Into the mainstream

Into the mainstreamCare leavers entering work, education andtraining

Maggie Allen

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has supported this project as part of its programme of research andinnovative development projects, which it hopes will be of value to policy makers, practitioners and serviceusers. The facts presented and views expressed in this report are, however, those of the author and notnecessarily those of the Foundation.

Joseph Rowntree FoundationThe Homestead40 Water EndYork YO30 6WPWebsite: www. jrf.org.uk

© North Yorkshire County Council 2003

First published 2003 by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

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Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Executive summary viii

1 Introduction 1Background to the study 1The research project 1Outline of the report 2

2 Method 3The sample 3The interview process 4Background data 5

3 The young people 6About the young people 6Activity at first interview 6Degree of change since leaving care and plans for the future 9

4 Into the mainstream – what factors influenced the young people’s economic

engagement? 11The nature of the looked after experience 11Schooling and educational achievement 12Careers support and advice 14Financial concerns 15Parenthood 15Conclusions 16

5 Where are they now? A year after care 17Young people’s situations a year after leaving care 17Number of changes through the year 17

6 Staying involved: what factors promoted or prevented the young people’s ongoing

economic engagement? 20Support 20Sources of support 21What type of support is useful? 23Financial concerns 27Personal circumstances 27Parenthood 28Attitudes and self-motivation 29

7 Conclusions and implications 31Implications for policy and practice 31Issues for future research 33

References 35

Appendix 1: Local authority responsibilities towards care leavers 36

Appendix 2: The first interview 37

Appendix 3: The second interview 39

Appendix 4: Profile of interviewees 40

vi

Thanks are due to the many people who havesupported and been involved in this project.A particular thank you to the 36 young people whoso willingly shared their stories and enabled thisstudy to be written.

To Malcolm Stone for his work on the originalproposal and to the research team who interviewedthe young people: Ellie MacWhinnie, MarieMilburn, Jane Pullan, Enid Wilson.

To North Yorkshire County Council for itssupport in enabling the study to go ahead.

To the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for its

Acknowledgements

financial support and to the members of theadvisory group for their many helpful suggestionsand comments throughout the study: DianeChriston (North Yorkshire Business and EnterpriseCouncil), Jeanette Clewes (Guidance EnterprisesGroup Ltd), Maggie Jones (Chair, Joseph RowntreeFoundation), Gill Keithley (Barnardo’s), Simon Kirk(North Yorkshire Health Authority), and ProfessorMike Stein, of the University of York, for hisadditional advice and support.

And finally to Jenny Reynolds for her editorialsupport.

vii

Research has shown that young people leaving careare less likely to be involved in education, trainingor employment and are more vulnerable to poorlife chances and social exclusion in later life. Thisstudy sought to examine care leavers’ transitions toindependent living and to identify the factors thathelp and hinder their economic engagement.

The research involved semi-structuredinterviews with a small group of young peopleshortly after leaving care and one year later. Theinterviews explored their current and previouseconomic circumstances and activities, theirsupport networks and the factors that affected theirinvolvement in post-16 career options, such ashousing needs, substance abuse and debt. Datafrom their social services records were alsoincluded in the analysis. A number of themesemerged.

Care history

Young people who enjoyed a relatively stablelooked after experience were more likely to besettled post-16. Important factors that affected theircare experience included the age they entered care,the reasons that brought them there, and thenumber and type of placements they experienced.Care history affected young people’s ability tobuild and maintain significant relationships, theirschooling, and their attitudes and self-esteem.

Educational achievement

The young person’s care experience had an impacton their educational achievement. Because of theirdisrupted childhood, a number of young peoplewere already struggling with their schoolworkwhen they entered care. Schooling was furtheraffected by moves to new placements that onoccasions, also required a change of school. Onthese occasions, young people struggled becauseschools were following different curricula. Gettingbehind in their work undermined young people’s

motivation and self-confidence and had a bearingon their educational achievement. Most youngpeople left school with few or no qualifications.

Financial worries

Young people were deterred from continuing withtheir education or undertaking training because ofconcerns about how they would supportthemselves during that time. Training and benefitallowances reflect an expectation that a youngperson will be living in the parental home, withoutthe costs associated with independent living.Although young people could find part-time workto supplement their income they were discouragedfrom doing so because of the complicated rules onhousing benefit. The interviews also revealed that anumber of young people were ill-informed aboutcare leaver benefits.

Informal and professional support

Professional and informal support were crucial inenabling young people to overcome the difficultiesarising out of their childhood experiences andcurrent circumstances in order to enter and remainengaged in employment, training or education.Young people benefited from help in finding outabout their career options, developing plans andaccessing opportunities. Professionals were bestplaced to provide this type of support, notablythose professionals such as Lifeskills mentors andNew Deal advisers who had long-term, consistentengagement with the young person. Help was alsoobtained from careers advisers, teachers and othersclose to the young person.

Young people who could access emotionalsupport fared better. This type of support includedencouragement to apply for jobs or training,exhortation to stick at what they were doing, andsomeone who was available when so much else intheir lives was changing. Young people who had ahistory of being moved on were most in need of

Executive summary

viii

Executive summary

this type of support because they were most likelyto drop out when life became challenging. Ingeneral, emotional support was provided by familyor substitute family members, but some youngpeople found this type of help from ‘befriending’professionals, such as sessional workers.

Young people also benefited from help in easingthem across the transition from being ‘cared for’ tocaring for themselves, e.g. managing their budgetsand ‘keeping house’. Family or substitute familymembers often provided the practical assistanceyoung people needed, such as an evening meal orhelp with the laundry, although in some cases alandlady or significant other provided the bridgeinto young adulthood. Ex-foster carers were also animportant source of support, often some time afterthe young person had left home and even wherethe young person had little initial contact with thefoster carer.

When professionals helped

Professionals were rated by young people whenthey had a long-term or well-establishedrelationship with the care leaver; when theprofessional provided informal or befriendingsupport or support that reflected the care leaver’snew, young adult status; and when the help theyoung person needed was flexible and tailored totheir circumstances.

Life circumstances

The circumstances surrounding the care leaver’stransition to independence played a significant partin influencing his or her success. Settled post-16circumstances, such as accommodation,relationships and health, were associated withengagement with post-16 economic options. Youngpeople in secure accommodation – ideally livingwith family members, in a substitute familystructure, or in supported housing – were morelikely to enter and remain engaged in their chosenactivity. Young people who had to cope with

difficult issues and a significant amount of changeafter care struggled to stay in work or continuewith a course of study. Factors that affected themincluded substance abuse; poor health; thebreakdown of a relationship and loss of otherfriendships/relationships; bereavement; andfrequent house moves. Young people were morelikely to be able to ride out these difficulties whenthey had the support of a significant other –professional or informal helper – available to them.

Parenthood

Young mothers in the group struggled with thesame issues as the rest of the sample, but in somecases their worries were greater. For example,mothers were particularly concerned about theirfinancial responsibilities and the effect of work ontheir benefit entitlements. They also facedadditional challenges. Mothers were deterred fromobtaining work or developing their skills andeducation because of difficulties obtainingchildcare and problems of travelling out of ruralareas to take up employment and trainingopportunities. Their concerns about being a goodmother and looking after their children alsoencouraged young mothers to delay continuingwith their education or pursuing career goals untilthe child was older. Despite these issues the youngmothers tended to show greater maturity than theirpeers and were moving more rapidly towards an‘independent’ adult status.

Problems associated with a rural area

The size and sparsely populated nature of thestudy area created a number of problems. As wasthe case for the mothers, opportunities in ruralareas were limited. Taking up opportunities couldinvolve moving away from vital support networks.When the young people were in care, subsequentplacements were often some distance from a homearea and young people found it difficult to

ix

Into the mainstream

maintain contact with friends and family. It alsomade it difficult to ensure young people continuedat the same school when placements broke down.

Attitudes and motivation

Care leavers’ self-reliance and attitudes wereimportant factors in helping them to achieve asuccessful young adulthood. Attitudes to educationwere also important and underwent a shift afterleaving care when young people were exposed tothe difficulties of obtaining reasonably paid workwith few qualifications. Many of the care leaversexpressed regret that they had not fared better atschool and, in some cases, a desire to continue withtheir education in order to improve their futureprospects.

Success in the face of adversity

In view of the adverse circumstances of theirchildhood and, in some cases, the looked afterexperience, many of the young people showedremarkable resilience in the transition to youngadulthood. Faced with many more obstacles thantheir peers from stable backgrounds, they overcamefinancial difficulties, substance abuse, relationshipbreakdown and ill health at the same time as theysought to find and hold on to settled housing,establish themselves in a new work or educationalenvironment and ‘keep house’ for the first time.

Implications for policy and practice

The study revealed a number of areas in whichpolicy and practice could be changed in order toimprove young people’s chances of success onleaving care. Chances could be enhanced by:

• improving the professional support available toyoung people, e.g. by making it more

appropriate to the care leaver’s new, youngadult status; by making it flexible and tailored tothe young person’s needs; and by ensuring thatit is provided by a few professionals who are aconsistent presence in the young person’s life

• ensuring employment and careers services meetthe particular needs of care leavers, such assupport in dealing with the demands ofindependent living compared with peers whocontinue to live in the family home

• facilitating the development of young people’sinformal support networks

• tackling the numerous financial barriers totraining and education, including barriers toresuming their basic education in later life

• helping young people to be informed about andto access the range of benefits and supportavailable to them on leaving care

• minimising disruption to the young person’seducation while in care and maximising theirinvolvement while at school by ensuring schoolsfollow the same curriculum; by helping a newpupil catch up with classmates; and by exploringnew initiatives such as learning mentors

• developing strategies to address financial andpractical issues arising out of living in a sparselypopulated, rural area, including young people’sdifficulties in keeping in touch with peoplewhen moved to new placements, lack of localopportunities and poor transport links

• developing support that tackles young people’semotional and behavioural problems before theybecome entrenched and enabling young peopleto build on the considerable resilience and self-determination they demonstrate both duringand after care.

x

1

Background to the study

Care leavers’ vulnerability to unemployment andpoorer educational achievement is welldocumented (Biehal et al., 1995; Stein, 1997; Steinand Wade, 2000). Between 2000 and 2002 only 37per cent of care leavers within England achieved atleast one GCSE or GNVQ compared with 94 percent of 16-year-olds in the general population. Inthe academic year 2000/1, just 6 per cent of careleavers in the large rural shire county where thisstudy took place obtained five A–C GCSEscompared with 59 per cent of young people leavingschool in the county who achieved five or moreA–C GCSEs (Department of Health, 2002) and anational average of 52 per cent.

Care leavers’ post-16 prospects are equallydisadvantaged (Social Exclusion Unit, 1999). Forexample, a survey involving 2,905 care leaversfound that 11 per cent were working full-time, 4 percent were in part-time work, 28 per cent wereinvolved in youth training, further and highereducation and 51 per cent were unemployed(Broad, 1998). Locally, in 1999/2000 half of the careleavers in the county in which the study took placewere not involved in any economic activitycompared with just 3–4 per cent of other Year 11young people (Guidance Enterprises Group Ltd).

Supporting care leavers

A number of studies have documented the linkbetween employment support for care leavers andtheir chances of remaining economically engaged(Lakey et al., 2001). Lakey et al. found that frequentmoves between schools meant care leavers weremore likely to drop out of school before takingexams. These young people were also more likelyto require extra support when starting workbecause of emotional difficulties and low self-esteem. However, care leavers were less likely tohave family support that might help them throughtheir adjustment to work or further education andtraining. Furthermore, the economic pressures of

living independently meant that many care leaversremained out of work because concerns about therisk to their housing benefit prevented them fromaccepting low-paid jobs.

In 1999, the Department of Health launched theQuality Protects Programme (QPP), which aimed toenhance the life chances of young people leavingcare by improving the support they receive duringthe transition to economic independence (seeAppendix 1 for information on local authorityresponsibilities to care leavers). This research wasconducted in order to examine how young people’schances could be improved and the targets of theQPP met. Legislative changes since the start of theproject mean that care is now delivered according tothe standards set by the Children (Leaving Care) Act2000. It is hoped that the findings from the researchwill inform and enhance the service offered to careleavers as part of this new legislative framework.

The research project

Aims

The study aimed to understand the factors thataffected the care leaver’s ability to engage ineducation, training and employment from theyoung person’s perspective. The project addressedthe following questions:

• How did frequent changes in schooling andcare placements affect the young person’sability to negotiate the transition to economicindependence?

• What support networks were available toyoung people and how did they impact oncare leavers’ current and future involvementin education, training and employmentactivities?

• How did care leavers’ personalcircumstances, such as their accommodationand relationships, affect their economicinvolvement?

1 Introduction

2

Into the mainstream

Approach

The study involved semi-structured interviewswith a sample of care leavers conducted bypractitioners working in the looked after system.The research aimed to unravel the process ofentering the world of work, training or educationby interviewing young people shortly after leavingcare and one year later.

Outline of the report

Chapter 2 outlines the study method. Thecircumstances of the young people shortly afterleaving care are presented in Chapter 3. Chapter 4reports on the factors young people believedaffected their economic choices and decisions onleaving care. The young people’s work, training andeducation activities a year after care are presented inChapter 5. The factors that promoted and preventedyoung people’s social and economic engagement ayear after leaving care are reported in Chapter 6.Chapter 7 summarises the key findings and explorestheir implications for policy and practice.

3

The sample

The study involved 36 young people who had beencared for under the auspices of the Children Act1989, Section 31 or 20, and who had left care beforethe implementation of the Children (Leaving Care)Act 2000 in October 2001. The majority ofinterviewees had left care less than a year beforethe interview, although 6 per cent had been out ofcare for more than a year. Young people wereincluded in the study if they had been looked afterfor three months or more and had continued to beaccommodated by the local authority at some pointafter their sixteenth birthday. Eight of the groupwere looked after under a Section 31 care order, asopposed to the more common ‘voluntary’ lookedafter accommodation status (Children Act 1989,Section 20). A court grants a care order where it issatisfied that a child is suffering or likely to suffersignificant harm as a result of the care it is under, orif the child is beyond parental control. Althoughtechnically still in the care of the local authority(LA) by virtue of the care order, these young peoplewere living within the community and not withfoster carers or in a residential children’s centre. Inthese cases, the LA continued to be responsible fortheir financial maintenance and accommodationcosts, but in any other respects the young peoplewere similar to those who had already left care.

Sample design and recruitment

The sample was designed to represent a range ofcare experiences and young people were recruitedaccording to factors such as the length of time sinceleaving care, their looked after experience, genderand any special needs.

Young people were recruited from the caseloadof a number of social work teams from two areas ofthe local authority. A social worker introduced theproject to the young person. If the care leaverexpressed an interest in taking part they were sentfurther information about the study. Finally, one offour sessional workers who conducted the

interviews contacted the young person to arrangethe interview.

Sessional workers are involved in social workteams on an ad hoc basis and offer befriendingsupport to young people. The original researchdesign ensured that no sessional worker wouldinterview someone already known to them.However, the design was revised once it becameapparent that young people known to sessionalworkers were more readily engaged in the researchand more open during the interviews. To ensurethat young people felt able to opt out of the studythey were given information about the projectseparately from the sessional worker’s invitation totake part. Only once the young person had agreedto participate did the interviewer approach them toarrange the interview. Sessional workersendeavoured to keep the interview processseparate from any work they were doing with theyoung person in cases where a relationship existedbefore the interview.

In some cases the researcher knew a youngperson in her capacity as the local authority’sDevelopment Worker for Leaving Care. Althoughshe was not a ‘case holder’ for any of theinterviewees, the researcher had a role in overseeingsome of their care plans. To avoid includinginformation in the analysis that was not obtainedthrough the interviews all transcripts wereanonymised. The meetings of the research advisorygroup and academic adviser also provided anindependent check for the data collection.

Thirty-six young people agreed to beinterviewed in the first stage. Four first-stageinterviews were excluded from the final analysisbecause of missing data, although details of theyoung person’s activities were included in theaggregate analysis. Young people were given £20for their time at the start of the interview. In orderto encourage care leavers to remain involved in andinformed about the research, they were sent athank-you note following the interview and a cardand brief update on the research at Christmas.

2 Method

4

Into the mainstream

Twenty-one out of the original sample of 36were interviewed one year later. Out of the 15young people lost to the sample at the secondstage, nine appeared to have preferred not tocontinue with the research because they did notrespond to a first or subsequent follow-up letter;three could not be traced; two could not beinterviewed because of work or life commitments;and another withdrew on the day of the interview.It was suggested that some interviewees declinedto take part in the second stage because the firstinterview had been cathartic: an opportunity forthe young people to ‘tell their story’ and vent theirfrustrations with the care system.

Information about the circumstances of five ofthe young people who did not take part in thesecond stage was obtained from the local authorityand incorporated in Figure 5 in Chapter 5.

The interview process

Figure 1 outlines the recruitment and interviewprocess.

The interviews

The interviews were conducted over the summerperiod. Interviews were tape-recorded andinterviewers also completed an interview feedbackform. Using a semi-structured approach, theinterviews explored the education, training andemployment history of the interviewee, supportnetworks available during this time and details aboutthe interviewee’s situation, such as theiraccommodation and financial circumstances (seeAppendices 2 and 3 for detailed interview schedules).

The interview schedule covered four areas:

1 the construction of a sociogram detailing theinterviewee’s support network andsignificant relationships

2 structured questions about the content of thesociogram

3 profile sheets for each period of education,training and employment

4 profile sheets for each person in the supportnetwork or gaps in support.

June 2000 July to September 2000 July to September 2001

4 interviewers recruited.2 × 2 hour preparation sessions

Interviewees identified.3 months + after leaving care

Pilot interviews and feedbacksessions.Adjustments made

36 interviewees approached.35 interviews completed

Data from SSD records collated

Christmas card and researchupdate sheet sent tointerviewees by interviewer

21 interviewees interviewedagain

December 2000

Figure 1 The interview process

5

Method

Stage two interview schedule

The follow-up interview provided an opportunityto find out about the young person’s progressduring the preceding year and examine, in moredepth, issues raised in the first interview. Thesecond interview (see Appendix 3) also involvedcompleting a timeline that recorded the timing ofsignificant events or circumstances, such as healthneeds or a change in accommodation and theirimpact on the young person’s career progress.

Confidentiality

Interviewees were assured that information wouldnot be seen by anyone outside the research team,unless there were concerns about child protectionor safety.

Background data

Where agreement was obtained, information heldon interviewees’ social services files was used toprovide a more detailed history of the interviewee’searlier life, such as the age of becoming lookedafter. This did not involve using information fromcase recording, but from the computer-held recordsgiving information on the number of placementsthey had experienced and the statutory basis forthe original involvement with that young person.The computer records did not contain informationon issues such as school attendance.

6

About the young people

The sample comprised 21 young women and 15young men aged between 16 and 21 years old at thefirst interview. Details about the age of becominglooked after and types of placement are reported inAppendix 4. Figure 2 summarises the age at whichthe young people entered and left care.

As is common for care leavers nationally (Biehalet al., 1995), the majority of the sample (n=14)entered care aged 14. Six young people entered careat 13. The age at which young people left care

reflected national trends. Half the group left care orwent to live in the community on a care order at theage of 16; nine left when they were 17 and sevenwhen they were 18.

Figure 3 details the final care placement of theinterviewees. The majority of young people lived ina foster placement.

Activity at first interview

Figure 4 summarises the young people’s economicsituations at the time of the first interview. Justunder a third of the young people wereunemployed at this stage (n=12), 25 per cent (n=9)were employed, with a further 17 per cent (n=6)employed and involved in some type of careertraining or work-based learning. The remainderwere involved in full-time education (14 per cent,n=5) or full-time carers (11 per cent, n=4). Twoyoung people engaged in full-time education werealso engaged in part-time work, but this is notshown on the pie chart because it was not theirprimary activity.

Employment and work-based learning

Interviewees were involved in a range of jobs suchas building, hairdressing, catering, retail, car repairand sales. Table 1 provides a snapshot ofinterviewees’ work, accommodation situations andcare experiences. All names have been changed topreserve the interviewees’ anonymity.

3 The young people

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

<=10 11–13 14 15 16

Age entered care

16 years old

17 years old

18 years old

Num

ber l

eft c

are

by a

ge o

f ent

ry

Type of placement

Male

Female

Num

ber o

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ewee

s

0

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4

6

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14

Family Foster Residential Foster andresidential

Figure 2 Age interviewees became looked after by age

of leaving care

Figure 3 Type of placements in last episode prior to

leaving care, by gender

Full-timeeducation 14%

Employed –training/work-basedlearning 17%

Employed –no training 25%

Unemployed33%

Carers 11%

n=36

Figure 4 Economic activity at the first interview

7

The young people

Table 1 Employment and work-based learning situations at the first interview

Age at Age entered careYoung Terms and first and type ofperson Employment conditions Accommodation interview placement

Ben Builder 1 day per week Officially left care but 18 12, foster careNVQ day release living with relatives with family;

placed with at age 12 care order

Jeff Hairdresser NVQ day release Supported 17 14, foster careaccommodation

Mike Mechanic NVQ day release Living with mother 16 13, foster care

Frank Seasonal work Short-term contract Homeless, staying 21 14, foster careat leisure park with friends

Mandy Shop assistant Full-time Supported lodgings 18 13, foster andin a supermarket residential care

Alison Office worker NVQ day release Supported 17 14accommodation

Karen Waitress Seasonal Living with 19 11, foster careboyfriend’s family

Derek Apprentice Not recorded Supported 20 12, foster care;mechanic accommodation care order

Jemima Packing shelves Full-time, no Council 19 13, placed withat a supermarket career development accommodation family

Nancy Agency work Casual Housing association 17 14, foster careflat

Isaac Bricklaying Full-time Girlfriend’s family 17 15, foster care

Tanya Care assistant Full-time Friends and family 17 15, foster andresidential care;care order

Ellis Seasonal straw Cash in hand Supported Not Not recordedtreater and claiming accommodation but recordedJobseeker’s Allowance unhappy sharing

with drug users

Linda Shop assistant Part-time Living with husband Not Not recordedin independent recordedaccommodation

Carl Catering NVQ No details 19 6 weeks, fostercare

8

Into the mainstream

Short-term employment

Four of the group were employed in seasonal orshort-term work. For example, Ellis was working asa farm labourer. Some of them were making plansfor further employment. Ellis was hoping tocombine work with part-time education and Frankwas looking for a job paying ‘decent money’:

I will not be doing any education or training since I amtoo old for that. I would like a proper job earningdecent money. I am going to get in touch with the jobcentre about a job at … the meat factory. Hopefully Imight be able to start when the season finishes … Idon’t think I will enjoy it as much … but it’s a job.(Frank)

Long-term employment

Eleven of the young people were in morepermanent employment. As would be expected forpeople of this age, the wages were generally low. Inparticular, the majority of young women were inlow-paid and low-skilled jobs, such as careassistant and shop work. Young men seemed tohave more opportunities to combine employmentwith day release. Five young people were involvedwith NVQ training schemes but only one of thesewas a woman.

Education

Five young people were involved in full-timeeducation (Table 2). Three of them were at college –Wendy and Rachel were pursuing a basic skills courseand Olivia was taking a GNVQ. Ron and Lance wereat school – Lance repeating a final year in his schoolsixth form. Lance and Olivia were entitled to incomesupport as they were under 19, in non-advancedfurther education and estranged from their parents.Olivia was claiming this benefit after supportingherself through part-time work in the previous year.Lance was working part-time and earning more thanhe could claim through income support, although hewas eligible for other support such as housing benefit.Rachel was supported through a care order.

Parenthood

Three of the care leavers were full-time mothersand one, Sandy, was pregnant at the time of thefirst interview (Table 3).

Unemployment

Twelve care leavers were not involved in anyeducation, training or employment. Three of theseyoung people had been looked after under a careorder, as opposed to the more common ‘voluntary’looked after status (Table 4).

Table 2 Young people’s educational involvement at the first interview

Age at firstName Situation Accommodation interview Care history

Lance Retaking final year at Living with ex-foster carer 18 16, foster careschool

Olivia About to start a two-year Supported accommodation 16 13, foster and residentialcollege course – left after carea month because couldnot cope with the work

Rachel Basic skills course at Supported housing 17 12, foster and residentialcollege care; care order

Wendy Basic skills course at Living with grandmother 17 16, foster care withcollege grandmother

Ron Finishing school education No details 18 14, foster care

9

The young people

Table 3 Circumstances of young mothers at the first interview

Age at firstName Situation Accommodation interview Care history

Sandy Expectant mother Supported housing – 16 14, foster and residentialawaiting rehousing in care; care ordertemporary LA accommodation

Fay Full-time carer with Independent housing 17 Not availableone child with partner

Elizabeth Full-time carer on LA housing 19 13, foster careincome support

Isobel Full-time carer on House rented through 19 14, not availableincome support housing association

Table 4 Situations of young people unemployed at the first interview

Age at firstName Accommodation interview Care history

Penny Supported accommodation 18 14, foster care; care order

Graham Housing association flat 17 14, foster and residential care

Gillian Housing association flat 18 11, foster care; care order

Beatrice Living at home but staying with 18 16, foster careboyfriend most of time. No incomesupport or Jobseeker’s Allowance

Debbie Student accommodation (about 18 16, foster careto start college)

Helen No details 16 14, foster care

Carol Housing association flat 19 14, foster care; care order

Harry No details 17 16, foster and residential care

Amy No details 16 16, foster and residential care

Neil Supported hostel accommodation 21 13, foster care

Anthony Living with family 17 14, residential care

Ken Involved in Learning Gateway 17 12, foster and residential caretraining initiative. Living in supportedaccommodation out of LA area

Degree of change since leaving care and plans

for the future

The young people’s situations as recorded in thetables belie the degree of change they experiencedboth preceding and following the first interview.Only two of the young people – Ben and Carl – had

remained in the same situation since they left care.Twelve out of the 36 young people for which therewere data had experienced five or more changessince leaving care. For example, Mandy hadworked in a number of short-term chambermaidand cleaning jobs and was working in a

10

Into the mainstream

supermarket at the time of the first interview. Itcould be argued that the period of flux and changethat many of the young people went throughmirrors the experiences of young people fromstable backgrounds. Other research has shown thatyoung people can experience a number of jobs orcourses before they settle on a more stable careerpath (Dolton et al., 1999). However, the number ofchanges suggests the young people in the studyexperienced a particularly turbulent time. Inparticular, changes were often for the worse, suchas a move out of work and into unemployment,and change was often precipitated by personaldifficulties, such as problems with accommodationor the ending of a significant relationship.

In many cases, the degree of instability reflectedthe absence of a clear plan of action and signified aperiod of drift. The number of young people whowere going through their transition to adulthoodwith no firm vocational/employment plan wassignificant and concerning in terms of their likelyability ‘to engage socially and economically’(Department of Health, 1999, p. 19, para. 5.1).Approximately half the sample had no plan for thefuture. For example, only Carl was involved in a

long-term course of study although it would beexpected that a high proportion of young peopleaged 17–19 would be completing academic orvocational courses at this point in their lives.

Even when young people did have plans, theinterviews a year later demonstrated that planswere often thwarted. For example, talking about hishopes at the first interview, Jeff, a hairdressingapprentice with day release at college, commented:

I’ll do this for a while, but not necessarily for thewhole of my career.

By the second interview Jeff had left his jobbecause of problems in his personal lifeprecipitated by the breakdown of the relationshipwith his girlfriend. Similarly, Mandy was workingat a supermarket and felt that she would like tocontinue working there for the next year at least,with a possible caveat: ‘but who knows?’ A yearlater she was unemployed.

The next chapter explores some of the factorsthat influenced how people came to be in theirrespective work, training or education situationsand whether they remained in them.

11

4 Into the mainstream – what factors

influenced the young people’s economic

engagement?

The interviews with young people shortly afterthey left care revealed a number of factors in theircare history and circumstances that affected theireconomic engagement. These included the impactof care on their schooling, educational achievementand their ability to establish and maintainrelationships; the nature of the support networksavailable to them; financial circumstances andother commitments in their lives. The chapterexplores these factors in greater detail.

The nature of the looked after experience

Some of the factors that influenced young people’seconomic engagement on leaving care had theirroots in the young person’s childhood and lookedafter experience.

Number and type of placements

Because of the small sample size it is difficult todraw conclusions concerning the impact of thenumber and nature of care placements on theyoung people’s transition to independence, butthere appears to be a link between a disrupted carehistory – involving multiple moves – and laterinstability. Young people, such as Ben and Jemima,who enjoyed long-term foster placements, inparticular with family members, were more settledin their work or training options after care. This islikely to be related to the minimum disruption totheir schooling prior to and entering care and thesupport they continued to receive from their fostercarers once they had officially left care. On theother hand, out of the eight young people whoexperienced both residential and foster care, onlyone, Rachel, demonstrated any post-care stability.Moreover, Rachel was cared for in a specialresidential unit because of her disabilities.

The age at which the young person entered care,

combined with the stability of the placement, alsoappeared to influence stability in young adulthood.Previous research has shown that young people whoenter care at an earlier age have a greater likelihoodof achieving post-care stability (Biehal et al., 1992;Stein, 1997). The majority of interviewees enteredcare when they were 14 years old. Because youngpeople entered care relatively late they had alreadyexperienced significant disruption both at home andat school as a result of their family circumstances. Asa consequence, young people were often strugglingto deal with emotional and behavioural difficultiesarising out of their home life, and struggling to keepup with their schoolwork. The size of the sample inthis study makes it difficult to draw clearconclusions about the influence of age at enteringcare, but there appear to be some links. For example,nine of the young people unemployed at the firstinterview entered care when they were 14 years ofage or older. Another one entered care at a youngerage but had experienced a disrupted care historyinvolving both residential and foster careplacements.

Care orders

The circumstances under which the young personentered care were associated with their post-caresituations. Eight young people were on care ordersand three of them were unemployed at the time ofthe first interview. It is likely that factors in theyoung person’s childhood that necessitated beingplaced under a care order continued to influencetheir later life chances and economic and socialintegration. As Chapter 5 illustrates, it is also thecase that, unlike their peers, young people on careorders are not required to register for careers helpwhen under 18 in order to claim benefits. This leftthem out of the reach of work opportunities arisingfrom contact with employment services.

12

Into the mainstream

Distance from home/friends

Because of the rural and sparsely populated natureof the local authority, many of the young peoplespent time in placements some distance from theirhome area. The LA’s three residential units forchildren of this age were also located in differentparts of the county. Placements away from homeareas affected care leavers’ ability to maintaincontact with their support networks. Young peopleliving in isolated communities were dependent onothers to provide transport for them to visit friendsor family in nearby towns or villages. Care leaversdid not have immediate access to someone to talkto when they were having a difficult time. Forexample, Beatrice experienced difficulties duringYear 9 of her schooling. She had wanted help withher schoolwork and someone to talk to as soon asthere was a problem. However, placed away fromfamily and friends and with no out-of-hours socialservices support beyond emergency help, she hadno one to talk to when things were difficult at homeor after school.

Schooling and educational achievement

This section examines the way that the careexperience affected young people’s education,including its impact on their relationship building,self-esteem and motivation, and on the number ofqualifications they obtained.

Qualifications

The original research was designed to obtain dataon young people’s qualifications from socialservices records. Unfortunately, many of therecords were incomplete and the informationobtained from the interviewees was also patchy.However, comments made during the interviewssuggest that many of the care leavers obtainedeither few or no qualifications and a number of theyoung people talked about how their lack ofqualifications limited them to low-paid jobs. Inretrospect, many of them recognised the

importance of education and expressed regret thatthey had not made the most of their schooling, orbeen encouraged to do so by carers. Young mothersin the group were particularly conscious of theirlost opportunities. One reason for the poorattainment levels of the group was the timing ofentering care. As the charts in the previous chaptershow, over half the sample entered care aged 13 or14. This is an important point in young people’seducation as they prepare to commence their GCSEcourses. For many of the group, however, it alsosignified a time when the accumulated difficultiesarising out of their home life made it difficult toengage with their schooling. Moreover, manyyoung people were already lagging behind theirpeers and had no opportunity to catch up.

Placement moves

Because of the size and rural nature of the localauthority, disrupted schooling was a particularfeature of these interviewees’ experiences. Anumber of interviewees commented on howfrequent moves affected their education. Because ofdifferences in schools’ curricula or the timing ofwhen subjects were studied, young people movingschools had to catch up with their peers or miss outparts of their education. For example, Sandyexperienced three school moves. Following onemove, she found herself a year behind in Frenchbecause the new school taught the subject a yearearlier than her previous school, but she was notgiven any extra help to catch up; as she said, ‘Youjust had to get on with it’. Another interviewee,Harry, moved schools in the final month of hiseducation because he left a foster home for aresidential placement sixty miles away. He blamedhis failure to complete his education on the move.

Although a number of interviewees mentionedthe detrimental impact of their disruptededucation, it was difficult to draw clear conclusionsabout the extent and nature of the disruption.Social services records did not contain muchinformation on young people’s schooling. The

13

Into the mainstream – what factors influenced the young people’s economic engagement?

young people themselves were often unable torecall details about school attendance and the firstinterview did not ask questions in sufficient detail.

The impact of residential and foster care

placements

In some cases, there was an association between thetype of care placement and educational experience.A number of young people felt that the move intoresidential care had a negative influence on theireducation. For some care leavers this was becausetheir peer group were negative about school. Forexample, Tanya felt that although staff weresupportive, her involvement with a peer group inthe unit ‘who didn’t care’ meant she did notcomplete her GCSEs. Other interviewees believedthat residential staff were too lax and had lowexpectations of the young people. For example,Elizabeth explained that she played truant becausestaff in her residential unit let her get ‘away withmurder’. Overall, a number of the young peoplefelt that there was too little support generally witheducation when in care. For example, Oliviacommented that:

Children in care should be encouraged to keep uptheir education.

On the other hand, a number of young peoplebelieved that going into foster care had a positiveeffect on their education. Young people whoexperienced the death of a foster carer felt thisparticularly keenly and were aware of the negativeeffect losing their foster carer had on their education.For example, Sandy felt that ‘if only’ her foster carerhad lived then she believed she would havesucceeded in her education and her life would havebeen different. Similarly, Lance felt that he changedhis course of study because his foster carer died.

Attitudes to self and school

Attitudes to schooling were a recurrent theme inthe project. Interviewees who were movedfrequently found it difficult to maintain their

motivation to work at their studies and keepbuilding relationships with staff and pupils. Forexample, Sandy felt that she gave up at schoolaround Year 8:

What was the point in trying to please people,because you would just get moved on again?

Mike also talked about losing interest andmotivation because he ‘could not keep up with thework so gave up’. He attributed this loss of interestto lack of support from teachers.

Don’t think they were bothered. If I skived, they couldnot do much about it.

Alison attributed not doing as well as expectedin her GCSEs to a move in her final year of schoolwhen she ‘lost interest in school and education’.

Others mentioned concerns that teachers hadpreconceived ideas about them because of theircare history. Isaac believed that teachers did notpush him enough or provide enough guidance. Hefelt his potential was not recognised and this, inturn, undermined his self-confidence. Youngpeople who did not reach their potential at schoolbecause of frequent moves and the disruption theyentailed also developed low self-esteem and lackedconfidence: additional obstacles to succeeding afterschool.

Frequent moves also sent mixed messages to theyoung people. For example, Mandy commented onthe tension between prioritising education andarranging placements. She felt that the low prioritythat education took when placements necessitateda change of school was at odds with the expectationthat young people would take their education andtraining seriously in later life.

The importance of other events

In some instances, the reasons interviewees werebrought into care acted as a diversion from theireducation. Young people talked about the difficulttask of working at their education while otherevents dominated their lives. For example, Isobel

14

Into the mainstream

described how her family circumstances muted herinterest in school:

I changed totally when I was in care. I lost interest inschoolwork and just wanted to be with my friends.This was no one’s fault, but the build-up ofcircumstances in my family life, and how I perceivedthe situation with my stepdad.

Benefits of care

Although the majority of the sample felt that theircare experience had a detrimental impact on theirschooling, some of the young people were morepositive. For example, Mike changed schools as aresult of a move into foster care. Compared withthe lack of support he received at his previousschool, he felt that his new teachers were interestedand supportive. He described the positive impactof this new environment on his ability to completehis work and on his general self-confidence. Heattributed the fact that he finished school andembarked on work with a day release scheme tothese changes.

Careers support and advice

The research attempted to understand the rolecareers advice played in helping the young peopledevelop and pursue a career path. Young peoplewere eligible to have one careers interview while atschool. After school, careers advisers were supposedto contact young people once a year and wereavailable to the care leavers should they desire help.Care leavers claiming benefits but not on care ordershad to see careers advisers in order to access theirbenefits. Young people with special needs hadspecialist support, via a specialist careers adviser.

Careers help at school

Just over half the interview group had contact withsomeone they described as ‘careers’ prior to leavingschool. Careers advisers and co-ordinators werementioned most frequently as sources of advice,

although it was not always clear, even to the youngpeople, whether the person was a careers co-ordinator at the school or a careers adviser from thelocal Careers Service. Unfortunately, the design ofthe interview schedule makes it difficult todifferentiate sources of advice because it included astand-alone question asking about careers advice atschool, whereas advice from other professionalgroups and family members was included within ageneral question.

Other professionals were also important sourcesof careers guidance. Social services staff, includingsocial workers, sessional workers, staff atresidential centres and foster carers werementioned by eight care leavers as people who hadprovided careers advice.

Some care leavers mentioned the careers helpthey received from teachers and head teachers,although not everyone liked receiving advice froma teacher. For example, Helen suggested that anindependent adviser based at the school might bein a better position to enable a young person tomake a fresh start than a teacher who might havepreconceived ideas about a young person withinthe care system. Isaac commented that it would behelpful for careers advice to be availablethroughout one’s schooling because it wouldencourage young people to continue with theireducation.

In general, few young people mentioned familymembers as important sources of advice oneducation, training and employment plans.

Careers advice after school

A number of care leavers were positive about thesupport they received after school and even listedcareers advisers in their support networks. But theinterviewees found it difficult to articulate howcareers advisers were helpful. In general, theytalked about help with obtaining information,accessing Jobseeker’s Allowance and makingcontact with employers. For Anthony, the CareersService was described as most helpful in assisting

15

Into the mainstream – what factors influenced the young people’s economic engagement?

him to make decisions about the future and theJobcentre as least helpful. However, he suggestedthat ‘If you’re inclined to work you will regardless’.

Some care leavers were more negative aboutcareers advice. For example, Carol commented onthe need for careers staff to listen and not have ‘abetter than you attitude’. Young people under 18were obliged to seek careers advice in order toclaim benefits. Some found the contact unhelpfuland described themselves as feeling ‘confused’ byit, found it ‘too intense’ (Graham), or felt pressuredbecause the adviser ‘forces you to do things youdon’t want to do’ (Carol).

Although some young people were unhappy athaving to go to the careers centre in order to claimtheir benefits, the interviews one year later showthat two young people found work through thiscontact. In contrast, unemployed young peopleunder care orders do not have to seek careersadvice to claim. Three of the 12 young peopleunemployed at the first interview were on careorders. This may be because they missed out on theopportunities that arise as a result of careers andJobcentre contact, although it could also be arguedthat the circumstances that necessitated them beingput under a care order created additional issues toresolve in their lives in comparison to other careleavers.

Two out of the three young people in theinterview group who attended special schools dueto disabilities or a statement of special educationalneeds had a specialist transition worker andspecialist careers adviser. In contrast to other careleavers, these young people had developed clearpost-education career plans and one of them hadremained on the same course for almost threeyears.

Financial concerns

Financial concerns were a significant factor ininfluencing the young people’s plans. Intervieweestalked about the need to earn ‘proper’ money as

opposed to training wages or being dependent onbenefits. A number of young people mentioned thedifficulties of funding themselves should they wishto continue with their studies or access a low-paidtraining scheme. For example, Nancy did well inher GCSEs and had originally planned to studyafter completing Year 11 schooling, but finallydecided to find employment because of financialworries. She described how care leavers feelcompelled to seek work rather than continue withtheir education because of the difficulties ofsurviving on benefits while they study:

Care leavers have to find work to continue with theireducation. You need money to live.

Benefit levels are calculated on the assumptionthat young people under 25 continue to live athome and interviewees were very aware of theextra costs they incurred in living independently.However, the interviews also revealed care leavers’limited knowledge about their benefit entitlements,such as the LA’s discretion to top up care leaverbenefits for the purposes of education, employmentor training. Ignorance of their entitlement reflectspoorly on the LA’s success in and commitment toensuring young people receive all the support towhich they are entitled.

Despite financial pressures, some intervieweesdescribed how being able to live independentlyprovided them with the motivation they requiredto keep working. For example, Helen felt that beingable to afford her own flat motivated her to stick ather job – something she had struggled withpreviously.

Parenthood

Four of the young people in the study were full-time mothers or expectant mothers at the time ofthe first interview. One reason for their absencefrom the labour market or lack of involvement ineducation or training was the desire to act asprimary carers for their children, but they also

16

Into the mainstream

mentioned other issues. The group lacked thequalifications needed to access jobs that paidenough to cover childcare costs and othercommitments. They reported feeling caught in abenefits trap because of a, sometimes misguided,belief that a move into badly paid employmentwould leave them worse off. Isobel talked aboutthis:

They go on about single parents taking money fromthe government, but they do not help at all. The waythey say they are helping does not help at all. I don’tknow the system. I would get £4.00 more byworking. They make it a lot more difficult for us, youhave to get a job that will pay for the housing, rates,etc. everything before you can even think what youare going to live on. Without qualifications you justcannot do it.

These young mothers recognised that theyneeded to improve their education in order toaccess better jobs. They planned to return toeducation once the child was able to attend anursery. For example, Isobel talked about her plans:

I’d train in childcare and I know it would take a fewyears and first I need to get some GCSEs. Then Iwould like to be a reception teacher – I did that for mywork experience and I enjoyed it and get on reallywell with children.

Conclusions

Factors in the young people’s childhoods and careexperiences affected their education, socialdevelopment and social integration. Theireducational experiences also affected thequalifications they obtained, their self-esteem andmotivation. Careers advice was variable andaround half the sample would not go to careersspecialists for guidance; they preferred to talk topeople in their own network or to rely onthemselves. The need to support themselves, andpoor awareness of the LA support to which theywere entitled, deterred many young people fromcontinuing their education or becoming involved intraining. Young parents were particularlyconcerned about money. Social and professionalsupport, other than careers advice, is also animportant influence on young people’s transition toindependence. The type of support young peopleobtained is discussed in Chapter 6, which combinesdata on support from the first and secondinterviews.

17

5 Where are they now? A year after care

Young people’s situations a year after leaving

care

Data on the situations of the care leavers at thesecond interview were obtained for 26 out of theoriginal 36 young people. In five cases informationwas obtained from the local authority and notdirectly from the young people.

Figure 5 summarises the economic activity of thesample at the second interview. Only two of theyoung people out of the remaining 26 were in thesame education, training and employment situationas in the previous year. Of the remaining sample atthe second interview 38 per cent had experienced twoor more changes during that year. Some of the youngpeople experienced particularly turbulent years. Forexample, Olivia left care at 16 and within a two-yearperiod had ten changes of education andemployment, some of which were periods ofunemployment. Although some young peopleremained in jobs for six months or more, the majorityof previous employment appeared quite short-term.

Employment and work-based learning

The interviewees were engaged in similar types ofwork as at the first interview with a predominanceof low-paid, low-skilled jobs such as shop andrestaurant/bar work (Table 5). Ben and Jemimawere the only two young people who were in thesame jobs at the second interview as they had beenat the first. Ben was the only young person to havecontinued with his day release programme.

Education

Only Wendy had remained on her college course(Table 6). During the year she moved from hergrandmother’s house to supported housing. Sheplanned to continue her studies next year. Lance,who was retaking his final year at school at thetime of the first interview, was working full-time inthe job he did part-time during his schooling.Olivia dropped out of college because she could notcope with the work and was training as a commischef.

Full-time carers

Three of the young people were acting as full-timecarers for their children and had done so since thefirst interview (Table 7). Isobel, who had been afull-time carer at the first interview, obtained workas a barmaid and waitress during the year.

Unemployed

Nine of the group were unemployed at the time ofthe second interview (Table 8). Six of them –Anthony, Carol, Ken, Amy, Gillian and Penny – hadbeen unemployed at the first interview.

Number of changes through the year

A number of the young people experienced asignificant amount of change during the year.Sixteen members of the sample had changedaccommodation and 16 had experienced changes ineconomic status. Of these eight had experiencedthree or more moves in and out of work, training,education and unemployment. For example, Kenwas unemployed for a month, spent the nextmonth in training, then claimed Jobseeker’sAllowance while on a training scheme and thenspent a further seven months unemployed. Thenext chapter looks at the factors that influenced theyoung people’s ability to experience a stabletransition into young adulthood.

Full-timeeducation 4%

Employed –training/work-basedlearning 12%

Employed –no training 36%

Unemployed36%

Carers 12%

n=25

Figure 5 Activity at the second interview

18

Into the mainstream

Table 5 Employment and life circumstances a year after leaving care

Name Employment Previous economic activity Circumstances

Mike Blacksmith 5 months’ unemployment Living with mumpreceded by full-timeemployment with day release

Lance Moved from part-time to Full-time education Moving to council bedsit;full-time shop work took overdose in the summer

Olivia Trainee commis chef 7 months’ unemployment Accommodation attached topreceded by 2 months’ employment; period of drugfull-time education use and disrupted housing

Jemima Full-time supermarket Employed throughout the Same LA accommodationassistant year since first interview

Graham Sales for tea company 1 month unemployed Same housingpreceded by 7 months’ association flatfull-time employment

Frank General assistant in catering Employed for the duration Looking for LA accomodation;firm, 6 days per week of the year got engaged in the year to

16-year-old girlfriend of5 months

Ellis Stacking shelves at Periods of casual work, Supported accommodationsupermarket; 25 hours per work experience andweek @ £4.12p/h, unemploymentpermanent contract

Beatrice Bar/hotel work; £4.50–£5.00 3 months’ unemployment Bedsit acquired throughper hour, full-time boss

Isobel Waitress/bar worker 6 months unemployed/ In same housing associationmother house; began relationship

with older man

Ben Apprentice builder Full-time employment with Living with original fosterday release for the duration placement rent free; sameof the year employment situation as at

interview 1

Rachel Catering work Work-based training No detailsprogramme

Harry Erecting exhibition stands Unemployed No details – could not beinterviewed

19

Where are they now? A year after care

Table 6 Circumstances of young people in education

Name Course Accommodation

Wendy Continuing basic skills course at college Supported housing

Table 7 Situation of primary carers at second interview

No. of children andName relationship situation Accommodation Other issues

Elizabeth 1 – ended long-term LA accommodation Anti-depressants sincerelationship with boyfriend baby’s birth

Fay 2 – engaged Housing association flat

Sandy 1 Now in permanent accommodation

Table 8 Situation of unemployed young people a year after leaving care

Name Time out of work Previous activity Circumstances

Ken 7 months 4 months’ work experience while Recently moved into a hostel;claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance ongoing alcohol problem; aboutand a month of full-time training to start college to study GCSEs

Jeff 1 month Previously in full-time Supported housing; trainingemployment with day release ended when lost job, probably

triggered by ending ofrelationship with girlfriend

Anthony 4 months 2 months’ ill health preceded by Council flat; drug use, butfull-time employment with cutting downday release

Gillian 12 months Ongoing unemployment Pregnant; ongoing drug problem

Isaac 5 months Full-time employment Supported accommodation; aboutto start 3-year college course aspart of New Deal

Penny Found placement in Period of unemployment Moved out of supported housingthe year but off due into council flatto ill health

Mandy Data from LA Supermarket work No details

Amy Data from LA Unemployed No details

Ron Data from LA College Living with dad

20

The interviews a year after the first demonstrate theinterviewees’ resilience to the demands they facedduring the year. Several young people revealed aremarkable ability to juggle major changes in theirlives while living independently, surviving on alow income and continuing with their work,training or educational commitments. The factorsthat affected their ongoing involvement includedemotional and practical support; financial concerns;life circumstances such as accommodation andsubstance abuse; parenthood; and attitudes andmotivation.

Support

Previous research has shown that social networksprovide an important source of work fordisadvantaged young men and that the practical,financial and emotional support that familiessupply contribute to young men’s success in thelabour market (Meadows, 2001). The intervieweeswere asked a series of questions about theirsupport networks, such as the nature andfrequency of contact, the type of help provided by aperson and how important it was to them. Datafrom the first and second interviews are reportedtogether because similar issues arose on eachoccasion.

The size and composition of the support

networks

Table 9 presents a summary of the young people’ssupport networks at each interview. Just afterleaving care, the mean network size was 6.2. A yearlater the average network size had shrunk to 5.1.These very basic statistics give an indication of thedeclining availability of support to the youngpeople.

The table also shows the extent to which youngpeople’s networks changed over the course of theyear. At the first interview, professionals made upthe largest portion of the young people’s networks(42 per cent), with the remaining half largely madeup of family (24 per cent) and friends (26 per cent).By the end of the year, friends were the largestproportion of the network (44 per cent) andprofessionals comprised only 23 per cent of thenetwork, with family (25 per cent) and foster carers(8 per cent) remaining about the same.

The shift in the network away fromprofessionals towards friends raises a number ofissues. For many of the young people, leaving careand setting up home independently signified a newphase of life and a putting behind them of some ofthe difficult childhood years. The move away fromprofessionals and the growing importance offriendships could be seen as a positive sign of theyoung person’s independence and increasing self-reliance. In some instances this was the case. Young

6 Staying involved: what factors promoted

or prevented the young people’s ongoing

economic engagement?

Table 9 Size and composition of the young people’s support networks

Time of Mean No. of No. of No. of No. ofinterview network size foster carers professionals family members friends

Interview 1 6.2 16 87 50 53 (n=33) Range 1–11 (8%) (42%) (24%) (26%)Interview 2 5.1 8 23 26 45 (n=20) Range 1–9 (8%) (23%) (25%) (44%)

21

Staying involved: what factors promoted or prevented the young people’s ongoing economic engagement?

people such as Graham and Beatrice met newpeople through work and had less need of supportprovided by professionals. However, where youngpeople were struggling to establish themselves theloss of professional support and increased relianceon friends were not necessarily positive. As thenext section indicates, young people neededsupport to succeed in their transition toindependence.

The interviews also revealed the transientnature of many relationships. The interviewees hadknown only 64 per cent (n=121) of the network fora year or more. One young person, Ken, had notknown anyone in his network for more than a year.Only eight young people had known all the peoplein their support network for more than a year, andin some cases the network was very small. Forexample, Debbie listed only one person in hernetwork – an ex-foster carer – and this was also theonly person she had known for more than a year.

Building and maintaining relationships

Respondents talked candidly about the impact ofcare on their ability to establish and maintainrelationships. In the first interviews, a number ofthe care leavers spoke about the detrimental impactthat frequent moves, often to placements somedistance from their previous home, had on theirability to make new relationships and sustain thosealready in place. For example, Mandy, who spenttime in both residential and foster care, articulatedthese difficulties:

You don’t get the chance to form real relationshipswhen you move a lot. They think you are talkative, butyou only say what they want to hear about. It’s notnormal, which makes it hard to form new friendships.I’m eighteen now and I still do things to please otherpeople, not because I want to.

Young people also talked about feeling differentand the stigma of being in care: both factors thataffected their relationship building. Difficulties in

making relationships are reflected in theimbalanced social networks of some of the youngpeople. For example, Nancy noted that hersociogram showed a lack of males, something sheattributed to earlier life experiences. Olivia, aged16, recognised the age differential in her circle offriends:

I don’t hang out with people my own age ... alwaysolder 28+.

Problems in relationship building werethreefold. Young people who have had difficultiesmaking new friendships are likely to feel lessconfident when they start something new, e.g. thefirst day at work. Young people who are used tomoving on are also less likely to be willing or ableto tackle the inevitable ups and downs ofrelationships. Because problems have always beenresolved by moving on, especially in the case ofthose young people who experienced a number ofmoves because placements broke down, the careleavers are likely to repeat the ‘leaving pattern’ inyoung adulthood. For example, Graham, whoexperienced a number of placement changes, had adispute with a colleague that led to him leaving hisjob. Moving on can affect engagement in work,training or education and it can also mean thatyoung people keep moving home when thingsbecome difficult.

A number of the young people had very smallsupport networks. One reason for this is poorrelationship-building skills, but it is also the casethat problems were exacerbated by the number ofplacement moves. Moves to different areas made itdifficult for young people to remain connected withimportant people in their lives.

Sources of support

Young people obtained support from a range ofpeople whom they knew in both a personal andprofessional capacity.

22

Into the mainstream

Informal sources of support

Family members

At both interviews, family members made upapproximately a quarter of the young people’ssocial networks. The majority of contact was withone or both parents (n=24); followed by siblings(n=21); grandparents (n=5); aunts and uncles (n=3)and cousins (n=2). Young people who had beentaken into care for their own protection under careorders were particularly unlikely to be in contactwith their family. Overall, 21 per cent (n=7) of theyoung people at the first interview and 25 per cent(n=5) at the second interview did not name anyfamily member in their support network. Careleavers who do not have the advantages of familysupport must face the realities of adult life muchearlier than their peers, as Lance described:

We grow up a lot earlier. It’s all jolly for kids not incare. They are in a bubble. We know the harshness oflife.

What became apparent in the interviews wasnot the different type of help that family orsubstitute family members provided, but theimpact that the absence of family had on the youngpeople. Care leavers who maintained ongoingcontact with their family or substitute familyfigures, and particularly those who benefited fromplacements with family members, were more likelyto experience a stable transition out of care. Forexample, the only two young people whocontinued in the same work they were in when firstinterviewed had enjoyed stable placements in theirchildhood with extended family members.Moreover, the young people maintained thesefamily links after leaving care. Ben continued tolive with the same family members under adifferent legal basis. Jemima lived independentlybut within walking distance of family memberswho continued to provide support. Bencommented on his uneventful year:

I have had no major changes – still live at the sameplace and no changes in relationships that matter.

Re-establishing family relationships was alsosignificant for young people. For example, in thecourse of the year Graham discovered the identityof his birth father and subsequently met him. Thishad a positive impact on his outlook for life:

More than happy, just to say I’ve got a dad. The lostpart of the puzzle.

Foster carers

Foster carers provided a substitute family structurefor some of the young people. Ninety per cent ofthe sample had been in foster care at some point intheir lives. At the first interview 33 per cent (n=11)of care leavers described foster carers as part oftheir support network and 35 per cent (n=7) at thesecond interview.

The interviewees identified some months afterleaving care, previous foster carers that in the firstinterview had not been mentioned, as beingimportant in their support network. This seemed toreflect the young people’s increased awareness,having spent time living independently, of thevalue of being able to drop in on their foster carers,and receive help with their laundry, the occasionalmeal, or encouragement in what they were doing.

Foster carers appeared less important to thoseyoung people who had been in both residential andfoster care. Just under a third of those who hadbeen in foster care had also experienced aresidential placement but only one of these youngpeople, Graham, named an ex-foster carer in hissupport network. This is probably because thefoster care placements broke down, necessitating aresidential care placement.

Friends and partners

Friends made up approximately a quarter of thesample’s network at the first interview and justunder half (44 per cent) at the second. Althoughfriends were named, there was little discussionabout the extent or nature of support care leavers

23

Staying involved: what factors promoted or prevented the young people’s ongoing economic engagement?

received from their friends. There was slightlymore detail about the help received from partners,or boyfriends and girlfriends. For example, Lancevalued talking to his girlfriend about the changeshe wanted to make in his life. Isobel talked aboutthe importance of the support she received fromher new partner, who was fifteen years her senior.A few young people, such as Karen and Isaac, livedwith their partner’s families.

While partners offered support to some youngpeople, they could be knocked back whenrelationships broke down. For example, Jeffappeared settled in all aspects of his life at the firstinterview. By the second interview, however, hissocial network had changed significantly, hisrelationship with his girlfriend had ended and hewas unemployed. He talked about the negativeimpact of the break-up on his mental health.Understandably, in general, young people found itdifficult to maintain a grip on their work, study ortraining when other aspects of their lives wereunsettled. As discussed in the next section, support,particularly of significant professionals, was crucialin helping them keep things together at a time ofinstability.

Professional support

Professionals, predominantly social workers,comprised almost half (42 per cent) of the youngpeople’s support network at the first interview.Fewer professionals were mentioned at the secondinterview (they made up approximately 23 per centof the network) but past professionals, particularlyprevious long-term social workers, were oftenmentioned as people missing from the youngperson’s support network. For example, Gillianmissed two previous social workers that she hadknown for a number of years.

Professionals, and social workers in particularwhen young people were leaving care, were valuedfor the practical support they provided, such ashelp in finding accommodation, dealing withbenefits, and discussing plans for education,

training and employment. Not all social workerswere rated, however – only those that lived up tothe promises they made, as Alison commented:

They are good if you ask for help and something getsdone about it. Many social workers say they will dothings but don’t come up with the goods.

By the second interview, young people named arange of professionals in their support networks,including a Lifeskills mentor, sessional workers, aLone Parent Adviser and careers advisers.Although they were attached to differentprogrammes and had different roles, young peoplenamed them because they provided a morerelationship-based type of support – a befriendingor advocate relationship, similar to the advisoryrole proposed as part of the Children (LeavingCare) Act 2000 and the Connexions service.

What type of support is useful?

It is possible to identify key features of the supportthe young people found beneficial in theirtransition to independence.

Practical help

Support networks were an important source ofpractical help with career planning and withmanaging life independently.

Developing and pursuing careers

The clearest examples of help in both developingand implementing career plans came from supportprovided by professionals, usually attached toparticular programmes or initiatives. Six of the 11young people in work at the second interview hadsignificant professional support in their lives. Isaacdescribed the help he received from a Lifeskillsmentor who had been assigned to him through hisinvolvement in the Learning Gateway’s Lifeskillsprogramme. At the first interview he had talkedabout his ambition to join the army, but had beenunsuccessful because of his medical history. The

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Into the mainstream

Lifeskills mentor helped him to develop a well-worked-out plan for the future and enrol on athree-year engineering course as part of the NewDeal initiative. During the intervening year he hadalso resolved his accommodation difficulties andmoved to a new home close to his new collegecourse.

During the previous year Isobel obtained workas a barmaid and waitress with the assistance of aNew Deal Lone Parent Adviser. Although Isobelhad been motivated to find work in order to rebutcriticisms from her family that she was not a goodmother, the Lone Parent Adviser facilitated her jobsearch.

Went to the job centre every week. She helped mefind a job. I went for interview and the next day Istarted work. Also she helped with child minders.Really sensible – no silly suggestions.

As the quote suggests, the adviser wasinstrumental in addressing other issues in Isobel’slife. She helped Isobel to complete childmindingforms and to sort out a complicated financialsituation with the Child Support Agency. Overall,Isobel felt that the Lone Parent Adviser was the mosthelpful person involved in her transition out of care.

Young people who did not have ongoingcontact with professionals were less likely to beworking or developing their education or skills.This is illustrated by the cases of those youngpeople on care orders until they were 18. Theseyoung people lacked careers advice after leavingschool because, unlike their peers, they did nothave to register with the careers service in order toqualify for benefits. It was also noticeable thatamongst this group no young person was on theLifeskills course that, in the geographical area, wascommon amongst their peers who neededadditional help to be job ready.

Non-professionals were also valuable sources ofpractical help to young people in their pursuit ofemployment, education or training. For example,

Fay spoke of the support her ex-foster carers gaveher:

Foster parents gave me encouragement and took meto college interview. They have been supportive sincewith all aspects of my life.

In general, family members were less likely toprovide this type of support than professionals. Onthe other hand, as illustrated in the next section,members of a family or substitute family were morelikely to provide help with everyday life issues.

Life skills/coping

All young people who leave school have to copewith the move into the adult world of work,training or further education. But young peopleleaving care must also cope with the strains ofmanaging their own budget, sorting out andkeeping their accommodation, and caring forthemselves. A sense emerged from the interviewsthat this was often too much. Young people faredbetter when they received practical help with day-to-day tasks of living. All the young people in workat the time of the second interview listed a memberof their family or an ex-foster carer in their supportnetwork. Care leavers who retained some contactwith their family or foster carers could turn to themfor basic support, e.g. an evening meal, help with aphone call or filling in forms, a chat after a bad dayat work. Supported housing also offered a halfwayhouse for some of these young people. Forexample, Ellis listed people at his supportedhousing project among those he would talk to foradvice about making future life changes.

Some young people received the type of helpthat might be provided by a family from otherrelationships. For example, Frank, lodging with afriend of a friend, enjoyed practical and emotionalsupport from his landlady. This was an informalarrangement in a small market town where therewere no supported housing projects. He describedthe relationship:

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Staying involved: what factors promoted or prevented the young people’s ongoing economic engagement?

[Landlady] pays all my bills; she cooks my tea andgenerally looks after me.

At the first interview he was in seasonaltemporary work. Following encouragement fromhis landlady to apply to the local catering firm, hewas offered a job that he had been doing for over ayear. Although he wanted to find moreindependent accommodation, the benefit of havingbills and food included in the rent reduced the riskof him falling into debt while he was establishinghimself in the world of work. Talking about theprevious year he described himself as:

Happy – I have never been happier than this in a longtime.

Professionals provided a different type ofpractical help. For example, young people such asPenny, Graham, and Olivia benefited from help inorganising their wages and bills, bouncing ideasabout what they wanted in work or college andminimising social isolation.

Practical support, often from family orsubstitute family members, but also from peoplesuch as landladies and professionals, seemed todetermine whether the young person was able tomaintain their involvement in education, trainingand employment. This may be because the supportenables the young person to tackle the transition toadulthood by taking responsibility for a number ofthings slowly. In the case of the landlady, Frankpaid rent but he did not have to pay for all his bills.A year on some interviewees had struggled whenthey felt too much had happened at once.

Consistent, long-term relationships

Care leavers who coped with the challenges ofyoung adulthood tended to have one or morepeople in their lives who were consistentlyavailable to provide emotional support such asencouragement, accountability, or even persistentnagging. Support could come from a professionalor from a family member or ex-foster carer. For

example, all but two of the young people in work atthe second interview had contact with a personfrom social services. The remaining two hadcontact with family members. As Mandy said,talking about careers advice, she would listen toher foster carers most ‘because they were at you24 hours a day’.

When care leavers talked about professionalsupport they described an informal relationshipwhere the young person felt ‘known’ by theprofessional. The in-depth and long-term nature ofthe relationship with professionals on specialprogrammes such as the New Deal seemed to be ofparticular help to care leavers. For example, Rachelreceived support from the specialist careers adviserassigned to her because of her disabilities as part ofthe Transitions Programme – a support programmefor young people with disabilities. She describedher careers worker as ‘helpful and funny andremembers things about my life’, and felt confidentthis was someone she could turn to when sheneeded help. The fact that the careers adviser knewand remembered Rachel contrasted with some ofthe young people’s concerns about the lack ofrelationship with their workers.

The lack of continuity in relationships seemedto be linked to greater instability and disruptionduring the year. In contrast to those such as Benand Jemima who enjoyed stability at work and intheir relationships, all of the young peopleunemployed at the time of the interview appearedto belong to fragile support networks. Thenetworks included few family members,professionals or foster carers. However,unemployed care leavers with plans at the secondinterview, such as Isaac, had received help from akey professional. Overall, having someoneconsistently available – a family or substitutefamily member or professional – seemed to providethe young person with the stability they required toride out difficulties, stay engaged in their economicactivity or develop plans for the future.

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Into the mainstream

Specialist organisations

Some of the young people with minor disabilitiesbenefited from the help of specialist organisations.For example, Ellis had experienced a rocky periodinvolving problems in his shared accommodationand a series of short-term jobs. However, he gainedwork as a result of a work experience placementarranged by an organisation that specialised inplacing people with disabilities in work. Hisaccommodation problem was solved when hemoved house within the supported housingprovider.

What was missing from professional support?

Continuity

Although a number of young people rated the helpthey received from their social workers, youngpeople were concerned by the high turnover ofsocial workers and other staff involved in theirlives. For example, Fay voiced issues raised by anumber of young people:

Social services need more organisation when itcomes to allocating people. Cases are just passedaround. They come to see me then go. I have spokento my social worker once and now it has changed.She is due to see me in the near future.

Interviewees described annoyance at having toretell their story to new social workers. In somecases, young people could not be bothered to recitetheir stories again, as Isobel explained:

Social workers are sometimes very judgemental anddo not realise how scared, vulnerable and nervous itfeels to be in care. Why should I let some one elseknow my feelings and thought? And subsequentlythe reaction comes out the wrong way – anger, badbehaviour …

Befriending

As well as continuity of relationship, a number ofinterviewees mentioned the need for more informaland personal care:

I think social workers need to care and be open; afriend rather than a professional. It is not always theadvice that is required, do this, do that, but the helpto do it yourself … someone willing to go with you.

Young people talked about professionals gettingto know them better, for example by finding outabout their interests and by offering some out-of-office hours, as Sandy commented:

Social workers should take more time to get to knowyou, have social visits, like come down for a coffeewhen nothing is wrong.

Tanya, with particular issues around pregnancy,felt she needed someone to talk to ‘like a Mum’.Mandy had lots of contact from both social servicesand from supported housing providers. Howevershe still wanted ‘someone to listen to you morepersonal’.

Support from sessional workers was more akinto the support young people were seeking.Interviewees particularly valued the long-termsupport provided by these workers, in contrast tothe, sometimes, transient relationship formed withsocial workers. For example, Sandy commented:

You need sessional worker support because socialworkers change so often.

Tailored, flexible assistance

Young people also mentioned a lack of advice andinformation on education, training andemployment options and the need for moresupport to find work, sort out accommodation andaccess ‘leaving care’ grants. As Fay mentioned,

I would rather receive help when I need it, forexample, accurate information on leaving care grantsand the grants to be made available when they arerequired – this could be planned before leaving care.

Fay’s desire for help ‘when needed’ was echoedby other young people. Indeed, an ongoing concernwas that the type and timing of support should beappropriate to the individual’s circumstances. For

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Staying involved: what factors promoted or prevented the young people’s ongoing economic engagement?

example, Olivia felt it was important to have atleast weekly visits from a social worker or supportworker when leaving care to ensure thatschoolwork did not suffer. On the other hand,Graham was involved with the Youth OffendingTeam because of a previous offending history. Hefound professionals’ focus on education, trainingand work options too much when he waspreoccupied with sorting out his new flat andsettling into it.

Staff would tell me what to do without asking mefirst.

He would have valued more involvement fromprofessionals and a greater emphasis on educationwhen he was still in residential care.

Financial concerns

Inevitably, many of the young people’s moves intowork or education were shaped by their financialcircumstances. They did not have the opportunityof easing themselves into adulthood by working,studying, or both, while living in the family home.Interviewees talked about the complications of thebenefit system where income is taken into accountwhen calculating housing benefit. The perceivedcomplications deterred some interviewees fromattempting to combine part-time work and studythe way that many of their peers did. Instead, someinterviewees felt that their financial circumstancesobliged them to abandon any thoughts ofcontinuing their education and concentrate onfinding work. For example, Beatrice, aged 18 at thetime of the interview, found work because shebelieved she could not afford to live independentlyand fund herself through education. Peers livingwith parents would not have these issues tocontend with and may find part-time work anattractive feature of the transition to youngadulthood.

In two cases, difficulties in accessing benefitsacted as a spur for finding work. Graham found

work, although he left after nine months, throughan advert he saw at the careers centre which he hadto attend in order to claim his benefits. Beatrice’shome situation motivated her to find work so thatshe could move into her own accommodation. Shehad been living at home but received no financialsupport from her parents because of problems inthe relationship and she was not entitled to benefitsbecause she was under 18 and still in the parentalhome. She found work as a waitress via her localJobcentre and then moved into the private rentedsector through her manager at work. Asked if thiswas what Beatrice thought she would be doing ayear ago she said:

Maybe – it was one of the things I was willing to do.It was not my main choice but it’s okay. I havethought of leaving a few times but it’s the money. Iwould like the weekends off but the wages are goodfor a 19-year-old.

Personal circumstances

A recurring theme in the second interviews was thesignificance of life circumstances. Care leavers hadto deal with a range of issues that affected theireconomic engagement, including housing,relationships, debt, health and substance use. Forexample, in the course of the year, Anthony saw hisbenefits cut to £50 per fortnight, he lost his job andthe associated NVQ training because he hurt hisarm, fell out with his mother and was strugglingwith a drink problem for which he finally soughthelp.

In a small study of this kind it was not possibleto unravel the extent to which an unstable personallife created difficulties in economic engagement orwas symptomatic of young people least able topursue work and educational options. Whethercause, symptom or both, a significant proportion ofthe young people who had made little progressalong a career path had experienced a difficult andunsettled year in their personal lives. Ken,

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Into the mainstream

unemployed and living in a hostel, remembered thefirst year after having left care as being aparticularly difficult time.

The one before [year] was the worse of my entire life.

Sudden changes in the young person’scircumstances were often the cause of disruption butthe support of a professional at that point helped toensure the young person stayed connected withcareer choices. For example, during the year Oliviadropped out of college and spent some timeunemployed. The involvement of her social workergave her some stability during that time and helpedher get back into work as a trainee chef.

Accommodation

Whether or not the young person lived in settledaccommodation seemed to have a bearing on theirability to remain engaged in their work, training oreducational situation. For example, during theprevious year Ellis had been unhappy in thesupported, shared accommodation in which he wasliving and had worked in a series of short-termjobs. A move to new accommodation with differentflatmates, again in supported housing, coincidedwith a move into a permanent job.

Having a stable home life appeared to be aparticularly important factor in differentiatingoutcomes for young people who had an unsettledcare history. Young people with unsettled carehistories who moved frequently after care were lesslikely to be able to remain engaged with theireconomic activity. Olivia, who had both residentialand foster placements in the three years she was incare, experienced ten changes over the course oftwo years after care. In the space of five monthsduring the year between the interviews she left hersupported accommodation, moved into a hostel,returned to supported housing, and then left whenshe found a job with accommodation attached.While these changes were happening her bestfriend was sent to prison, her mother disowned herand she was involved with drugs.

Health issues and drug and alcohol abuse

A number of young people mentioned the negativeimpact of drug and alcohol use on their lives.Substance abuse was often one part of a broaderpicture of instability. For example, Gillian waspregnant and had been unemployed for theduration of the year. Drug use, and its impact onmotivation and memory, compounded otherdifficulties, as illustrated in Gillian’s comments oncareers support:

I have had [careers] appointments, but couldn’t bebothered to attend. I think the last careers interviewwas two years ago but smoking dope you getmemory lapses.

Anthony and Ken also experienced unsettledyears prior to the interview. In contrast to Gillian,however, both were aiming to address theirsubstance misuse issues. Anthony was havingcounselling for his alcohol problem. Ken felt he hadalready managed to reduce his cannabis use to aless disruptive level. He was planning to return tocollege to do GCSEs, which he had not completedduring his time in the looked after system.

Parenthood

By the second interview, four of the young peoplewere primary carers. They struggled with some ofthe difficulties of accessing work, education ortraining that other young people described. Theyoung parents also faced additional problems, suchas organising childcare.

Financial concerns

Young parents were particularly aware of thelimited and poorly paid job opportunities availableto them because of a lack of qualifications. Theytalked about feeling caught in a benefits trap,unable to earn enough to compensate for the lostbenefits. For example, Fay, a mother of two livingwith her partner, who was also unemployed, talkedabout her plans for the future. As she said, ‘I would

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Staying involved: what factors promoted or prevented the young people’s ongoing economic engagement?

eventually like to find a job and get some training. Iwould prefer training within the job rather thancollege’, but she felt enmeshed in her financialcircumstances:

We are managing on benefits, but if [partner] got ajob we would have to pay full housing, which wouldmean we were worse off.

These beliefs about a ‘benefits trap’ were notalways accurate, but they point to the need forprofessionals to educate young people about theirwelfare rights and assist them to access what isavailable.

Transport limitations and work options

The rural nature of the study area createdadditional barriers to finding work or accessingtraining and education for the whole sample. Localopportunities were limited and young peopleneeded to travel or relocate in order to pursue workor appropriate training. This was particularlyproblematic for care leavers with children. Thelimited public transport infrastructure madetravelling without a car highly problematic andcostly, while funding a car was not an option. Forexample, Elizabeth was not working at the time ofthe interview and had recently broken up with herpartner. She lived in a small market town andneeded to work locally.

Childcare

Finding appropriate childcare was also an issue.Elizabeth had to turn down an interview becauseshe could not secure a place for her child in thelocal nursery:

I went down to the job centre and completed [the]application form. As and when they have a job theyring me up. I was offered an interview at [local leisureclub]. But couldn’t go because I couldn’t get [herchild] into nursery.

Priorities and attitudes

The responsibilities of parenthood had a distinctimpact on the attitudes and motivation of theyoung mothers. Isobel had been motivated to seekwork partly because she wanted to prove to herfamily that she was a good mother. She found workthrough the help of a New Deal Lone ParentAdviser. On the other hand, Sandy’s priority was tofocus on bringing up her child and she did not planto undertake any work or training until her childwas at school:

I’ve realised everything boils down to [her child] now.

Although parenthood affected the youngpeople’s motivation to find work differently, theywere similar in that becoming parents helped themto develop a more independent and mature status incomparison with their peers. For example, as a resultof becoming a mother Sandy had developed newfriendships and so become more confident incontinuing friendships not based on the commonfactor of children. The research echoed the findingsof other studies that have identified the positiveimpact of motherhood on care leavers’ developmentof an adult ‘non-care’ status (Hutson, 1997).

Attitudes and self-motivation

In many cases, the young person’s motivation towork or undertake further education or trainingwas the main impetus for change. For example,when asked who would be important in makingany future changes Isaac replied, ‘I’m the only one’.Others, such as Ken and Jeff, were equallyconvinced that the outcome of their future lay withthem. For example, looking at the year ahead, Jefffelt:

Things will get better. It’s what you make it.

Similarly, some young people were dismissiveof careers advice and believed that the best optionwas to rely on themselves. For example, Kenreplied to questions about careers advice that:

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Into the mainstream

I would never go to careers – I’ll sort myself outmyself. They only make things more difficult.

The determination and energy shown by someof the young people contrasted with the sense ofhelplessness, inertia or lack of motivation shown byothers. For example, Gillian, unemployed andexpecting a baby, seemed trapped in hercircumstances:

Might go to careers – but unlikely cos I’m pregnantand I’m one of those who live off the state.

Changing attitudes to education

Many of the young people experienced difficultiesfinding reasonably paid work because of few or noqualifications. While this had been a difficultexperience their exclusion from the labour marketalso helped them to value education and training asa means to better opportunities. For example, aftera difficult year, Ken recognised the need to makeup for lost time. He planned to return to college totake his GCSEs, which he had not completed whilsthe had been in the looked after system. He nowrealised the difficulty of accessing better workwithout these qualifications but was optimistic thathe could achieve his goals: ‘I feel I can do it’.

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7 Conclusions and implications

Care leavers’ accounts of the year after care providea keen insight into the factors that helped andhindered their transition to young adulthood. Thereport does not include the perspectives of otherpeople involved in the young people’s lives at thesame time. The single-perspective approach hasstrengths and weaknesses. We do not have a‘professional’ perspective on the young people’sdifficulties and the help they received. On the otherhand, we have a keener understanding of whatyoung people found particularly difficult, whatthey expected from the care they received, andwhat they felt helped.

One consideration in assessing the findings isthe number of young people lost to the study at thesecond interview. We do not know the reasons whynine young people declined to participate in thesecond phase. One explanation is that they wereparticularly disengaged from social and economiclife. This may be especially true of those who couldbe not traced. The picture painted of care leavers’economic engagement a year later may have lookeddifferent had the study been able to include theseyoung people.

The accounts reveal a number of factors thatcombined to influence the care leaver’s transition toyoung adulthood. The disadvantage the youngpeople experienced before being looked after andthe nature of the care experience, including the ageof entering care, affected their educationalachievement, relationship-building skills andsupport networks. In most cases young peoplewere already lagging behind their peers at school,but their educational achievement was furthermarred by frequent moves to new schools and alack of encouragement and motivation to pursuetheir studies. Financial concerns deterred youngpeople from continuing with or revisiting theireducation. In some cases, financial worries wereunfounded and based on a lack of informationabout benefit entitlements.

Professional and informal support was crucialto the young person’s success. The care leavers

benefited from help, usually from professionals,with developing and pursuing career options.Emotional encouragement, often from family andsubstitute family members, helped young people tostay engaged in what they were doing.Professionals in a befriending role, such assessional workers, were also helpful in this respect.Young people also required support with practicalaspects of independent living. Where young peopledid not receive this support, the issues they had tocontend with, such as substance abuse, relationshipbreakdown and moving home, could tip thebalance against them remaining in their work,training or educational situations.

Young mothers faced distinct barriers. Theseincluded lack of childcare, transport difficulties andfinancial concerns about earning enough to coverchildcare costs and lost benefits. Particular issueswere associated with the rural nature of the studyarea, including the dispersion of the youngpeople’s support networks and transport andfinancial barriers to accessing them. The area alsoyielded very limited training and employmentopportunities.

Care leavers’ motivation and belief in theirability to succeed went a long way in helping themto overcome the barriers they faced. The sampleexhibited considerable reliance and skill in jugglingthe demands of finding and maintainingindependent accommodation, establishingthemselves in a new work or educationenvironment, ‘keeping house’ for the first time andcoping with a range of difficulties, such assubstance abuse, relationship breakdown, housingproblems and ill health.

Implications for policy and practice

While some young people succeeded, othersstruggled under the challenges and responsibilitiesthey faced on leaving care. The findings point to anumber of areas where developments in policy andpractice may enhance care leavers’ likelihood of a

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Into the mainstream

successful transition to young adulthood. Theimplications are outlined below.

Enhancing professional support

• Support needs to be flexible, targeted and gearedto the pace at which the young person is able toengage with their future employment, educationand training options.

• Young people’s endeavours to continue withtheir chosen work or study options were oftenhindered by having to deal with considerableadversity in other aspects of their lives. Careleavers are more likely to stay in their jobs ortraining and educational roles if they have helpwith the other pressing issues they face, such asstable housing and financial security.

• Professional support is likely to be most effectivewhere there is continuity of key workers. Inorder to maximise continuity of support the LAand other agencies should ensure there issufficient flexibility within staff roles and acrossprofessional boundaries to ensure that ongoingsupport is available to care leavers.

• Young people demonstrated considerableresilience and self-reliance after care andprofessionals could help young people build onthese skills in order to improve access to futureopportunities.

• Professionals in new roles such as ConnexionsPersonal Advisers and Leaving Care PersonalAdvisers are well placed to address care leavers’needs for long-term, holistic support – a supportthat was infrequently available to the careleavers in this study.

• The Employment Service should ensure thattheir practitioners are informed about andresponsive to the issues affecting care leavers,such as housing needs and their ability toengage with and remain in employment whileliving independently.

• Within the new system of financial support foryoung people under the Children (Leaving Care)Act 2000 the LA and Careers/ConnexionsService should work together to ensure thoseyoung people dependent on the LA for financialsupport do not lose out on the careers adviceother young people receive as part of the routeto welfare benefits, or as part of their school orConnexions support.

• Schemes to encourage people into work ortraining should recognise the additional factorsin care leavers’ lives that affect attendance.Systems should be put in place to ensureindividual work plans link into individualpathway plans to help address these issues.

Addressing issues early

• Young people need support in resolving issuesarising out of the loss and bereavementassociated with a move into care beforeproblems become entrenched.

• Developing strategies to enhance young people’sresilience and coping skills before they leave careshould assist young people to cope moresuccessfully with life after care.

• Informal support played a significant role inhelping care leavers in their transition to youngadulthood. Professionals are in a position toassist young people to maximise the informalsupport available to them by helping to identifykey people in the support network at an earlystage.

Promoting informal support

• Young people experienced some difficultiesbuilding and maintaining relationships.Professionals are well placed to encourage andhelp young people to develop their supportnetworks. The rural nature of the LA posedparticular barriers to keeping in touch withpeople. Practitioners should ensure that issues

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Conclusions and implications

around distance are recognised, costed andincorporated into pathway planning.

• Ex-foster carers provided considerable supportto care leavers some years after caring for them.Professionals should recognise and support therole ex-foster carers play.

Supporting new parents

• Parents face additional barriers to economicengagement. They need to be able to accessappropriate childcare in order to take up work,training or educational opportunities. Theywould also benefit from help in reviewing andaccessing their benefit entitlements.

Tackling financial barriers

• Young people were deterred from continuingwith their education or accessing trainingbecause of financial concerns. Professionalscould help by ensuring that young people areproperly informed about the support they areentitled to after care and that benefitentitlements are regularly reviewed.

• Young people need financial support to enablethem to resume their basic education in later life.Support should be equivalent to that which theywould have received when they were in theeducation system.

• Welfare benefits and training allowances shouldreflect the additional costs associated with livingindependently compared with a young personliving in the home environment. Care leaversrequire additional financial support from theirlocal authority to enable them to pursue trainingoptions, even when the young person is over 18and no longer the sole responsibility of the LA.

• The government’s Standard SpendingAssessments should recognise the additionalcosts rural authorities face in supporting careleavers effectively.

Protecting and promoting education

• Care placements frequently involved a change ofschool. Practitioners should strive to ensure thatplacements avoid a change of school unless itwould benefit the young person’s education.

• Young people who moved schools often foundthemselves behind or out of kilter with the newcurriculum. Systems need to be in place toensure that either different schools are followingthe same curriculum or the young person isgiven help to catch up.

• Care leavers living independently need practicaland emotional support to continue with theireducation. Schools and colleges could assistyoung care leavers by ensuring that systems arein place to address their particular needs. Peersor mentors in educational establishments mightencourage young people to remain committed totheir education while in the looked after systemor after care.

• Local authorities should exploit theopportunities given within the Children(Leaving Care) Act 2000 to ensure that youngpeople leaving care are not disadvantaged fromgoing on to further and higher education due toa lack of financial support.

Issues for future research

This was a modest piece of research. The relativelysmall sample size and the attrition it faced at thesecond interview make it difficult to drawconclusions about cause and effect mechanisms indetermining outcomes for young people. Thedifficulties are exacerbated by the complexity offactors that had a bearing on these young people’slives. As well as pointing to the need to understandmore about the mechanisms that shape outcomes inyoung adulthood, the research findings provoke anumber of questions for future research. Theseinclude:

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Into the mainstream

• What are the most appropriate roles for theprofessionals involved with the young people?How can professionals best establish anappropriate relationship with the care leaver thatrecognises both their adult, independent statusand the ongoing statutory basis of the worker’sinvolvement?

• What is the importance of the care leaver’s self-reliance and how can their self-determination

best be harnessed to assist them in pursuit oftheir education, training and employmentopportunities?

• What are the economic circumstances of youngpeople who have been out of care for five ormore years and how do these circumstancesvary according to the social networks andsources of support at their disposal?

35

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Chance: Employment Support for Young People with

Multiple Disadvantages. York: York PublishingServices

Meadows, P. (2001) Young Men on the Margins of

Work: An Overview Report. York: York PublishingServices

Rabiee, P., Priestley, M. and Knowles, J. (2001)Whatever Next? Young Disabled People Leaving Care.

Leeds: First Key

Social Exclusion Unit (1999) Bridging the Gap: New

Opportunities for 16–18 Year Olds not in Education,

Employment or Training. London: Social ExclusionUnit

Stein, M. (1997) What Works in Leaving Care?

Barkingside: Barnardo’s

Stein, M. and Wade, J. (2000) Helping Care Leavers:

Problems and Strategic Responses. London:Department of Health

References

36

Under the Children Act 1989 the local authority is required to:

… advise and befriend young people under 21 who were cared for away from home after the age of 16.(Section 24(2))

… provide assistance in kind or, in exceptional circumstances, in cash, to any young person who qualifies for advice.(Section 23(6))

… provide financial assistance connected with the young person’s further education, employment or training. This powerenables the local authority to contribute to expenses and the costs of accommodation so that a young person can livenear a place where he or she is employed, seeking employment or receiving education or training.(Section 24(8))

Note: The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 has given local authorities additional duties to care leavers.

Appendix 1

Local authority responsibilities towards care leavers

37

Appendix 2

The first interview

Member of support network profile

Name:

Known for how long?

Relationship? Friend / family /professional (specify)

Contact in past month? Yes / No

How often in past month?

Nature of contact? Face to face / telephone / letter / other

Who took initiative? Mostly young person / 50/50 / Mostly other person

Satisfied with level of contact? Yes / No

If no, preferred level of contact for past month.

This person could be relied on for help with:Finance / housing / personal life / education, training and employment.

Overall level of importance (e.g. 2/12)

The interview schedule covered four areas, outlined below.

Part One – Current support network

Support network questions were used to build up the sociogram with the young person. A ‘Member ofsupport network profile’ was completed for each person identified.

Gap in support network profile

Name:

Known for how long?

Relationship? Friend / family / professional (specify)

Preferred level of contact in 2-week period?

Preferred nature of contact?Face to face / telephone / letter / other

Preferred purpose of contact?Finance / housing / personal life / education, training and employment

Preferred initiative?Mostly young person / 50/50 / mostly other person

Preferred order of importance (e.g. 2/12)

38

Into the mainstream

Part Four – The wider context

Other issues prominent for young person, e.g. accommodation. Anything else young person wishes to add.

Part Two – Current education, training and employment

Two different sections – one for those involved in some work, training or education and one for those whowere not.

Part Three – History of education, training and employment

A flow chart was constructed using a ‘History of education, training and employment’ form.

History of education, training and employment

Name of young person:

Description of e/t/e:

Date started:

Date finished:

How did you come to be doing this?

Who did you discuss this with?(prompt for family, friends, careers service, social workers, others)

Who was most useful:

Who was least useful:

Order of form:

39

The second interview covered four areas.

Part One – Current support network

Summary of purpose of second interview and update from previous interview. Completion of ‘Member ofsupport network profile’, as for first interview.

Part Two – History of education, training and employment over the past year

Completion of ‘History of education, training and employment’ form.

Part Three – Current education, training and employment

Two alternative sections for those occupied and those not occupied.

Part Four – The wider context

Particular prompts for finance, accommodation, relationships, significant health and other issues linked totimeline outlined below.

Appendix 3

The second interview

Table A3.1 Timeline of significant changes

July Aug. Sept. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May July Aug. Sept.2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001

Debt

Housing

E/T/E

Relationships

Health

Other

40

Table A4.1 Profile of interviewees

Age at Age at last Age Placement Looked-afterInterviewee 1st interview episode into care left care experience status*

Alison 17 14 17 Foster care Section 31**Beatrice 18 16 17 Foster care Section 20Karen 19 11 18 Foster care Section 20Debbie 18 16 17 Foster care Section 20Anthony 17 14 16 RCC Section 20Elizabeth 19 13 18 Foster care Section 20Ben 18 12 18 With family Section 31Carl 19 6 wks 18 Foster care Section 20Derek 20 12 18 Foster care Section 31Ellis N/aFay 17 15 Section 20Gillian 18 11 17 Foster care Section 31Isobel 19 14Helen 16 14 16 Foster care Section 20Frank 21 14 Foster care Section 20Graham 17 14 16 Foster care and RCC Section 20Jemima 19 13 16 RCC Section 20Linda N/a Section 20Carol 19 14 17 Foster care Section 31Mandy 18 13 18 Foster care and RCC Section 20Nancy 17 14 16 Foster care Section 20Harry 17 14 16 Foster care and RCC Section 20Isaac 17 15 16 Foster care Section 20Jeff 17 14 16 Foster care Section 20Olivia 16 13 16 Foster care and RCC Section 20Penny 18 14 17 Foster care Section 31Ken 17 12 17 Foster care and RCC Section 20Lance 18 16 18 Foster care Section 20Rachel 17 12 17 Foster care and RCC Section 31Sandy 16 14 16 Foster care Section 31Tanya 17 15 16 Foster care and RCC Section 31Mike 16 13 16 Foster care Section 20Amy 16 14 16 Foster care and RCC Section 20Wendy 17 16 17 Foster care Section 20Neil 21 13 Foster care Section 20Ron 18 14 17 Foster care Section 20

* Children Act 1989.** Section 31 = care order.RCC = Residential children’s centre.

Appendix 4

Profile of interviewees