Oxfordshire County Council

LEAVING CARE POLICY

Introduction

Children and Families’ division of the Children, young people and familes’ directorate (C%F) have a duty to prepare young people they are looking after for the time when they leave the care system. They also have a range of duties and powers to provide after care advice and assistance to these young people.

The government introduced the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, which came into force in October 2001 and gave Local Authorities the statutory duty to provide a significantly enhanced leaving care service, with the intention to raise the quality of our support to that of good parents.

This policy outlines the service to be delivered.

Legislative framework

The main purpose of the Leaving Care Act 2000 is to:

  • Delay young people’s discharge from care until they are prepared and ready
  • To improve the assessment, preparation and planning for leaving care
  • To provide better personal support for young people after leaving care
  • To improve the financial arrangements for care leavers

Eligibility and main provisions of the Act

The Children Act 1989 (sec24(1)) states that, where a child is being looked after by a local authority, it shall be the duty of that authority to advise, assist and befriend them with a view to promoting their welfare when they cease to be looked after.

The new Act does not apply retrospectively and hence the enhanced duties only apply to young people who have left care aged 16 plus after October 2001.

The Act categorises young people into four groups:

Criteria / Who is affected / Who gets what
Eligible Children / Young people who, from the 1st October 2001, are aged 16 and 17 who have been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and are still looked after. / ● All the provisions of the Looked After System
● Personal advisor.
● Needs assessment
● Pathway Plan
Relevant Children / Young people aged 16 and 17 who have been looked after for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and who leave care from the 1st October 2001 aged 16 and 17. This includes all children leaving registered accommodation for independent accommodation without adult supervision aged 16 plus with the exception of those subject to Care Orders, who remain eligible. / ● Personal advisor.
● Needs assessment
● Pathway Plan
● Accommodation
● Maintenance
● Assistance to achieve goals
● The responsible authority must keep in touch.
Former Relevant Children / Young people aged 18-21 who have been either eligible or relevant children, or both. If at the age of 21 s/he is still being supported with education or training s/he remains a former relevant child during the course. / ● The responsible authority must keep in touch
● Personal advisor.
● Pathway Plan
● Assistance with employment
● Assistance with education
● Assistance with training
● General assistance
Qualifying Children and young people over 16 / Section 24: Any young person under 21 (under 24 if in education or training) who ceases to be looked after or accommodated in a variety of settings, or privately fostered after the age of 16. / ● The same benefits as under section 24 before amendment, i.e help and assistance based on assessed need.
In addition:
● The responsible authority must keep in touch in order to discharge their functions under section 24.
● Care leavers are entitled to assistance with education and training up to the age of 24.
● Care leavers are entitled to vacation accommodation for Higher Education courses or Residential FE course if necessary.

Who is also affected by the new legislation?

  • Young people in or left care aged 16 and 17, who have been looked after for 13 weeks in total for separate periods, excluding short-term placements by way of respite care.
  • 16 and 17 years old unaccompanied young people with asylum seeker status who are looked after under section 20 (applies regardless of special status).
  • 16 and 17 year olds who are looked after in custody or hospital and prior to this had been in the looked after system for the prescribed period.

Who is not affected?

  • Young people who are looked after for respite care, who remain the responsibility of their parents or other carers.
  • A young person will cease to be a relevant child who has returned home and remains for at least 6 months, which will be determined at the review of the pathway plan during this period.
  • A young person who is released from an institution and returns home, who was not previously an eligible or relevant child.
  • Young people who are 16 and 17 but leave care before October 1st 2001.

General Principles

  • The general principles to which Oxfordshire C&F adhere are contained in the children and families business plan and the C&F plan. Oxfordshire subscribes to the UN Convention on the Rights of the child and lists its own values and standards, which in turn reflect those outlined in the Leaving Care Act and are summarised here.
  • Preparation for leaving care should reflect good child care practice generally, which may include allowing people to make mistakes.
  • In all discussions affecting the young person their welfare and rights will always be given paramount consideration.
  • Care planning should reflect the gradual transition of a young person from dependence to independence and formulated with the significant people in their lives.
  • In assessing and meeting needs, young people should be fully involved in discussions about their future.
  • A young person’s self esteem and self confidence should be promoted by providing the stability and security that gives them the opportunity and freedom to explore, and the support to learn from their mistakes.
  • Young people’s responsibility in managing their own finances should be developed, including ensuring that they know their full entitlement.
  • All preparation for leaving care and provision of after care must take account of the religious persuasion, racial origin, cultural and linguistic background and other needs of young people and be planned in conjunction with other agencies.
  • Young people will be encouraged to be involved and influence the standards of practice and developments within leaving care service provisions.

Objectives

a)Provide stable placements, continuity of carers and the maintenance, wherever possible, of positive links whilst young people are “looked after”.

b)‘Look after’ young people until they are prepared and ready to leave care.

c)Promote and maintain significant relationships with carers and families, where possible, after young person leaves care.

d)Prepare young people gradually to be ready to leave care, paying attention to practical self-care needs - health, budgeting, domestic skills - and personal and relationship dimensions.

e)Maximise the education, training and employment outcomes for young people leaving care.

f)Ensure young people leaving care have access to a range of accommodation and the support and skills to maintain themselves in their accommodation.

g)Ensure that there is a contingency provision to support care leavers in the event of a crisis, including arrangements for respite care.

h)Provide or enable ongoing personal support. This may include specialist leaving care scheme support, support by carers and social workers, and support by youth workers, befrienders, mentors and volunteers.

i)Where young people are entitled to claim welfare benefits, ensure that they receive their full entitlements.

j)Involve young people in all assessment, planning, reviews and decision-making arrangements for leaving care.

k)Inform young people leaving care of the available services-including the provision of accessible leaving care guides.

l)Provide a service that has the flexibility to deal with the needs and wishes of adolescents and young adults.

Leaving Care Register

The 2000 Act sets out responsibility for the Department to maintain a register of the young people for whom it is responsible. Information to be kept on the register includes;

Name, D.O.B, Age, Legal Status, Ethnicity, Social Worker, Team, L.C.P.A, Pathway plan, Type and suitability of accommodation, Support needs, Economic status, Housing joint protocol assessment.

Case responsibility

All young people who qualify for services under the 2000 Leaving Care Act will qualify for the services of a Personal Adviser. This is generally from the leaving care team, although there is some room for negotiation between the leaving care team, the Connexions team, foster carers or other significant people, as to who should fulfil this role. Young people with disabilities will have a PA from both the leaving care team and Connexions, as will other care leavers in certain circumstances.

Young People should be consulted on who they think should fulfil this role and be offered some choice, which is dependent upon the resources available.

It is Oxfordshire’s expectation that P.A.s’ will take a significant role in the assessment and completion of the pathway plan. However it is the responsibility of the social worker’s to oversee the process and authorise the plan.

Social workers will remain responsible for cases where young people remain in the looked after system or transfer to Adult Services.

The precise role of the named people involved in the case will be clarified and written down in the Pathway Plan

Young people who qualify for services under Section 24 will have their case co-ordinated by a senior practitioner from the Leaving care team who will be based in the Connexions Service and receive a Personal Advisor from the Connexions service.

Role of the Personal Adviser

The personal adviser should be the one who acts on the young person’s behalf to ensure plans are in place and services available, to give young people the best possible opportunities to secure their future.

They should act as a single point of contact for the young person, keeping in touch with them and meeting regularly by agreement to provide general support and advice. They should be easily contactable, especially in times of crisis, and able to direct young people or agencies towards more specialised support

The Adviser should work closely with NAMED workers within the department, and the young person’s carer, friends and/or family and other agencies to co-ordinate the provision of services, including: Careers; Education, Health, Housing, Connexions, Housing Associations, Health Employment, Benefits, YOTs, Teenage Parenting Agencies, Youth Work services, counselling, etc.

These agencies will be expected to work closely with S&HCD.

(see procedural guidance and Connexions interface documents for definitions of different personal advisers)

Pathway Plans

Each young person who qualifies for services under the new Act will have a Pathway Plan (PP), which is a continuation of the Looking After Children materials. The Department expects that the Pathway Plan should be used to supplement and not replace the usual care planning materials.

Whilst the Department expects all care plans to promote independence, the Pathway Plan should reflect the particular transitional needs of this very vulnerable group.

The Pathway Plan should be developed with the young person, their family, their carers, and any other parties where appropriate. Preparation for the completion of the plan may start sometime after the young person’s 15th birthday, but must be completed within three months of the young person’s 16th birthday. The leaving care team should be involved in this process and will allocate, in consultation with the young person a P.A. by the time they are 16. The Pathway Plan will include a detailed plan of how the following needs will be met, any requests to meet them, resources identified and the person responsible for carrying out any identified tasks:

  • Accommodation
  • Life skills
  • Education and employment
  • Health (including health promotion, physical and emotional)
  • Income maintenance/financial assistance
  • Leisure activities
  • Personal support and counselling
  • Contact with family and friends
  • Ethnic needs
  • Religious and cultural
  • Special needs for young people with a learning, physical or mental disabilities.

(see guidance on Pathway Plans)

Reviews

The Pathway Plan must be reviewed with all the relevant parties within three months of completing them and thereafter at intervals of no more than 6 months (see leaving care handbook)

Contingency Planning

(see principles of minimum standards - attached)

The Department accepts that a young person, to develop socially, must be prepared/allowed to take some risks and the carers need to support them in this process.

Wherever possible the carer needs to identify risk factors and potential difficulties a young person may face and include the appropriate support.

Planning should be flexible and sensitive to any problems and acknowledge the right of young people to return for support. However the level of support is contingent on both good parenting practice and budget constraints.

Financial assistance

The amount of financial assistance offered to a young person should depend upon the needs of the individual and be subject of assessment.

Financial assessment must be agreed as part of the Pathway Plan and be reviewed regularly.

Maximum use should be made of Social Security benefits, Department of Works and Pensions benefits, college funds and other sources of income.

Eligible young people, unless in full time education or training,should be encouraged to secure some form of employment to develop their skills, confidence, self-esteem and motivation. Oxfordshire is committed to establishing a balance between enabling young people to have the freedom to spend their well-earned cash, and supporting them to take personal responsibility in managing their lives constructively. It is expected that working young people in the looked after system give a financial contribution for living expenses as part of their preparation towards independent living and introducing them to the reality of budgeting,

No relevant young person should receive a package for income and maintenance which comes to less than s/he would have received if s/he had been entitled to claim Income Support, Job Seeker’s Allowance and Housing Benefit (or equivalent successor benefits) at the rates that would have applied to individual circumstances. Any young person who feels that they are receiving less than the minimum standards should be referred to an Independent Specialist Advocate (e.g. Claimants Union or CAB).

Rent and maintenance allowance for relevant young people who are not working must always be provided if they maintain a minimum of one contact every three weeks. Other financial assistance and incentives, which may be in cash, to meet the relevant child’s needs in relation to education, employment and training, should be provided, if agreed in the pathway plan and subsequent reviews.

If a young person, is working, their salary will be taken into account when calculating rent and maintenance allowance. Also, if they work for more than 16 hours, they will not be entitled to maintenance allowance, but may be to other departmental financial assistance, depending on assessed needs.

Regarding former relevant young people, aged 18-21 (21+ if in an agreed programme of education/training) who have been either eligible or relevant young people, the Department does not have the primary income source responsibility for this group. However, the Department promotes the right of yp to remain in their foster home until the end of the academic year in which they are 18 and beyond if they are assessed as a “vulnerable adult” who does not meet the threshold of adult services, There is a duty to provide assistance with expenses associated with employment (Section 23(4)a) and education/training (Sections 23(4)b and 23(7). All financial assistance will be identified in the pathway plan and subsequent reviews.. They also receive £200 if they remain in employment for 6 months prior to their 19th birthday

Care leavers who do not meet the qualifying periods under the Act for “eligible” or “relevant” will remain entitled to claim benefits. In addition, financial assistance may be provided in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash (Section 24(A)(4 and 5) to meet their particular assessed needs, if there is a duty or power to advise or befriend young people who have left care (Section 24(1)(b).

Assistance may also be provided in relation to education, training (Section 24(B)2 or employment (Section 24(B)1) up to the age of 24. This may only be provided in exceptional circumstances and based upon an assessed need. They are entitled to vacation accommodation if on a full-time education residential further education course or in higher education.

Any assistance provided by Social Services under Sections 23, 24, 24A and 24B is disregarded in calculating entitlement for welfare.