Warwickshire pilots a national scheme for children in care
Warwickshire County Council has been awarded a pioneering Government pilot scheme to give young people the chance to stay on with their foster families beyond the age of 18.
Staying Put is a Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) initiative which dovetails with the existing Right2bCared4 Government pilot currently running in Warwickshire which helps looked after children aged up to 18 stay in a family environment.
Warwickshire is one of ten authorities participating in the £5 million Staying Put pilot launched by the DCSF. The county will receive around £500,000 funding over three years which will go directly into providing services for young people aged between 18 and 21.
The aim of the three-year pilot scheme is to help ease the transition for looked after children from care to adult life.
It will enable children looked after by the county to benefit from a stable family placement and only move to independent living when they are fully prepared.
On average, young people do not leave their family home until they are 24 while most looked after children leave foster care either on or before their 18th birthday. Some Warwickshire children remain with their carer as a lodger into adulthood and the aim of Staying Put is to allow more young people a similar opportunity.
Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families, said: “Staying Put will provide vital support to young adults from a care background during a crucial time in their lives.
“This project will give children in care with the same sort of stability that other children have to make that difficult transition into adulthood.
“I’m proud that Warwickshire County Council has been chosen by the Government for a pilot scheme which will support the young people who are looked after by us. This scheme will also help shape national policy, and it is further recognition of the marvellous work being carried across our children’s services.”
Minister of State for Children Beverley Hughes MP added: “There is still a significant gap between quality of life and future prospects of children in care and that of other children. Tackling this is going to involve everyone who works with children having the same ambitions for these children as for their own.”
Warwickshire County Council will be working in partnership with children’s charity Barnado’s to deliver Staying Put until 2011.
The authority already works with Barnado’s on the Right2bCared4 pilot, which offers services designed to improve the life chances of looked after children by providing more stability and the opportunity to raise educational attainment and employment opportunities.