Woman 'deeply let down' by care leaver support in Cambridgeshire
County councillors are being asked to improve its support
A care leaver believes people like her are being "deeply let down" in Cambridgeshire.
The county council (CCC) is being urged to improve support for people with care experience at a meeting today.
In a motion to full council, councillor Bryony Goodliffe - who sits on the county council's children and young people committee - said the authority has shown "commitment to care leavers by treating care experience as if it were a protected commitment."
But she believes children in care "are still being let down by society and that poor perceptions, prejudice and stigmatisation persist for those who have been in care."
Kerrie Portman faced abuse when she was in care as a teenager, and supports the motion.
"I think support for care leavers is severely lacking, and it's very hit and miss if care leavers get any support at all, with no accountability when we don't," she said.
"Care experienced people are being deeply let down by society; we face disproportionately poorer life chances across all areas of life compared to our non-care experienced peers."
'Care experienced champion'
Figures reported by the Home for Good initiative show 8% of care leavers aged 17 years old, 3% of care leavers aged 18 and 5% of care leavers aged 19-21 are in accommodation that's classed as unsuitable.
While 40% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 are not in education, employment, or training, compared to 15% of all 19 to 21-year-olds.
The motion asks the county council to fund a "care experienced champion" to support people with care experience and give guidance to the council on best practice to safeguard care experienced people's rights.
It also wants councillors to complete corporate parent training and to recognise "the ongoing commitment beyond the age of 18 to support care experienced residents in Cambridgeshire."
'Less safety nets' for care leavers
"I have repeatedly tried to reach out to CCC asking for help because when I've felt suicidal, I am not able to access the support I need," Kerrie said.
"But they ignore me, reaffirming my belief (that I) don't matter.
"We tend to have less safety nets and close relationships, often lacking people to say they're proud of us, that they love us or even just ask us how our days are."
Cllr Goodliffe's motion points out that care experienced people's health, housing and education needs are given "the highest priority" as part of the restructure of local government in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Councillors are also asked to improve access to employment for care leavers.
In October, Andy Osborn - a Reform councillor on CCC - was being investigated after describing children in care as "downright evil".
Kerrie told us she's aware of other councils fulfilling the role as corporate parents well, something she wants CCC to replicate.
"I don't think it's hard to support care experienced people, if the will was there," she added.
"I'd like to see support for care experienced people be for all ages, as age limits don't take into account a person's needs or life.
"I'd like to see the end of privatised children's homes; they're known to lead to poorer life outcomes for us and prioritise their profits over our lives."
Improvements made, but more to do
In the summer, Ofsted - the regulator and inspector of children’s social care - found support and stability for care leavers in Cambridgeshire has improved.
Inspectors found there was better help for care leavers into employment, further education and training opportunities, as well as care leavers having "stronger and more purposeful relationships with their personal advisors".
But the Ofsted report found room for improvement.
These include the impact of frontline manager supervision to promote and provide reflective practice for personal advisors, and the range and accessibility of suitable accommodation to meet care leavers' needs.
CCC said an action plan is in place to ensure further improvements to be made.
“As a council, we take our role as corporate parents for the county’s looked-after children and care leavers extremely seriously," Cllr Edna Murphy, chair of CCC's children and young people committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said.
"In recent years, we have made a number of commitments to supporting our care leavers, including granting them ‘protected characteristic’ status.
“There is still more we can - and must - do to improve our support for care leavers, and we’re already seeing progress in a number of areas following our full inspection by Ofsted last year."
Cllr Murphy said extra personal advisors have allowed them to work with care leavers from a younger age.
“The council is committed to staying in touch with our care leavers beyond 21-years-old," she added.