ABSTRACT
Leaving care means transition from life in a protected and/or restricted environment to life in the family and/or the community. It is a process which, in some circumstances, can take place only in accordance with the relevant legal rules. For this reason the legal provisions which govern leaving care can be of considerable significance for the individual concerned as well as for the authority to whose care he has been admitted. In this respect, there is an important distinction to be made between those who have entered care voluntarily and those who came into care as the result of compulsory powers of admission. In principle, the former can leave care at will whenever they choose to do so. The latter, however, can usually leave care only when those powers have been brought to an end, which usually happens in one of two main ways. Authority to detain a person in care can come to an end automatically either when some event occurs or upon the lapse of time; or authority may come to an end through the decision of an individual, such as a doctor, or body, such as a local authority, a court, or a tribunal, which is vested with powers of discharge.
