ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been unprecedented interest in the experiences of lookedafter children, with a particular focus on how this impacts on their ability to make the transition to independence as care leavers. Most recently, the introduction of the green paper Care Matters: Transforming the Lives of Children and Young People in Care (DfES 2006), followed by the white paper Care Matters: Time for Change (DfES 2007), and finally the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 represented a clear statement of intent from the then New Labour government in terms of provision of services for looked-after children and care leavers. Of course the welfare of children who enter public care had long been a subject of concern, but these children and young people had been largely overlooked by politicians and policy makers. This recent political interest seems to have been largely focused around the
reported poor outcomes that follow on from admission to public care and as such it is not clear whether this momentum has been driven by a moral, a political or an economic imperative. It is equally unclear whether interest in care leavers has been driven by concerns about the risks to their individual welfare or the risks they pose to society as a group in terms of the cost to the taxpayer of these poor outcomes. This chapter will therefore explore both the historical and policy contexts that have come to define care leavers. It will consider the factors which have contributed to the relatively recent focus on the needs of care leavers and examine the provisions available as a consequence of recent policy and legislation, in relation to both the New Labour and the Coalition government. It will consider the complexity of the issues facing children and young people who have experienced the care system and the challenges they face in terms of leaving care. Consideration will be given to the design of related support mechanisms and the available evidence of what works for
care leavers. Throughout these discussions consideration will be given to how concepts of vulnerability have been constructed and applied to care leavers and the associated implications.
