Ali Carroll

A Mandate for Change For too many care leavers, turning 18 means having the rug pulled from under them. The care, nurturing and security disappear, replaced by rent, bills and a fight to survive. After years of trauma, some are forced to choose between full-time education and keeping a roof over their heads, without family to fall back on. PAs and youth workers can only do so much. They don’t have all the solutions, and they cannot carry a failing system alone. Support and care are two different things. Two hours a month cannot replace someone being there. Too many care leavers are still living in survival mode. In 28 years, that reality hasn’t changed. Corporate parenting cannot end when childhood does. But this is the reality for many across the UK in our so called CARE system.

A 17-year-old care-experienced young man is being forced to move twice within months. Why? Because the local authority says he must be living independently by 18. He’s starting dance school at the same time. He is begging to stay where he is until he has some stability and can settle into his education. The answer? No. No consideration of his circumstances. No understanding of the impact of yet another move. Just a decision made about his life. We talk about stability, trauma-informed care and corporate parenting. But where is the stability? You cannot build a future for a young person while constantly moving the foundations beneath their feet. A move now because of staff complications. Another in January because he turns 18 and must live independently. Two moves. College. Adulthood. One 17-year-old. This is why care experience must be a protected characteristic.