Commenting on National Care Leavers Week 2015, Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England said,
“Although many positive steps have been taken in recent years to improve the help provided to young people leaving care, much more is needed to ensure that they are all afforded the same level of support and commitment provided to children who stay with their birth families, many of whom will continue to turn to them well into adult life.
“Nearly half of young people who answered the question about leaving care in the national care survey we published earlier this year either felt that they left too early or were unsure whether they did so or not. I would like to see ongoing support provided to all children leaving care up to the age of 25 years, which includes children in care homes, for whom support can be rapidly reduced after the age of 16 and who cannot stay put at 18, as can those in foster care. There must be parity in provision – all children in the care system need the same entitlements to ongoing support, regardless of their care arrangements.”
