3.11.1 Leaving the Looked After Service

AMENDMENTS

This chapter was amended in August 2011 to take account of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations and associated Guidance. The changes in the chapter are highlighted for ease of reference. The chapter should be read in its entirety.

Introduction/Policy Context
Eligibility Criteria
Preparation for Young People
Needs Assessment
Pathway Plans
Reviews of Pathway Plan
Keeping in Touch (Staying Put)
Ending the Service

1. Introduction/Policy Context

The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 was implemented on 1 October 2001. The full detail of the provisions of the Act can be found:

In the text of the Act;
In the Explanatory Notes attached to the Act;
In the Guidance and Regulations attached to the Act.

These documents should be read and used in conjunction with this Procedure in providing a service to young people leaving care in the LBRUT. Copies of the above documents can be obtained from the Leaving Care Team.

The principle aims of the Act are:

To ensure that young people are well prepared for leaving care, are involved in the process and leave care when they are ready to do so;
To ensure that corporate parenting plays a prominent role throughout the process of leaving care (with relevant departments and agencies playing an active part) and that the local authority behaves in the manner of a good parent in assisting looked after young people in the transition to adulthood;
To ensure that young people receive comprehensive support in all aspects of their lives once they have left care to the age of 21 years (or 24 years if in continuing education).

In addition, the key principles of the Children Act 1989 should inform practice in providing services to care leavers, in particular:

The views of care leavers should be taken into account; they should be consulted and kept informed;
Due consideration should be given to issues of race, culture, religion and linguistic background;
The importance of families and working with parents should re recognised.

The procedures that follow are intended to realise the aims of the Children (Leaving Care) Act by linking the provisions of the Act and the Guidance and Regulations accompanying the Act with local arrangements and services. In doing so, it is envisaged that the practical arrangements outlined below will combine with the ongoing development of services for care leavers in the LBRUT to provide a high quality of service delivery to care leavers and enable young people leaving care to achieve their potential.

2. Eligibility Criteria

The provisions of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 apply to the following groups of looked after young people, who will be known as ‘Eligible’ young people:

Those looked after young people who reach their 16th birthday and have been Looked After for a period of 13 weeks after their 14th birthday (excluding planned respite care);
Those young people who become Looked After at 16 or 17 years and are subsequently looked after for a period of 13 weeks.

The statutory definition and requirements to undertake a needs assessment, prepare a Pathway Plan, keep the Pathway Plan under review and appoint a Personal Adviser are now covered by Regulations 42, 43 and 44 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010.

The Act refers to two further groups of young people:

They are aged 16 or 17 and are no longer Looked After, having previously been in the category of Eligible Young Person when in care. However, if after leaving care, a young person returns home for a period of 6 months or more to be cared for by a parent and the return home has been formally agreed as successful, he or she will no longer be a "Relevant Young Person".

A young person is also "Relevant" if, having been in care for three months or more, he or she is then detained after their 16th birthday either in a hospital, remand centre, young offenders' institution or secure training centre. There is a duty to support Relevant Young People up to the age of 18, wherever they are living.

The statutory definition and requirements to stay in touch with the young person, undertake a needs assessment (unless this was done when the young person was 'Eligible'), prepare and keep the Pathway Plan under review, appoint a Personal Adviser (unless this was done when the young person was 'Eligible') and provide accommodation and assistance to meet his or her needs in relation to education, training or employment are now covered by Regulations 4 to 9 of the Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010.

They are aged 18 to 21 (or up to 24 if in full-time further or higher education), and have left care having been previously either "Eligible", "Relevant" or both. There is a duty to consider the need to support these young people wherever they are living.

The statutory definition and requirements to stay in touch with the young person, keep the Pathway Plan under review, continue the appointment of a Personal Adviser and provide financial assistance near where the young person is employed or seeking employment/to enable the young person to pursue education or training remain unchanged they are now covered by Regulations 4 to 9 of the Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010. These duties continue until the young person becomes 21 or, where the Pathway Plan sets out a programme of education or training beyond 21, they continue so long as the young person pursues the programme. The duty to pay a higher education bursary also continues, as before.

The duties of Local Authorities are extended in relation to Former Relevant Young People who inform the Local Authority of their wish to take up a programme of full time further or higher education after the age of 21 and under the age of 25. In relation to these young people, the Local authority has a duty to:

Appoint a Personal Adviser;
Carry out an assessment of the needs to determine what assistance (if any) it would be appropriate to provide;
Prepare a Pathway Plan.

Give assistance to the extent that the young person's educational or training needs require it. The kinds of assistance are: contributing to expenses incurred by the young person in living near the place where s/he is, or will be, receiving education or training; or making a grant to enable the young person to meet expenses connected with his education and training.

The duties of the Local Authority subsist for as long as the young person pursues the programme of education or training in accordance with the Pathway Plan, and the Local Authority may disregard any interruption in the education/training if it is satisfied that the young person will resume it as soon as is reasonably practicable.

In each case where a care leaver requests this support, the Local Authority will need to assess the appropriateness of the course and how it will help the young person to achieve his or her ambitions. The extent of the practical and financial assistance provided will reflect the type of course, whether full- or part-time, and the young person's existing income.

Young people who have left care before 1 October 2001 will not be subject to the provisions of the Act but will receive services in line with Section 24 of the Children Act 1989 before amendment.

The duties and responsibilities of local authorities in respect of these groups of young people is summarised in the Children (Leaving Care) Act Guidance at page 6.

In respect of access to services and financial support, it is the policy of this department to provide equal services and support to all care leavers with the exception of the Independent Living Assessment, Pathway Plan and Reviews of the Plan, which will only apply to ‘Eligible’, ‘Relevant’ and ‘Former Relevant’ young people.

The provisions of the Children (Leaving Care) Act will apply equally to all care leavers, including disabled young people and asylum seekers.

For disabled young people, the service will be provided by the Disabled Children’s Team in liaison with the Leaving Care Service.

Asylum seekers who are care leavers will be subject to particular financial arrangements at 18 yrs. (details can be found in the ‘ Financial Provision for Care Leavers’ publication).

3. Preparation for Young People

The acquisition of skills for adulthood is a lifelong and continuous process and should not be thought to have a start date. The involvement of young people in the processes that affect their lives should play a key part in any placement for looked after children and young people. (See (34) C(LC)A Guidance).

However, the Children (Leaving Care) Act requires that specific timescales are met, and it will therefore be important for the social worker to prepare looked after young people for the provision of the Act.

The social worker will establish whether or not, at 15 yrs. 3 months, a Looked After young person is likely to become subject to the provisions of the Act when s/he reaches the age of 16 years.

In circumstances where young people become looked after at 16 yrs. and above, the qualifying period will need to apply in order for them to become ‘Eligible’.

Where it is evident that a looked after young person is likely to become ‘Eligible’ at 16 yrs., s/he will be given a copy of the ‘Introduction to the Children (Leaving Care) Act’ leaflet, available from the Leaving Care Service and enabled to ask any questions that might arise.

This will be given by the social worker to looked after young people at 15½ yrs. or, in circumstances where young people become looked after at 16 yrs. and above, 6 weeks after they become looked after.

At this time a referral will be made by the social worker to the Leaving Care Service in order that provision can be made for the allocation of a Young Person’s Adviser. This will be by way of a telephone call to the Leaving Care Manager.

The young person will be consulted as to whether s/he would wish for a person other than a Leaving Care worker to become his/her Young Person’s Adviser. This would depends upon the availability of a person with the necessary skills and time to undertake the tasks required of a Young Person’s Adviser and will require the agreement of the Leaving Care Service Manager.

The role of the Young Person’s Adviser is outlined in the Guidance attached to the Children (Leaving Care) Act, and should be read in conjunction with this Policy/Procedure guide.

In preparation for the assessment, the social worker will arrange for the young person to meet with the allocated Young Person’s Adviser and be provided with a Care Leavers pack containing information about services available for care leavers.

The social worker will also ensure that parents, carers and involved professionals will, where relevant, e given a copy of ‘The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000’ publication.

Assessments will take place between 15¾ and 16¼ yrs., with the completion date no earlier than the young person’s 16th birthday and no later than 3 months after this date. Consideration will be given to the timing, however, to ensure that it will not coincide with examinations or other important events. In circumstances where young people became looked after after their 16th birthday, the assessment will begin 13 weeks after the date they became looked after.

It should be noted that the provisions of the Children (Leaving Care) Act will not apply to young people who have left care prior to 1 October 2001.

This group of young people will therefore not be subject to the assessment/care planning/review model of service delivery introduced by the Act, but will qualify for the services provided generally for care leavers, including financial support and accommodation services.

4. Needs Assessment

The social worker will undertake an assessment with ‘Eligible’ young people between 15¾ and 16¼ yrs. This will be known as an ‘Independent Living Assessment’.

The ICS format on RICS (Pathway Plan Part 1) should be used for all ‘Eligible’ young people for this purpose.

The views of the young person will be central to the assessment and included in each section. The views of the social worker and other relevant people who have contributed to the assessment will also be included and differences of opinion with the young person highlighted where this applies. Guidance notes to completing the assessment will be provided by the Leaving Care Team.

The success of the assessment in engaging a young person in the subsequent plan is likely to depend to a large extent on how well it represents his/her views and reflects his/her wishes and aspirations for the future.

‘When deciding who needs to be involved in the assessment the social worker should take account of the wishes of they young person and balance the desirability of involvement against the risk of alienating the young person from the process.’ (CLCA Guidance).

It will be important to take the young person’s views into consideration, not make the process unnecessarily intrusive and respect the young person’s privacy while balancing these considerations against obtaining an accurate picture of the support available to the young person.

Copies of the assessment will be made available (as a minimum) to the young person, the social worker (for inclusion on the young person’s case file) and the Young Person’s Adviser.

It may be helpful for copies to be made available to other parties who have contributed to the assessment, but this will only be with the agreement of the young person.

The assessment will be written in a style and language understandable to the young person and translated where English is not they young person’s first language (or that of his/her parent(s) or carer(s) where a copy is to be provided to her/him/them).

5. Pathway Plan

The Pathway Plan will be constructed following the completion of the Independent Living Assessment and should follow logically from the recommendations of the assessment.

The Pathway Plan will become part two of the care plan for as long as the young person continues to be looked after, and will take over from the care plan when the young person ceases to be looked after.

The process for constructing the Pathway Plan should be as follows:

The Pathway Plan will be written within six weeks of the completion of the Independent Living Assessment, and it will be the social worker’s responsibility to maintain this timescale.

Each young person will be central to drawing up their own Pathway Plan setting the goals and identifying how the local authority will help meet them, including any services being provided in respect of the young person's disability or needs arising from being in custody or as a result of entering the country as an unaccompanied asylum seeker. Young people with particular language or communication needs should be provided throughout the process with appropriate interpretation, translation or advocacy support.

Following the completion of the assessment, the social worker will organise a meeting with the young persona, Young Person’s Adviser and any other relevant people the young person and social worker agree should attend in order to agree the content of the Pathway Plan.

In circumstances where the Young Person’s Adviser (YPA is not a Leaving Care Worker, an invitation will also be made to the Leaving Care Service, as this service will play a crucial role in advising on available services.

In the pathway planning, the YPA will ‘play a negotiating role on behalf of the young person, ensuring that the plan is realistic and deliverable whilst meeting assessed need’ (CLCA Guidance).

Following the Pathway planning meeting, the social worker will write the Pathway Plan using the ICS format on RICS. (Pathway Plan Part 2). Guidance notes to completing the Pathway Plan will be provided by the Leaving Care Team.

In doing so, the social worker will ensure that the agreement of all parties accorded with responsibility in the plan is obtained prior to its completion and distribution.

The Pathway Plan will be written in a style which holds as it’s central theme the hopes and aspirations of the young person for his/her future and will be written in a style and language understandable to the young person and translated where appropriate.

In circumstances where a young person will not participate in the assessment and planning process, or will only partially participate, efforts should be made to engage the young person.

Where this does not prove possible, assessments and plans will be completed which reflect the situation and which put in place strategies aimed at engaging the young person.

The Pathway Plan must clearly identify the roles of each person who has a part to play in supporting the care leaver.

The Pathway Plan should also include:

The plan for the young person's continuing education or training when he/she ceases to be looked after - where the young person is no longer of statutory school age, the Pathway Plan may need to incorporate the goals and actions that were previously included in the PEP;
How the Responsible Local Authority will assist the young person in obtaining employment or other purposeful activity or occupation, taking into account his/her aspirations, skills and educational potential;
The financial support to be provided to enable the young person to meet accommodation and maintenance costs; taking into account his/her financial capabilities and money-management capacity, along with strategies to develop skills in this area;
The nature and level of contact and personal support to be provided, and by whom, to the young person;
Details of the accommodation the young person is to occupy (including an assessment of its suitability in the light of the young person's needs, and details of the considerations taken into account in assessing that suitability);
Details of the arrangements made by the Responsible Local Authority to meet the young person's needs in relation to his or her identity, with particular regard to their religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background.

Where this does not prove possible, assessments and plans will be completed which reflect the situation and which put in place strategies aimed at engaging the young person.

Copies of the Pathway Plan will be made available (as a minimum) to they young person, the social worker (for inclusion on the young person's case file) and the YPA.

Full copies can be made available to other parties playing a role in the delivery of the plan with the agreement of the young person, but where this is not forthcoming those parties will have a copy at least of the part which relates to their contribution.

6. Reviews of Pathway Plan

Reviews of the Pathway Plan will take place at least every six months to the young person’s 21st birthday (or 24th if in continuing education).

Reviews can take place in a shorter timescale if the young person or YPA asks for one.

Where a young person continues to be looked after usually until the young person’s 18th birthday) the review will be part of the young person’s statutory review and will be chaired by the Independent Reviewing Officer.

In preparing for the review, it will be the responsibility of the case-holding worker to seek and take account of the views of the same people that were involved in the Independent Living Assessment, as far as this is practical and appropriate.

It will be particularly important to seek the views of the YPA, who will have monitored the progress of the plan, and of those directly involved in supporting the young person. The young person will be made aware of this consultation process and his/her views sought.

Those attending the review should be:

The young person;
The social worker;
The Young Person’s Adviser;
Key individuals contributing to the Pathway Plan (with the agreement of the young person);
Key contributors to the Independent Living Assessment (with the agreement of the young person);
The social worker and YPA will have joint responsibility with the young person in advising the review on progress with, and changes needed to, the Pathway Plan.

Discussion about changes and additions to the Pathway Plan will be clearly recorded in the Chair’s report where it is reviewed at a LAC review and on case notes where the young person has ceased to be looked after.

The Pathway Plan will be re-written directly after the review, clearly dated and incorporate any changes. It will be the case-holding worker’s responsibility to ensure that this takes place and that the review record and revised plan are distributed (according to the same criteria as the initial Pathway Plan).

Where a young person ceases to be looked after between their 16th and 18th birthdays, that young person will become known as a ‘Relevant’ young person. The local authority will remain responsible for providing financially for the young person’s accommodation and maintenance needs. Under these circumstances, a review of the Pathway Plan will be held as soon as possible in order to review support arrangements. For young people who have ceased to be looked after, the review will be chaired by the YPA.

The structure of reviews of Pathway Plans will change when a young person ceases to be looked after. Statutory reviews will cease, so that the review of the Pathway Plan will stand alone and will be chaired instead by the YPA, who it is likely will also be the Leaving Care Worker who will take over case responsibility (in a planned process) from the social worker. Where a young person leaves care at 18 yrs, the process of transfer of case responsibility will have been planned over the course of reviews, and may have taken place prior to the young person’s 18th birthday.

When a young person ceases to be looked after, the YPA will discuss with the young person how s/he would prefer for the Pathway Plan reviews to be conducted.

It is the role of the Personal Adviser to keep in touch with the young person and to remain informed as to the young person's progress. The Personal Adviser must maintain a written record of their contacts with the young person, monitoring the effectiveness of services in preparing the young person for a time when they will move to greater independence or when they cease to be looked after.

The preferred option will be a small meeting where at least the young person, YPA and the key adult contributors to the plan will attend. In other respects, the review could take the shape of an event, where the views of other contributors (with the agreement of the young person) will be sought in advance of the review meeting.

Where the young person, after encouragement to adopt the preferred option, resists the holding of a review meeting, the event option will be stretched, so that the YPA and young person will meet with the contributors individually to agree on progress and future plans and then merge together the separate plans into a central revised Pathway Plan. Where the young person will not agree to this, the YPA will consult with the contributors to the plan in advance of a review meeting with the young person individually.

Where an event based review takes place, there may be a range of post review activities which the YPA may need to undertake in order to reconcile conflicting views and broker agreements.

The meeting with the young person to review the overall plan, however, will be considered to be the date the review is held, and will fall within the six month timescale.

Reviews will be planned for well inside the six month timescale (say, at five months) so that there is space for re-arrangement within the timescale if the review needs to be postponed.

Where the young person does not, or expresses a firm wish not to, participate in reviews, meetings will still be convened to review the Pathway Plan. Key contributors to the plan will be invited to the review. The review record will vary according to the level of contact the YPA and contributors are having with the young person, but points should be reviewed and plans amended in the usual way. A copy of the review record should be sent to he young person.

Reviews will take place beyond the young person’s 21st birthday where it has been agreed in the Pathway Plan that support (for education) will continue beyond this date in order to complete a course of study.

If the Relevant Young Person or Former Relevant Young Person moves to 'unregulated' accommodation (i.e. accommodation that is not regulated/inspected by OFSTED), the Local Authority must:

Arrange a review 28 days (or as soon as practicable thereafter) from the time the accommodation is provided;

and
Determine at what intervals (not exceeding six months) subsequent reviews will be carried out;
Reviews should be brought forward where there is an assessed risk that a crisis may develop in a young person's life, for example:
- Where a young person has been charged with an offence and there is a possibility of their being sentenced to custody, which will risk losing their accommodation;
- Where a young person is at risk of being evicted from his or her accommodation or otherwise threatened with homelessness;
- Where professionals are concerned about the parenting capacity of a 'Relevant' or 'Former Relevant' young person with there being a possibility that their own child may need to be the subject of a multi-agency safeguarding plan;
- Where a young person requests a review.

Matters to which the Local Authority is to have regard in determining suitability of accommodation (under Schedule 2 to the Care Leavers Regulations 2010 and Schedule 6 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010):

In respect of the accommodation:
1. The facilities and services provided;
2. The state of repair;
3. The safety;
4. The location;
5. The support;
6. The tenancy status;
  
  and
7. The financial commitments involved for the relevant young person and their affordability.
In respect of the Relevant young person:
1. His or her views about the accommodation;
2. His or her understanding of their rights and responsibilities in relation to the accommodation;
  
  and
3. His or her understanding of funding arrangements.

Where a Relevant or Former Relevant Young Person enters custody, pathway planning must continue. The young person must be visited on a regular basis and it is good practice for the first visit to take place within ten working days. The role must not be fulfilled by a YOT worker. The Local Authority must liaise with the YOT or Probation Service to support the young person emotionally, practically and financially while in custody. A review of the Pathway Plan should be carried out at least a month before the young person's release to give sufficient time to plan for his or her resettlement, including identifying suitable accommodation where the young person's placement had to be given up or has been lost and identifying who will collect the young person and the sources of support after his or her release.

Where young people have ceased to be looked after, the Pathway Plan will be written in the format attached as Appendix 1.

7. Keeping in Touch

One of the central themes of the Children (Leaving Care) Act is that the local authority should fulfil its duty as corporate parents by keeping in touch with care leavers to their 21st birthday (or beyond if in continuing education).

This will happen through:

Statutory visit to looked after young people by their allocated social worker. It is expected that ‘social work contact will continue well beyond the writing of the initial Pathway Plan. (CLCA Guidance).

Regular contact with the young person by the Young Person’s Adviser from the time of the writing of the Pathway Plan in order to monitor its progress with the young person.

This contact will be at least bi-monthly given the YPA’s role in the pathway planning process, but may well be more often where a particular situation requires it. ‘The (YPA) should act as the young person’s principal source of contact in any matter relating to the Pathway Plan.’ (CLCA Guidance).

A minimum level of ongoing contact. This will be maintained bi monthly following the transfer of case responsibility from social worker to YPA and/or leaving care worker.

Thereafter, the level of contact will be determined through discussion at the review of the Pathway Plan. It will not fall below four contacts per year except where this is the clear wish of the young person.

Where this is the case, the specific wishes of the young person will be ascertained and recorded on the case file, and efforts made to negotiate an acceptable minimum level of contact for the young person.

This might, for example, involved the sending of birthday and Christmas cards and service newsletters.

Particular attention will be paid to keeping in touch with ‘Relevant’ young people, those who have left care at 16 or 17 yrs. Such young people will have left care because it is in accordance with their own wishes and they may therefore resist ongoing contact.

In circumstances ‘where they lose touch the authority must immediately take reasonable steps to re-establish contact and to continue doing so until they succeed in making contact’. (CLCA Guidance).

Similar requirements apply to ‘former relevant’ young people (those care leavers aged 18 yrs +). ‘The local authority must take reasonable steps to keep in touch with a former relevant child and if they lose touch, to re-establish contact.’ A pro-active approach to maintaining contact will be adopted at all times.

‘Where it is not possible to establish an understanding, the (YPA will have to balance the risk of alienating the young person with the need to maintain contact’. (CLCA Guidance).

Reviews of Pathway Plans will continue whether or not contact is maintained and will consider in circumstances where there is no contact between the local authority and the young person, how contact might be resumed and what has been done to enable it.

Contact with young people previously looked after by the local authority but now living within the boundaries of another authority will be maintained.

It is the responsibility of the last authority who looked after the young person to provide him/her with leaving care services. This may be provided locally by the host authority where appropriate, but the originating authority remains responsible for ensuring and enabling the service to be provided.

Financial arrangements may need to be made with the host authority and such arrangements confirmed in the Pathway Plan. This will be the responsibility of the Leaving Care Manager.

The primary purpose of keeping in touch will be to meet the needs of the young person as identified in the Independent Living Assessment and to ensure that the Pathway Plan ‘action plans’ are pursued and completed.

Young People in Residential Care

Young people may also 'stay put' in children's homes or other residential settings, although they are unlikely to be able to remain beyond the age of 18, unless there is a designated move-on accommodation linked to the residential care setting.

Young People in Foster Care

For a young person living in foster care, the first Looked After Review following his or her 16th birthday should consider whether a Staying Put placement should be an option. This will entail assessing the implications for both the young person and the foster carer.

Following the young person's 18th birthday, the legal basis on which they occupy the property (former foster home) changes (the legal term is that the young person becomes an 'excluded licensee' lodging in the home) - this should not denote that the young person will be treated differently than they were as a fostered child.

Procedures should be agreed at the outset about how any wish by the carer to bring the arrangements to an end should be managed.

While Fostering Regulations will no longer legally apply to these arrangements, key standards should continue to govern the expectations of the placement when the young person reaches 18. These may be:

Yearly reviews of the carer(s);
Reassessment and re-registration every 3 years;
New CRB checks every 3 years on all adult members of the household, regular visitors and children of the carers aged 16 and over;
Health and safety checks;
Regular supervision from the social worker;
Attending required training.

The Local Authority will need to assess individual circumstances and consider the appropriateness of all of these checks particularly where the young person is the only person placed/living with their carer/s and it is not envisaged that further children will be placed.

8. Ending the Service

The service, as outlined above, will be provided to all care leavers until their 21st birthday.

However, in circumstances where the Pathway Plan sets out an educational programme that will extend beyond the young person’s 21st birthday, the duty of support will continue. This could be beyond the age of 24 yrs where relevant and recorded in the pathway plan.

Where a young person will no longer be eligible for a service, the YPA will consider any identified need for ongoing support at the last review of the Pathway Plan and seek to make any necessary arrangements to enable this, for example by arranging for services from an Adult Social Services Team or a voluntary organisation. It will be likely that such plans will have been explored well in advance of the last review.

The YPA will review the plans and achievements made since the Independent Living Assessment with the young person and seek to action any outstanding plans that are achievable.

Where there are urgent outstanding tasks or pending financial matters, the YPA will consult with the Leaving Care Team manager.

Where the young person is amenable, the YPA will complete an Exit Questionnaire with young person and forward to the Leaving Care Team Manager.

End