The following was originally published by Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (STAF).
Hundreds of Scotland’s most vulnerable young people are to be given greater rights to continuing their care placement into early adulthood from next year. From April 2015, young people in residential, foster or kinship care who turn 16 will be entitled to remain looked after until the age of 21 under new provisions proposed for the Children and Young People Bill.
New provisions to be introduced through the Children and Young People Bill include:
- All young people in care born after April 1999 to have the right to stay in foster, kinship or residential care until the age of 21, this will be known as ‘continuing care’.
- The right to aftercare support available to all care leavers is to be extended from those up to the age of 21 to those aged up to 26.
- Amended legislation to ensure that those leaving care aged 16 will become eligible for aftercare immediately, closing a loophole due to the age limit being determined by school year terms rather than birthday.
This ground breaking announcement raises a new legal status of ‘continuing care’. The following highlights the main points that this new concept raises and shows where it sits in the legislative framework.
- Continuing care is a legislative term which will enable a looked after young person aged 16 to remain in their current care placement until they are 21.
- A young person will be deemed as being in ‘Continuing Care’ under section 60 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill which amends section 26 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
- Continuing Care will be available to care leavers on removal of a Supervision Requirement at a Children’s Hearing between 16 and 18 years of age.
- The Scottish Government has committed to provide throughcare and aftercare support for care leavers up to the 26 years.
- When a young person ceases to be looked after under Section 70 or Section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act, 1995 they can exercise their entitlement to remain in continuing care under Section 60 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill or to leave their current care placement and receive aftercare support.
- Continuing Care and Aftercare both provide young care leavers with support that meets their individual needs.
- A young person will be eligible for aftercare when they leave continuing care up to 26 years old.