A study has revealed there is a wide variation between the well-being of care leavers across different local authorities in England.
The analysis by Coram Voice and the Rees Centre found that the percentage of care leavers with low well-being ranged from 14% to 44% by local authority.
It makes recommendations for local authorities guided by factors identified by care leavers themselves. This includes addressing loneliness, providing money management, improving accommodation support, and providing mental health support.
The study also found care leavers are more likely to have low well-being compared to the general population of young people. For example, over a quarter of care leavers have low life satisfaction compared to just 3% in the general population.
Brigid Robinson, managing director of Coram Voice, said: ‘Our aspirations for young people leaving care should be the same as for our own children; that they thrive and grow to become confident young adults able to find their way in the world.
’To achieve this, we need to understand what is important to them; what they love doing, their hopes and feelings and what could make things better. What Makes Life Good does this, and through this unique insight into young care leavers’ subjective well-being, provides clear recommendations for policy and practice to make life better for young people leaving care so they can flourish into adulthood.’
