Policy & legislative framework
Policy framework
In recent years, the needs of young people in care and care leavers have moved rapidly up the policy agenda. Employment has been a particular area of focus. In November 2007, the UK Government launched Public Service Agreement (PSA) 16 on socially excluded adults, in which care leavers were identified as one of the four target groups. PSA 16’s aim was to increase the number of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and employment, education or training. In addition, local authorities are now required to measure and report on their performance in terms of the number of care leavers who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), under National Indicator 148.
In 2007, the government published the White Paper, Care Matters: Time for Change, which put forward recommendations for how the care system might be improved. Increased concern about the issue of young people from care and employment is evident in the rhetoric of Care Matters. The White Paper highlights the fact that young people from care may need greater support and encouragement than other young people in order to succeed in employment. It stresses the importance of local authorities providing apprenticeships and employment with training for young people leaving care. It also suggests that local authorities should champion young people in care so that they do not face discrimination from employers.
The implementation plan, Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care, initiated by the Care Matters White Paper, suggests that statutory, private and voluntary sector organisations can and should work together locally to offer work experience and employment opportunities to young people from care.
Legislative framework
The Children Act 1989 provides the general legal framework for meeting the needs of children in care and young people leaving care. Since its implementation two further Acts have been introduced, which build on the duties laid out in the Children Act. These are the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 and the Children and Young Person’s Act 2008, which have further extended the duties of local authorities to young people in care and care leavers.
The Children (Leaving Care) Act, introduced in 2000, requires that eligible and relevant young people be provided with a Needs Assessment and a Pathway Plan. The Pathway Plan is supposed to address how the local authority will meet the young person’s needs in respect of education, employment and training. Under this Act, local authorities are also required to provide young people in and leaving care with a Personal Advisors. The role of the Personal Advisors is to help the young person to make a successful transition to adulthood from care.
The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 underpins the proposals set out in Care Matters: Time for Change and aims to improve educational attainment for young people in care. It introduces a duty for local authorities to provide further assistance to young people who are in care or who have recently left care for education and training, including the requirement to carry out an assessment of their educational and training needs. This focus on improving the educational attainment of children in care should, in turn, impact on their ability to secure meaningful employment.
Resources for young people:
Our virtual Job Centre contains helpful advice and resources for young people seeking employment.
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