This initiative is not open to enquiries or applications.

The aim of the Care Leavers initiative is broadly to support organisations and projects the help young people leaving the care system to transition successfully to adulthood. It has been allocated £1.38 million, which was fully committed by the end of 2019.

Context

Since a significant number of young people entering the care system do so because of suffering abuse and/or neglect, it is not surprising that they also are among the most vulnerable members of society when they leave care.

Leaving care support is currently driven by age and legal entitlement, not necessity. A child legally becomes an adult at the age of 18, which is also the age for leaving care across the UK, although young people can choose to leave care up to two years earlier – and many young people do so. Care leavers are forced to be independent at a much younger age than their peers.

Outcomes for care leavers have been a policy and service focus for us for some time because they are known to be poor when compared with those of the general population. However, despite an increasing awareness of the outcomes, there is evidence that there is a significant variation in care leavers’ experiences of support and services.

Focus

The proactive Care Leavers initiative has partnered with organisations that work towards ensuring positive outcomes for young care leavers. It concentrates on education, training, and employment, as well as professional training for people working with and for care leavers.

Evaluation

As of 2021, nfpSynergy (which is also evaluating phase two of Better Futures) is undertaking an ongoing evaluation of each of the Care Leavers grants over their lifetime. The findings of the evaluation will help us to decide whether to continue and build on the Care Leavers initiative and, if so, how and to what extent.

Grants (2018-Present)

• Become: £530,000 (including an initial £30,000 to develop a theory of change exercise) for a five-year pilot project to design a training programme for Personal Advisers who work with young people leaving the care system. Read more ...

• Catch22 and The Children's Society: £536,000 to Catch22 to work in partnership with The Children’s Society in developing and implementing a bespoke apprenticeship scheme tailored to the needs of young people leaving care. Read more ...
  

• The Lighthouse (Catch22); £96,000 for the specific purpose of funding the salary of the Director of Lighthouse for three years. Lighthouse is a new start-up organisation which is ‘incubated’ by Catch22. It is working to establish an innovative, not-for-profit care home model to the UK based on a proven approach adopted in Denmark and Germany, where care leavers achieve far better educational outcomes than their peers here in the UK. Read more ...
  

• Drive Forward Foundation: £151,000 for a three-year intervention project supporting young people (aged 14-16) in care to transition to adulthood and further or higher education and/or work. Read more ...