Following lengthy campaigns over the years and pilot programmes trialling ‘Staying Put’ in 11 local authorities, young people in foster care are no longer forced to leave their foster homes at 18.
Prior to the Staying Put legislation, many young people were required to leave the homes where they had been placed and become comfortable in, long before the average young person is ready to leave. Facing a long run-up of uncertainty and anxiety, on or before their 18th birthdays, those in foster care would then have to make the transition from living in a stable family environment where they had built strong relationships, to living independently; something that many do not have to think about until they are aged between 24 and 27 years old.
Talking about life for a foster child before the Staying Put legislation came into effect, Naomi Ebanks-Simpson, a centre manager at Clifford House Fostering, commented: “For a lot of young people who had been placed with their carers for a number of years, it once again reminded them that they were in the ‘looked after system’ and very often plans were not confirmed until the last minute, creating greater anxiety.”
Chief Executive of the Who Cares? Trust, Natasha Finlayson said: “Too often young people describe their experiences as feeling like being pushed off the edge of a cliff. It is absolutely indefensible to leave them – in some cases – living in dirty, verminous hostels around very unsavoury people who pose a risk to them.
The consequences often proved costly for these young people, who, at a vulnerable time in their lives may have turned to alcohol and drugs or even ended up in the criminal justice system. Government statistics from 2010 showed that 33% of care leavers were not in education, employment or training – compared to 13% of all young people – and 25% of young women leaving care were pregnant or already mothers.
Eric Mole who was part of the Staying put pilot programme told the Guardian in 2012, “When a young person is 16, they’re already aware that in 2 short years, they will be making this transition. They need to control what happens and the only way they can do it is to destroy it completely”. He saw the ability of offering a young person the chance to stay put as “crucial to maintaining their sense of belonging and allowing them to build the security on which a healthy future depends”. Edward Timpson, Children and Families Minister said that “the momentous change will help the 10,000 young people leaving care each year to make the transition when they’re ready – rather than when others tell them to”.
On the other hand, David Simmonds, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People board, stated that the Staying Put principle would pose practical difficulties with the severe shortage of foster placements for children under 18. This would mean a momentous effort and vast amounts of money to find new placements to compensate for those taken up by over 18s who had chosen to stay put.
The new legislation has been seen as the most significant reform for young people in care for a generation and hopes to mitigate the uncertainty young people face and better equip them to succeed in life.