Community model needed for children transitioning from care to adulthood, SASW says

In its response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on services for care leavers, SASW says that pathway plans often do not have the degree of flexibility needed to support care leavers at a very uncertain time in their life.

‘There are barriers throughout the Aftercare process starting with provision of information about the range of supports and services available. Information is often unclear, complex and difficult to access unless the young person knows what they are looking for and where to find it.

‘Information should be held in one place, easily accessible and comprehensive. This should be signposted by all professionals involved with the young person to ensure they can independently seek support where needed. Eligibility criteria should be publicly available so that young people know what to expect when asking for support,’ SASW says.

SASW argues for a community model of social work. ‘The workforce needs adequate resources to provide person centred, relationship-based support to young people leaving care, along with appropriate training to understand the complexities of care experience.

‘The social work workforce needs to develop a community-based approach rather than having siloed adult and children’s services – this would enable an holistic approach to services by professionals who understand the community and resources available to support young people towards independence.

‘In the absence of a community based social work model…childrens and adults services need to have flexible criteria, ensuring that the service most appropriate to the young person’s needs offers the right support at the right time, e.g. where there is an existing relationship in children’s services, this should be used to bridge the young person into adult services with joint visits and meetings where appropriate for as long as is needed.

‘The provision of services should be informed by the known needs and wishes of the young person and their birth family. There may be a need for therapeutic or family support services as well as financial support and advice. As parental relationships shift and change as the young person reaches adulthood, there may also be the need for parenting support. Continued support from social workers can ease the transition back to the family home and provide constancy during a time of significant change,’ it says.

Young people in kinship care should have access to the same services support and funding as everyone else: the association says that this is especially important as local authorities move to increase the use of kinship care. Currently, young people in kinship care ‘ often experience the same levels of trauma and disruption but without the security of knowing they can remain in their kinship arrangement beyond age 16, which can force a return to their birth parents without the support and services available to care experienced young people.’

SASW recognises that extending eligibility criteria would mean additional resources; the need to address the lack of resources is a recurring theme throughout its response.

‘Long term support would ideally be provided through the existing framework of care and support services, with appropriate training and guidance for staff in the needs of people who are care experienced. This would require adequate resourcing of existing services along with staff availability to attend necessary training and development. While specialist services for care experienced adults may be beneficial in terms of developing expertise in this area of work, it requires adults to identify as care experienced which they may not wish to do. Furthermore, integrated services can provide an holistic approach to support which takes account of care experience without stigmatising people further.’

SASW comments that the National Housing Emergency declared by the Scottish Government in May this year will be a significant barrier to young people in care. Shortages of suitable, safe accommodation mean ’young people often don’t have priority and are often allocated the worst housing in the worst areas, with little choice about where they live and away from communities where their social supports are based.’

Instead of this, it says, ‘Young people with care experience should be given support to find housing appropriate to their needs and their life choices, e.g. support to find accommodation close to their social supports or compatible with their work, education or training needs, with the right level of support for independent living.’