Aileen Campbell: Young people leaving care need every support

TODAY marks the start of National Care Leavers Week, the annual event raising awareness about the needs of youngsters preparing to leave the care system and live independently.

TODAY marks the start of National Care Leavers Week, the annual event raising awareness about the needs of youngsters preparing to leave the care system and live independently.

As Scotland’s minister for children and young people, I’m determined that youngsters in care – and those preparing to leave – must have the same opportunities as any other young person.

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Key to this is listening to young people in care and involving them in decisions that have an impact on their lives. The upcoming Children and Young People Bill provides an opportunity to strengthen current legislation and help provide reliable and accessible support to those in and leaving care. For example, we are looking at increasing the age limit at which young people leaving care have a right to ask for help from a local authority from 21 to 25.

This is especially important given that those in care tend to be younger when they move into their own home. Care leavers must be supported to make a successful transition to independent living only when they are ready to do so and should be able to return to their last care placement in times of difficulty. Young people leaving care are particularly vulnerable during the transition to independent living, and councils, as their “corporate” parents, must ensure the right support is in place. The new bill will help make this happen.

We’re also developing new standards around high-quality advocacy services for young care leavers to provide them with guidance and support on everything from job advice to help with matters such as healthcare and housing. We are working with a number of organisations to agree a set of standards that all professionals providing such support to children and young people can work towards.

Elsewhere, the Looked After Children Strategic Implementation Group will continue to play a key part in improving the life chances of young people in the care system. Over the next few years, it will take forward a range of activities, including work to improve aftercare for care leavers and a national review of our foster care system.

• Aileen Campbell is Scotland’s minister for children and young people.

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