What is
going on?
This was
the new support that would be available to children living not in residential
homes but in foster homes until they were 21 years of age. At the moment when a
child in care reaches their sixteenth birthday, they begin the journey to
leaving care – some do leave when they are only 16.
Almost
immediately discussions ensued between Ben Ashcroft, Ian Dickson, Lisa Cherry,
Ed Dixon, Louise Holt and myself and we decided to start this campaign: Every
Child Leaving Care Matters.
We
believe this statement 100% - EVERY Child Leaving Care Matters.
I’m sure
Edward Timpson believes this too. His own family fostered nearly 90 children,
and I imagine his parents will have supported many of the children they
fostered. However, there is a reason he has campaigned for children in foster
care to have support until they are 21. He has had first hand experience of
seeing so many young children moved on, or asked to leave his family home and I
can only imagine that he concluded that in some instances, this was wrong. I
can only imagine that maybe there were some of those children whom he grew fond
of and whom he wanted to support. In the government press release, Timpson said:
‘I know from the many foster
children I grew up with how crucial it is for them to be given sufficient time
to prepare for life after care.’
So, again,
I can only imagine, that Edward Timpson, does care and is aware that children in
residential care are even more vulnerable than those in foster care and also
need that time and support to 21.
‘Young people leaving care are
among the most vulnerable children in our society. Even those who have had a
stable placement may have very high levels of need. Many children who have been
in the care system have had a childhood full of instability and trauma, with
over 62 per cent of looked after children being taken into care due to abuse or
neglect.’
(Barnardos - Still Our Children. Case for reforming the leaving care
system in England)
The
government press release goes on to say: ‘Children in care typically have much
lower educational outcomes and are more likely to be out of education, work and
training.’ And
as our previous blog showed, there are also all the awful statistics that show
some care leavers end up homeless, in prison, with mental health problems,
pregnant just after leaving care and worse still are four or five times more
likely to commit suicide in adulthood. For me, this last statistic is the most
worrying one of them all. Because once a young care leaver is dead, there is
absolutely nothing anyone can do to help that poor person ever again.
We have
had a few worrying comments along these lines via the petition. Just recently,
after Scotland announced that from 2015 they will be supporting ALL care
leavers until they are 21, they put out this tweet:
As our
previous blog mentioned, some care leavers, and others in the care industry
prefer to align themselves with those that demonstrate the ‘positive’
portrayal of care leavers.
I
believe 100% that positivity is the way forward. I am currently working on a
PhD proposal that looks at this very subject, so I believe in the power of
positive representation. I want to see an end to the public perception that
children in care have done something wrong.
With support from the Scottish Government and Association of
Directors of Social Work, Who Cares? Scotland’s 'Give me a chance: phase II'
campaign is tackling the stigma and discrimination which children and young
people in care and care leavers face.
Here are some podcasts made by some Scottish care leavers:
However,
if we are to help the next care leaver who may kill themselves or worse be
murdered – and we have been told about both of these distressing acts and have read
about them in national newspapers – then we have to keep campaigning. Until
there is support to 21 for ALL care leavers, we will have to continue letting
the public know about these worrying negative statistics.
"Every
human life is worth the same, and worth saving."-J K Rowling. Children in
care are the same regardless of where they live.
Rosie Canning – was once a care leaver but doesn’t live there anymore.
