Partner, Head of Public Law and Human Rights
Our Public Law Solicitors advise a large number of young people over the age of 18 but under 25 who aren’t receiving support from children’s services as care leavers, even though they’re clearly entitled to it. So how do you know if you might be a care leaver and still eligible for support?
If you’ve answered yes to these questions, then you may have become a “former relevant child” or “care leaver” when you turned 18. And that means you can get support from children’s services potentially up to the age of 25, even if children’s services explicitly told you that this doesn’t apply to you.
We're rated‘Excellent’The law on this changed on 1 April 2018, which means all care leavers between the ages of 18 and 25 can get support, whether they’re in education or not.
According to the new law, children’s services should offer help to all care leavers up to the age of 25, even if they aren’t in education or training. Previously, a care leaver over the age of 21 but under 25 would have to be taking part in an agreed program of education or training, or want to return to education or training, in order to receive support from children’s services.
The revised law also includes a selection of 'corporate parenting principles' that have been extended to apply to all care leavers under the age of 25. This includes duties to promote the physical and mental health and wellbeing of young people, to encourage them to express their views, wishes and feelings, and to take those views into account.
Given that one of the key issues faced by care leavers is that their views, wishes and feelings are ignored in decisions impacting their lives, these new principles are key. These duties apply to all Local Authorities, even if they aren’t the one who is (or was) responsible for the care leaver. Guidance has been published to explain these duties in more detail, which confirms that Local Authorities must ask themselves, "Would this be good enough for my child?"
The law requires Local Authorities to publish information about the services it will offer to care leavers that may help them prepare for adulthood and independent living. This is called the 'local offer for care leavers' and should be updated when appropriate.
If you’re a care leaver who is over 21 and not in education or training, you should now be able to access support from children’s services. As this is a new law, you may find that the children’s service in your Local Authority isn’t fully up to speed with the changes.
If you don’t believe that you’re receiving adequate support, or if you’ve notified children’s services that you’d like to access support and you’re still not receiving it, then please get in touch with our Public Law Solicitors. If you aren’t sure whether you’re a care leaver, or whether you’re entitled to support from children’s services, we can help you.
The Human Rights Act is a UK law passed in 1998 that lets you defend your human rights in Court. It enables you to force government, police and local Councils to treat you with fairness, dignity and respect.
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