Issue - meetings

The report will provide the Committee with information on the work being undertaken to support young people leaving care and tackling the issues of isolation.

The Committee considered a report setting out issues facing young people leaving care, particularly in relation to the potential for isolation if established support networks were not in place. Placement stability and educational engagement were also compounding risk factors. General support provided to care leavers was outlined within a pathway plan including that from social workers and other key workers. Work was underway to improve support offered from other sources, for example the current tendering process for semi independent accommodation providers who provide formalised support for young people, aimed to improve the quality of accommodation and service. 

A number of participation pathways were also available for care leavers to help mitigate feelings of isolation including the CiC Council, Total Respect training, Regulation 33 inspections etc. Further work was planned to develop a peer mentoring scheme for care leavers with younger CiC and ultimately establishing a leaving care course to allow a more consistent, consolidated approach to passing on life skills to CiC. The Committee recognised the value of potentially extending any mentoring scheme to include adults volunteers which could potentially be achieved through reactivation of the Independent Visitors scheme. It was also proposed that people making enquiries to the fostering service could also be encouraged to participate in any scheme introduced.  

It was agreed that a report would be provided to the next meeting or the following one exploring the potential around Independent Visitors and peer mentoring schemes with associated costings.