A
report on a day conference about current messages
from research and practice
In
years gone by, aftercare was often a neglected subject, though
there was some good practice. Now it is required by law, and thankfully
it is receiving much closer attention. The value of even the best
residential and foster care can be seriously undermined if a young
person leaving care receives no support and is expected to cope
alone, perhaps having to face very limited resources, lack of
practical home-making skills and, worst of all, social isolation.
Good care, followed by good aftercare, can be the recipe to help
a young person overcome their childhood difficulties and enjoy
a fulfilled life as an adult.
Aftercare
was therefore a good theme for an excellent conference run by
the National Children’s Bureau in partnership with the Action
on Aftercare Consortium. Nearly 150 people attended, mostly specialists
in the field, and the day was designed to focus on messages from
current research and practice.
Research
: an Encouraging Message
Nadeem
Hai reported on a research project covering eight London authorities.
The requirement to focus on aftercare meant that all the authorities
increased the sizes of their teams providing support to care leavers,
but their efforts were often undermined by staff recruitment and
retention problems. In one authority 75% of the staffing budget
was spent on agency staff, and although this was extreme, other
authorities faced the same issue.
The
research gave some encouraging signs - young people being supported
said that they felt they had improving job prospects, they got
good support from Connexions and none was unsuitably accommodated.
Pathway Plans had been a useful innovation in the Act, and they
had been appreciated. Young people were better placed in obtaining
education, and they were consulted more fully; in this respect
aftercare was seen to lead the way.
The
Experience of Leaving Care
Tomas
Foley represented the care leaver’s viewpoint. He admitted
that he had left care a few years earlier, but that did not dim
the freshness of his perspective.
While
the research had suggested that care leavers were reasonably housed,
he had found himself right next to a crack house. Neighbours from
hell were only one of the pitfalls which lay ahead for care leavers.
Studio flats were a problem, as they were too small and the allocation
of a studio flat prevented their occupants from applying for a
single-bedroomed flat.
Care
leavers needed good quality furniture, so that it did not fall
apart after a few months’ use, and Tomas argued for a £2000
care leaving grant. In setting up home, care leavers were often
unskilled, but by getting together in decorating parties, they
could help someone newly out of care get their flat looking good,
they could share skills and they could enjoy social contact with
other group members. Tomas also commended the appointment of peer
mentors - an excellent idea.
Financial
support was a problem. With too little cash, care leavers ended
up trapped in their flats with nothing to spend on socialising,
and there was a real risk of depression and isolation. Tomas said
that a minimum of £45 per week was needed to live off. He
also argued for free driving lessons, a free phone and free Broadband
connection for a year, to let care leavers establish themselves
socially and improve their chances in the job market. They needed
help which could compensate for the lack of family backing.
For
the care leaver, loneliness, lack of money, red tape and inequality
all felt like punishments - punishments for things which were
not the fault of the care leaver. “If you believe in care
leavers”, said Tomas, “invest in them”.
Higher
Education
Sonia
Jackson spoke about a research project being undertaken by Thomas
Coram into the experiences of care leavers in higher education.
While nearly half of the general population go to university,
only one in a hundred care leavers do so. Of the sample in the
study, all but two came from fostercare. Residential care was
to be avoided at all costs if higher education was to be a realistic
option.
One
of the values of education, both for those in care and for care
leavers, is that it could offer an escape from misery in other
aspects of life. At university, one was a student, not a child
in care. In education one could achieve and shine, even if the
rest of life was unrewarding.
Clearly,
higher expectations needed to be set for children in care. Positive
factors in helping children to achieve were maintaining placement
stability (unless the young person positively wanted to move),
the availability of role models and mentors, the support of the
birth parents, and the availability of open days so that the prospect
of a university place could be checked out.
Possible
drawbacks included local authority tenancies, which young people
were reluctant to give up in case they ended up with nowhere to
go, but which sometimes isolated them from other students living
together in residence. Left to themselves, care leavers could
have personal problems (ditched by the boyfriend?), practical
problems and financial difficulties, though quite a number were
supported by their foster carers and returned to them for help
in difficulty.
Some
authorities have no care leavers at university, and in others
the lack of a dedicated budget means that every case has to be
argued at length with senior managers. There is still clearly
a long way to go before care leavers have the same life chances
as their peers who remain with their families.
Resilience
Professor
Mike Stein spoke of care leavers overcoming the odds and finding
fulfilment despite their backgrounds. Key factors were attachment,
stability, continuity and a positive self image. A committed mentor
and engagement at school had been found to be helpful.
Care
leavers experienced compressed and accelerated transitions to
adulthood. They were denied the psychological opportunity to spread
change over a period of time. Those who succeeded saw turning
points as new opportunities; they reframed adversities and created
beneficial learning experiences.
Research
suggested that care leavers fall into three groups. First there
are those who make sense of their experiences, who make good use
of care and who move on and leave it behind. Secondly there are
the survivors, the larger number, who do not appreciably benefit
but who do not succumb. Finally there are the victims, primarily
drawn from the most damaged and chaotic backgrounds, whose care
experiences reinforce, rather than compensate for, the problems
they faced in earlier life.
Grounds
for Optimism? Yes, but not yet for Self-satisfaction
The
sketches in this report cover only a sample of the speakers from
an excellent programme, full of the latest thinking and research
findings. What is more, the services described are clearly much
better than they used to be. But there is still a long way to
go. We shall only be able to rest on our laurels when care leavers
are as well represented at university, in employment - and in
the better paid jobs - as the general population.
