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THROUGHCARE AND AFTERCARE OF LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN IN SCOTLAND

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Introduction

1.1 It is well established that children and young people who have been looked after by local authorities do worse in life than their contemporaries. For example:

up to 75% of looked after children leave school with no formal qualifications;

less than 1% go to university;

it is estimated that between 20% and 50% of young homeless people have been in the care of a local authority;

45% of young offenders held in custody in 2000 had been in residential care at some time.

Young people leaving care also tend to be younger than their peers when they move to independent living. The average age for leaving care is 16/17 years old compared to an average of 22 years old for other young people starting to live independently.

1.2 The preparation of young people for leaving care ("throughcare") and their support for their first few years of independence ("aftercare") is crucial if they are to make this change successfully. The Scottish Executive has introduced changes to legislation to improve the delivery of these services to young people. The aim is to strengthen the contact between the local authority and young people, reinforcing the authority's parenting responsibility for young people who may have no other support at this difficult time of transition. Over the last two years the Throughcare and Aftercare Working Group has been advising the Scottish Executive how these legislative changes can best be implemented to ensure that there are real changes on the ground that improve the chances of young people leaving care as they start their adult lives. This report represents the conclusions of this first stage of the Group's work.

Background

1.3 In September 1999, the Scottish Executive consulted on proposals to enhance throughcare and aftercare services by creating a "one stop shop" for advice, guidance and assistance for young people leaving care. Young people aged 16 and 17 years who had been looked after away from home would have their needs assessed and supported by local authorities. They would generally no longer be entitled to claim Income Support, Housing Benefit or Job Seekers Allowance, and some Department of Work and Pensions (DWP, formerly DSS) resources would be transferred to local authorities.

1.4 Responses to the consultation indicated support for the principle of a unified approach, but there were concerns about how the system would operate in practice. Scottish Ministers therefore announced on 19 November 1999 that they supported the principle of an integrated service for these young people and set up a Working Group to look in detail at how the system should work. Measures to strengthen existing duties on Scottish local authorities to provide a service, including a needs assessment, to all young people leaving care were included in the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, and the related provisions to allow benefit entitlement to be removed from some of these young people were included in the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, a Westminster statute.

Sources: For Scotland's Children (2001) A report published by the Scottish Executive and Young People in Custody in Scotland (2000) An Occasional Paper (No 3/2000) published by the Scottish Prison Service.

The Working Group

1.5 The Working Group was chaired by officials from the Scottish Executive and included representatives from the Association of Directors of Social Work, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Scottish Council for Single Homeless, the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (STAAF), Careers Scotland, and Who Cares? Scotland. Full membership of the Group is shown at Annex A.

1.6 The Group adopted the following remit:

To consider issues arising from unified funding under local authority control, to support young people requiring throughcare and aftercare services within the context of other relevant policy developments and overall quality of services; and to advise Ministers how best such current and future resources might operate for the good of these young people.

1.7 Through Who Cares? and STAAF, two consultations were held with young people to gauge their reactions to the proposals and views on how best the system might operate. The report of the young people's comments is reproduced at Annex B.

1.8 This report details the Group's main conclusions on the issues it has considered so far. The Group will remain in existence to assist with implementing the policy, including assisting the production of assessment materials, training packages and the necessary guidance and regulations.

Recent developments

1.9 On 18 June 2002, the Scottish Executive published research that showed that current levels of throughcare and aftercare were variable across Scotland. The Working Group has looked closely at this research, whose results support the Group's recommendations. The Working Group had expressed the view that the focus should be on improving current infrastructure and support to young people before DWP benefits were withdrawn, otherwise there was a risk that the service would actually deteriorate. With the agreement of the DWP, the Scottish Executive therefore decided to delay the introduction of the enhanced duty on local authorities, and the associated withdrawal of some DWP benefits, until 1 April 2004.

1.10 The Working Group, and the Executive, are now concentrating on how local authorities might first improve current services, and prepare for the enhanced service. This report reflects the next steps that need to be taken in that process.

CHAPTER 2 LEGAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Section 29 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 sets out local authority responsibilities to young people who leave care after they are over school leaving age. Under section 29(1) there is a duty - unless the local authority is satisfied that the young person's welfare does not require it - to advise, guide and assist those under 19. Under section 29(2) there is a power to provide advice, guidance and assistance to young people between 19 and 21 who apply to the local authority, unless the authority is satisfied that the young person's welfare does not require it. Local authority assistance may include assistance in kind or in cash.

2.2 These provisions were strengthened by section 73 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, following concerns expressed during consultation that there was a lack of consistency in the throughcare and aftercare service and that regulatory provision would help ensure some consistency of standards.

2.4 Section 73(1), which has not yet come into effect, amends section 29 to include a duty on local authorities to:

• carry out an assessment of the needs of young people leaving care who they have a duty or power to advise, guide or assist under section 29;
• establish a procedure for considering representations, including complaints, made to them about the discharge of their functions under section 29.

2.5 Section 73(2) gives Scottish Ministers a power to make regulations about:

• the manner in which assistance is to be provided to young people leaving care under section 29;
• who is to be consulted in relation to an assessment of needs;
• the way an assessment is to be carried out, by whom and when;
• the recording of the results of an assessment;
• the considerations to which the local authority are to have regard in carrying out an assessment;
• procedures for considering representations including complaints.

2.6 The section also provides that Scottish local authorities have duties to assist young people leaving care, some from England and Wales, who are in their area. Similar reciprocal arrangements exist south of the border for Scottish young people leaving care. Ministers may make regulations to exclude these people from the duties if they are the responsibility of a local authority in England and Wales.

2.7 These improvements to the legal framework for throughcare and aftercare are complemented by the provisions in section 6(4) of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 which allow UK Ministers to make regulations removing the entitlement of certain young people being looked after or leaving care to DWP benefits in Scotland. The young people included in the regulations must correspond to those categories of young people whose benefit entitlement is removed in England and Wales by other provisions in section 6. These are essentially young people of 16 or 17 who have been looked after (in terms of the Children Act 1989, rather than Scottish legislation) for thirteen weeks since the age of 14, were being looked after at the age of 16, and are either still being looked after ("eligible" children) or have now left care ("relevant" children).

2.8 The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 makes provisions for throughcare and aftercare similar to section 29 of the 1995 Act. The Act makes detailed provision for the support to be provided to young people leaving care, by amending the Children Act 1989. The Department of Health has now made regulations under the Act and issued guidance on its operation. These provisions came into force in 1 October 2001.

2.9 The relevant statutory provisions are set out in full at Annex C.

CHAPTER 3 CURRENT LEVELS OF SERVICE IN SCOTLAND

3.1 On 18 June 2002 the Scottish Executive published Still a Bairn? Throughcare and Aftercare Services in Scotland, a report by the University of York that was part of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Research Programme, which aims to monitor the implementation of the Act and to evaluate its operation and impact. The Working Group had previously had a presentation from the authors of the report on their emerging findings.

3.2 Previous research had suggested connections between the many problems faced by young people leaving care and the difficulties they experience before and during the period in which they are looked after. The York research was a two-year study in two main stages: stage one, the policy survey, provided a description of throughcare and aftercare provision across Scotland from returns from Social Work Departments. The second stage consisted of a case survey of 107 young people who had left the care of three local authorities, representative of the three main service delivery models for throughcare and aftercare services: non-specialist, centralised specialist and dispersed specialist. The second stage also included in-depth follow-ups with 61 of these young people.

3.3 The research findings summary is at Annex D. Some of the main findings were:

Most authorities (77%) offered a planned throughcare programme but less than half (39%) of young people in the survey had received one. Also, 40% had not had a formal leaving care review.

The survey provided evidence of significant variation in throughcare and aftercare arrangements across Scotland. Many authorities lacked appropriate policies and procedures, although many were carrying out developments to extend and improve services.

It was apparent that many authorities lacked adequate data collection and processing systems for monitoring and evaluation and for identifying the number of young people eligible for services.

There was a strong commitment amongst authorities to taking account of the views of young people.

Most authorities provided a range of appropriate accommodation options.

40% of the young people in the survey reported having experienced homelessness since leaving care.

Young people looked after on a home supervision requirement and those returning home were not assessed as eligible for throughcare and/or aftercare services by a number of authorities.

Almost two-thirds of young people in the survey had no standard grade qualifications and most had experiences of truancy (83%) and exclusion (71%). A quarter of support workers were unaware of the educational attainment of the young person with whom they were working.

Almost three-quarters of young people left care at 15 (21%) or 16 (51.9%) years of age.

3.4 The report concludes that placement stability, continuity of care and support, family and carer links and help with education are important for effective throughcare and aftercare services. Planned throughcare programmes can greatly assist young people in coping after leaving care and the provision of various forms of support are of great help during and after leaving care.

3.5 The report also found that a departmental, corporate and inter-agency framework increases young people's access to a wide range of resources. Local authority departments require a developed policy and procedures framework, which includes specific reference to throughcare and aftercare services in Children's Services Plans; detailed policy and procedures, information guides for staff and young people; and a lead officer. The research showed this was lacking in many authorities.

3.6 The report confirmed some of the Working Group's own experiences. For example, it was difficult for some local authorities to give an accurate number of young people who had left their care and to whom they owed duties under section 29 when the Group asked for such information. There is the question of how young people looked after at home are dealt with in relation to their aftercare needs. It was also clear that a range of accommodation options, particularly different forms of supported accommodation were important for young people leaving care.

3.7 The Working Group's own conclusions about current practice and the inadequacies of the support given to young people leaving care were confirmed by the findings of the York Research. The Group concluded that there would be a risk to the level of service provided to young people if an enhanced duty, and the associated withdrawal of DWP benefits from some 16 and 17 year olds leaving care, was to proceed as planned on 1 October 2002. Existing services were clearly stretched meeting their current duties. It would be preferable to delay full implementation of the financial changes in throughcare and aftercare and initially focus on improving current services, including preparation for implementation of new assessment duties. The Executive accepted this approach, and with the agreement of DWP, full implementation of the financial measures was delayed until 1 April 2004.

CHAPTER 4 SERVICE DELIVERY AND DESIRED OUTCOMES

Models of service delivery

4.1 The Group considered whether there was a preferred model of service delivery which should be promoted. The Bulletin A Safe Launch, Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare in a European Context published by The Centre for Europe's Children, The Centre for Residential Child Care and the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum in 2000 considered the present services in Scotland in a European context (Scotland, England and Wales, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands).

4.2 This work found that successful schemes were often specialist and had some common features. They targeted core needs; they were committed to involving young people in decisions about the schemes and their lives; they worked well with other agencies particularly over benefits, housing, employment and training, they influenced local policies, and they had clear objectives and a management framework which addressed access to them, equal opportunities and service monitoring. Having a good working knowledge of the young person and their background was key.

4.3 The Group considered practicable models of service delivery in the Scottish context. The size of the 32 local authorities varies considerably as does the number of young people leaving care in each area. Specialist throughcare and aftercare services were more likely to achieve the desired outcomes, but a dedicated unit of this sort might not be practicable for smaller authorities. The Group considered that there should be consultation on whether consortia arrangements could provide a specialist services for these authorities.

4.4 Who Cares? Scotland and STAAF consulted young people to produce In Their Own Words, which provided some revealing comments about young people's hopes of these services (see Annex B). Key points to come out of this exercise include:

• It is important to acknowledge fully the support of family members, residential staff and foster carers, as many young people choose these people as their preferred route for advice and support.
• A very low number of young people who were still looked after said they knew their financial benefit rights. Hence, the importance for clear and sufficient information prior to leaving care.
• Young people said they preferred throughcare and aftercare contact with people: they know; they trust; that respect privacy; and who "know what they are talking about".

4.5 The Group took the view that there should be no prescriptive model of service delivery in Scotland. Instead, whatever model was adopted it should have the following key features:

• Nominated key worker or adviser - not necessarily from the Social Work Department - for the young person able to act as contact point for advice and assistance, and the young person should have a choice in deciding who it is.
• Clear written policies accessible to young people on what they could expect from the service, including information regarding their rights.
• Minimum service standards, including timescales for assistance.
• Inter-agency working agreements and data sharing protocols with other relevant agencies and local authorities.
• Partnership agreements with other agencies, particularly Careers Scotland.
• An accessible resolution/complaints procedures.
• A designated senior manager able to operate across local authority services to promote corporate responsibilities to young people leaving care.

Desired outcomes

4.6

The Group identified three main desired outcomes for young people leaving care from the throughcare and aftercare service:

• to ensure that young people make a successful transition to independent living;
• to provide an accurate, accessible and swift service providing financial assistance that leaves young people at least no worse off than under the current welfare benefit system;
• to provide young people leaving care with an independent and swift appeals and complaints system which they can trust.

Ensuring that young people leaving care make a successful transition to independent living

4.7 The Group considered that if young people leaving care were to achieve successful independent living, improvements would have to be made to key services to ensure better educational attainment in both higher and further education; improved career advice leading to young people leaving care, finding appropriate further education, training and employment; improved access to appropriate housing/accommodation; and improved access to health care services and information. Young people should not leave care at too young an age. They should be emotionally mature enough to make this transition and their readiness for moving on needs to be agreed before leaving care.

Providing an accurate, accessible and swift service

4.8 As discussed above, the Group considered that it should be for local authorities to determine the best method of service delivery in their area. However, minimum standards would require to be established nationally to ensure equity and consistency regarding service provision.

4.9 The Group discussed whether rates of cash payment for those young people eligible for cash support should be laid down in regulation or should be included in guidance, local authorities having some discretion. The argument in favour of regulation is that it will provide consistency for young people, and a right to minimum levels of support. On the other hand, guidance would provide more flexibility to local authorities to consider the whole value of a package of support (other than cash), and would avoid local authorities merely taking on the role of benefit agencies. The Group did not favour regulations specifying scales of payment. However, the Group felt that regulation should make clear that minimum packages of support must be at least equivalent to DWP entitlements (both personal and housing related). This would avoid any perceived incentive for young people to leave care before leaving school age, an unwanted outcome. Where agreement on appropriate packages of support cannot be agreed between the local authority and eligible young person, regulation should make clear that the young person, has, at minimum, entitlement to DWP rates of payment if they are not in receipt of any other income. Guidance should make clear that local authorities should be working with young people to provide enhanced packages of support, not merely this minimum standard. Guidance or regulations should also cover how any income or capital sums which the young person or their parents may have should be taken into account. The aim should be to taper the availability of support to avoid creating further poverty traps, or over dependency on services, for these young people.

4.10 Whilst guidance might cover the means of payment, local authorities should have sufficient discretion to be able to cope with each young person's circumstances. Ideally payment into a bank account via the BACS would be the most straightforward to administer. However, the Group considered it was unrealistic to expect all young people to comply with this method. Alternative methods, such as cash payments, should also be available.

4.11 The Group was of the view that eligibility criteria for certain types of support, particularly cash support, should be a matter for regulation. However, the duty to assess needs to be applied to all young people leaving care.

4.12 Clear guidance would be needed on the responsible authority when a young person moved from one area to another. The Group's firm view was that responsibility for the costs of support should fall to the authority that last looked after the young person. However, immediate support should also be available from the authority where the young person was living. The aim should be to minimise disputes over the responsibility of local authorities for young people who move with clear procedures laid down in the regulations.

4.13 There should be guidance on partnership agreements with Careers Scotland and the Job Centre Plus. A model partnership agreement was available for looked after and accommodated young people which could be used (see Annex E). When in place Careers Scotland would provide local authorities and the Scottish Executive with statistical information, in line with performance measurement requirements, on further education, training and employment outcomes for eligible young people. Local authorities would provide Careers Scotland with sufficient information for Careers Scotland to contact, track and work effectively with eligible young people. Guidance on links with Careers Scotland and the Job Centre Plus should emphasise they would have no role in policing whether a young person should receive financial support from the local authority.

4.14 Information about eligible young people and their payment history should be available to all local authorities. This would help prevent double-counting/abuse of the system. Guidance on this should be provided. Further details on the information to be gathered is detailed at Chapter 8.

Providing independent and swift appeals and complaints system young people can trust

4.15 The Group agreed that complaints, particularly complaints about the level of financial assistance, should be dealt with quickly and locally. The formal complaints procedure under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 is unlikely to meet the needs of prospective complainants within the context of proposed changes for 16 and 17 year olds and their benefit entitlement. Detailed mechanisms should be produced in regulations but the system must remain one which is accessible, transparent and provide detailed responses to complaints made.

The Group recommends that a three-stage model should be the subject of forthcoming consultation.

Stage 1: Informal Resolution

If disagreement/unhappiness is expressed about a decision made, then the issues raised should be recorded. Discussion and negotiation should be used, where possible, to reach a mutual resolution of issues raised.

Stage 2: Formal Complaint

If issues are not resolved at Stage 1, then the young person will have the option of making a formal complaint. The young person should be supported to make the complaint in writing. The young person should then receive a response within an agreed timescale. To ensure the integrity of the system, complaints should be investigated at arms-length by the responsible department.

Stage 3: Appeals

The complainant should also have the right to appeal the decision/outcome of any complaint made. The appeal board/body should be as independent as possible but empowered to reverse/implement decisions made on appeal, including backdating of payments.

Key Principles

• All young people have the right to independent advocacy at any stage of the process.
• Disagreements, complaints and appeals should be resolved as swiftly as possible, without delay.
• Young people should always have their accommodation and maintenance costs met, if they attend, during any complaints/appeals.
• Decisions and feedback given to young people should be in clear and understandable language.

Key issues for consideration next year

4.16 The Group identified the following key issues as requiring consideration before full implementation of the throughcare and aftercare measures:

• achieving the right balance between regulation and guidance, including financial support, to ensure consistency of service without shackling local authority discretion to deal with individual cases;
• identifying performance measures for quality of service and service delivery to enable continual service improvement;
• establishing clear guidelines on assessment and action planning and ensuring that all who would be required to deliver the service were aware of and understood these;
• establishing effective computer-based information systems and data-sharing protocols;
• setting up a suitable appeals and complaints system.

Consultation on the content of regulation and guidance will take place in 2003. The Group will have an input into the drafting of the proposals that are issued for guidance. Performance measures are proposed for consultation in this report. The need for assessment is discussed in Chapter 7. The content of regulations on assessment and, if required, for an appeals and complaints system will also be included in the consultation on the draft regulations and guidance next year. The information requirements are discussed further in Chapter 8.

CHAPTER 5 PERFORMANCE MEASURES

5.1 The Group considered it important that there should be good monitoring arrangements and clear performance measures for throughcare and aftercare services to enable local authorities, Ministers and, most importantly, the young people themselves to gauge service development and delivery. Monitoring and measuring service development would be vital over the next year to show the progress that local authorities were making in improving current services, before full implementation from April 2004.

5.2 The Group recommends the following performance indicators from April 2003. The Group understands the Executive intends to consult on these indicators on the publication of this report.

5.3 The performance measures are:

• local authorities should have accurate information about the number of looked after young people leaving care over school age in their area by age and last placement up to 19 years of age;
• there should be a leaving care 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 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 up to 19 years of age, including length of placements and any periods of unemployment and incapacity.

5.4 The Group would expect further performance measures to be put in place as local authorities move to full implementation in April 2004. These would include: the existence of partnership agreements, policy statements and inclusion of throughcare and aftercare in the Children's Services Plans; involvement of young people in developing the service; an information pack for young people leaving care; information on young people receiving an enhanced section 29 service and how much cash support is being provided; completion and assessment and action planning; information on basic health factors e.g. number registered with a dentist/GP, lone parenthood; and information on complaints received and how they have been resolved. More guidance on these further indicators should be provided, for example on the link with Careers Scotland performance indicators.

Statutory Performance Indicator

5.5 While recognising that young people who had left local authority care were a highly mobile population, the Group considered that it was most important their outcomes should be monitored for as long as possible. The Group therefore recommended that throughcare and aftercare services be subject to an Audit Commission Statutory Performance Indicator. 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.

5.6 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.

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