to have eligible needs.

During 2022-23, 911 young people aged 16 years or over ceased to be looked after and were eligible for Continuing Care. Of these, 29% (261) entered Continuing Care.

The Promise is clear that young people should not have their care brought to an end when they do not want to leave and are not ready to. It says care settings should be supported and resourced to keep places open for young people in line with legislation.

The CELCIS report, Continuing Care: An exploration of implementation highlighted barriers to the implementation of Continuing Care across Scotland, with practitioners agreeing upon the importance of ensuring that Continuing Care is the default provision for young people who are looked after.

The CELCIS report is clear on the financial and resource challenges we are facing and the impact this can have on services. We cannot shy away from this financial fact, but we can make sure that what is out there for young people is clearly signposted and supported for access. We can also work to ensure that the agreed best practice models are followed, in a way that works for young people, practitioners and the adults who support them.

7. Are there any changes you would like to see as part of the eligibility criteria for Continuing Care? Please provide details of your suggestions in the open text box.

8. What additional support do you think is required for families, professionals and practitioners who are responsible for providing Continuing Care arrangements? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

9. How do we ensure that young people, and their views, are heard during discussions on Continuing Care which impact them? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

Aftercare

People leaving care are entitled to Aftercare, which is the advice, guidance and assistance provided under section 29 of the 1995 Act. Any young person who ceases to be looked after on or after their sixteenth birthday and is less than twenty-six years of age is eligible (between sixteen and nineteen) or potentially eligible (between nineteen and twenty-six) for Aftercare.

If a young person over the age of nineteen is applying for support and is deemed to have eligible needs which cannot otherwise be met, the local authority is under a duty to provide the young person with such advice, guidance and assistance as it considers necessary for the purposes of meeting those needs (potentially up to their twenty-sixth birthday).

Aftercare support will vary based on an assessment of each young person’s needs and care arrangements, for example; where they have lived in residential/foster care; if they are an asylum seeker; or if they have a disability. When a need is identified, the local authority must develop and record a pathway plan which clearly identifies how this need will be met.

The Promise states that all decisions must be made in the best interests of the child or young person and not on the strict application of age criteria. Aftercare must take a person-centred approach, with thoughtful planning so that there are no cliff edges to care and support.

10. How can we make sure young people can access the range of support they need when they leave care through the provision of Aftercare? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

11. Are there any changes you would like to see as part of the eligibility criteria for Aftercare? Please provide details of your suggestions in the open text box.

12. What do you think the challenges would be in changing the eligibility criteria for Aftercare? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

Lifelong Care

Continuing Care ends when the young person reaches their twenty-first birthday. The young person is then entitled to apply for Aftercare, until their twenty-sixth birthday. Young people have voiced concerns that at the age of 26 years and beyond they may still require access to services and continued support as a result of being care experienced.

The Promise says that older people with care experience must have a right to access services for as long as they are required. We recognise that the impact of care experience can be lifelong and that Scotland must care for and nurture our young people.

13. What do you think would be the best way to provide long term support and services to adults with care experience? Please explain your answer in the open text box.

14. What do you think the challenges would be in providing support and services to adults with care experience? Please explain your answer in the open text box.