I was incredibly fortunate to spend several years supporting care experienced people navigating early adulthood and parenting in my local community. Now, in my practice as a psychotherapist, I have made a commitment to continue to support care leavers, just in a different way. Because I’ve seen it, I’ve walked alongside it – the challenge doesn’t end when they leave care.
A care leaver is a young person who has spent time in care – there is a specific legal definition but for simplification purposes this could include – foster care, residential care (mainly children’s homes) or other arrangements outside the immediate or extended family.
As a society, we legally protect the characteristics that people don’t choose – such as race, sex, disability, sexual orientation – because of the recognition that unchosen circumstances shape someone’s opportunities in life. Equity, not equality.
So why don’t we extend this same consideration to care leavers?
If you’ve been in care, you didn’t choose to be removed from your family. You didn’t choose the trauma, the separation, the instability, the feeling of not fitting in anywhere, the 17 different addresses and schools, never being able to make friends because you’ll be moved again, soon. But you’re expected to deal with the consequences of it, with far fewer safety nets, advocates and opportunities.
I hate using glib statistics but – care leavers are more likely to go to prison than university. They are more likely, substantially, to be homeless. And they are four times more likely to struggle with their mental health than those raised in their families of origin.
The failure isn’t necessarily in these children being removed from their families (although it can be, and sometimes is, but that’s an entirely different topic) but in the way that there is systemic failure in the support they are then given.
The system says ‘ok so we recognise that you’ve experienced trauma, what we’re going to do is give you some more of it but no, no, it’s fine you can deal with this right? Our job is done. Try not to get a criminal conviction on your way out’.
It’s systemic neglect. And yet, if care leavers were given protected status? There would be legal safeguards to ensure they couldn’t be discriminated against for experiences that that they did not choose.
The government literally describes who falls under the category of protected characteristics as those who:
- are at a disadvantage
- have particular needs
- are under-represented in an activity or type of work
Care leavers, then, no??
If they were granted protected status there would be protection in employment, housing, education. Lifelong support that says ‘I see you, I know life is more challenging for you because of your beginnings and because of the system’. Corporate parenting that doesn’t end at 18 (or 25, for thankfully many more local authorities these days).
If you’re not care experienced – I want you to think about the opportunities that have been made easier for you as an adult simply because you have family to fall back on. Those moments where you’ve called your family after a rough day, nipped home to get some washing done, have a meal cooked for you, or even moved back in temporarily due to life not quite going in a linear fashion.
Now I want you to imagine you don’t have any of this. No home. No family to return to. No-one to even lend you a tenner until payday.
‘Care Leaver’ needs to be recognised as a protected characteristic. They didn’t choose this. Why should they keep having to survive it in a world that is not set up for them?
If you’re wanting to take action, you can consider supporting a young person leaving care by being a mentor for a charity such as Pure Insight or contact your local MP and petition them to make some noise for their care leaver constituents.
Thanks for reading. If something in this piece stirred something in you, or you’re wondering what it might be like to explore these themes in therapy, you’re welcome to reach out. I offer sessions in-person at the therapy and counselling centre I run in Cheshire, and a limited amount of online sessions across the UK. You can find out more by heading to Insightful Life – Therapy & Counselling Centre
Insightful Life 
Leave a comment