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THROUGHCARE AND AFTERCARE OF LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN IN SCOTLAND
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
There are around 11,000 children and young people looked after by local authorities in Scotland, of whom 1,300 are over 16 years old. These young people need support to make a successful transition from the care system to independent adult living, and local authorities have a duty to provide this service. But the outcomes for young people who have been in care - for example in terms of educational achievement and homelessness - indicate that many do not receive the necessary help. Research by the University of York recently published by the Scottish Executive confirmed that current throughcare (preparation for leaving care) and aftercare (longer-term support) services vary across the country.
The Throughcare and Aftercare Working Group was set up in November 1999 to advise the Executive on how to improve these services following consultation on the way that financial support, in particular, was provided, and subsequent legislation. This report covers the Group's work so far, including consultation with young people, the conclusions of the University of York research, how the needs of young people should be assessed in the future, and how an improved service should be delivered.
With the agreement of the Department of Works and Pensions and as a result of the Group's work, and the University of York research, the Executive decided that full implementation of legislative reforms to enhance services - including the withdrawal of entitlement to Department of Work and Pensions benefits for a specific group of young people - should be delayed until April 2004. The Group has recommended that the focus in the first instance is on local authorities improving their existing services. In order to allow local authorities to gauge progress, the Group has recommended ( Paragraph 5.3) that local authorities gather information for the following performance measures from April 2003:
local authorities should have accurate information about the number of looked after young people leaving care over school age in their area up to 19 years of age, by age and last placement;
there should be a throughcare and aftercare plan for each young person leaving care;
there should be nominated Key Workers/Advisers for all looked after young people leaving care;
local authorities should know the destination and accommodation arrangements of those leaving care over school age in their area up to 19 years of age, including number of moves and periods of homelessness;
local authorities should know the education, employment, or training status of those leaving care over school age in their area up to 19 years of age, including length of placements and any periods of unemployment and incapacity.
The Group also recommended that throughcare and aftercare services be subject to an Audit Commission Statutory Performance Indicator ( Paragraph 5.5). As a possible indicator the Group suggested:
What had been the outcomes at age 17 (if applicable) and 18 for each young person who had qualified for assistance under Section 29(1) of the Children (Scotland) Act. The range of outcomes should include accommodation arrangements, support received from the local authority (including cash support), and employment, training, and further education arrangements.
The Group considered that such a performance indicator should require local authorities to track and keep in touch with young people leaving care over school age up to the age of 19, and up to 21 for those for whom the local authority continues to provide a service. This would enable both local authorities and the Scottish Executive to monitor the progress of young people towards independent living.
The Group also made the following recommendations:
There should be consultation on whether consortia arrangements could provide specialist throughcare and aftercare services for smaller local authorities ( Paragraph 4.3).
Young people should have choices in deciding who their key worker/Adviser is, and who need not necessarily be from the Social Work Department ( Paragraph 4.5).
Regulations should specify that the value of the package of support provided to a young person should be at least the equivalent of the minimum Department of Work and Pensions rate ( Paragraph 4.9).
Responsibility for financial support for the young person should fall to the authority that last looked after them. However, immediate support should also be available from the local authority where the young person is living ( Paragraph 4.12).
Social Fund payments and administrative costs should be included in estimates of the costs of the service for the transfer of resources for the Department of Work and Pensions ( Paragraph 6.4).
Young people leaving care should have access to Transitional Housing Benefit funds transferred to the Supporting People Fund ( Paragraph 6.5).
Resources transferred from the Department of Work and Pensions should be distributed to local authorities through Grant Aided Expenditure ( Paragraph 6.9).
Local authorities should provide a report on service delivery at least for the first year of operation ( Paragraph 6.10).
In order to carry out assessments, materials building on the Looking After Children materials should be provided to local authorities ( Paragraph 7.3).
Young people should play a central role in the assessment process, taking ownership of their own throughcare and aftercare assessment and action plans ( Paragraph 7.3).
Local authorities will need to record and share certain information on young people leaving care ( Paragraphs 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.7).
Training materials should be prepared for local authorities and training seminars should be considered ( Paragraph 9.4).
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