Briefing for writing to MPs about Staying Put Amendment.
When writing to an MP it is ALWAYS best to include your own experiences or case studies. To help, here are some points and background information which you could include if you need some inspiration.
The Fostering Network will be sending a briefing to MPs so you do not need to worry about including too many statistics or reports. However, a letter from one of their constituents will make all the difference as to whether they read our briefing and/or sign up to the amendment.
What to say
Please support amendment NC4 Continuing support for former foster children.
This amendment would allow young people in foster care to be given the option to remain with their foster carers until the age of 21.
All children in care leave care on or before their 18th birthday. What happens next is at the local authority’s discretion, and can vary greatly from one authority to the next. Every year thousands of society's most vulnerable young people are in effect being kicked out of home at 17 – if not before – despite the average age for leaving home across the UK being 24.
Research shows that the longer a young person can stay with a foster family, the more successful they are later on, but in 2011/12 only 320 (5%) young people remained with their foster carers after they reached 18.
Many young adults who have left the care system struggle to reach the same levels of educational attainment as their peers. They are over represented in prison populations, and are more likely to be unemployed, single parents, mental health service users and homeless than those who grew up within their own families.
Further costs to the public purse are incurred in supporting and treating these young adults – money which would be far better spent if used to support foster carers during this crucial transition to adulthood to prevent these problems occurring in the first place.
Educational attainment
The attainment gap between looked after children/care leavers and non-looked after children is wide. In 2011, 40% of the general population was in higher education compared to only 7% of care leavers. The older an individual is when they leave care the more likely they are to remain in education.
Outside the care system
The average age of someone leaving home is now around 24 years old.
We currently expect some of our most vulnerable children to make the transition to independence many years before their peers. A birth parent would instinctively approach their own child’s move to independence according to their need, rather than their age. Children in care should be treated no differently and should enjoy a similar approach to their transition to adulthood: they should be allowed to stay with their foster carers until they are ready to leave.
Staying Put Pilot
In 2008, the Government set up the Staying Put pilot to assess the benefits of allowing children to stay in care and with foster carers past the age of 18
The pilots, which ended in March 2011, were found to be extremely beneficial to young people and led to them achieving significantly more than those who left care between the ages of 16 to 18 years. However since the evaluation, very little has happened and the Government has resisted the call the roll out the scheme nationally.
Thank you for your support! If you have any questions please email or telephone 020 7620 6416.