Care leaver status statutory terms
It's important to check your care leaver status, this will indicate the support you are entitled to. For qualifying care leavers your support will be based on an individual assessment of your needs.
Read more about the different statuses:
You can also find out more about:
Eligible
You're eligible if:
- you're currently looked after aged 16 or 17 and;
- you have been looked after for 13 weeks since age 14 and you're still looked after
If you're eligible and near to your sixteenth birthday, your social worker will, after discussion with you and other important people in your life:
- complete an assessment of your needs and write your pathway plan
- be responsible for reviewing your pathway plan until your status as a Child or Young Person in Care (CYPIC) ends
You'll be allocated a pathway worker from the Leaving Care Team at age 17 and a half or earlier if your plan is to leave care before 18. Your pathway worker will support you to age 21 or up to 25 if you feel you still require support in certain areas of your life.
'Eligible’ status also means that if you and your foster carers are agreeable, we'll support you to continue to live with them at 18. This is what we call a ‘staying put’ arrangement and can be up to age 21.
A staying put arrangement allows you time to focus on your education, training or employment and develop independence skills at a gradual pace, whilst having continued support from the people you know and trust. You can talk with your social worker or foster carer about staying put and the pathway accommodation officer can give you more details.
Relevant
You're relevant if:
- you're no longer looked after by the local authority, you have been eligible and are aged 16 or 17
- immediately before being detained or in hospital you were eligible, or;
- lived for a continuous period of 6 months or more with a parent or someone with parental responsibility and where those arrangements broke down
If you're relevant:
- as a ‘relevant’ care leaver you will be supported by a named pathway worker
- your pathway worker will be responsible for reviewing and keeping your pathway plan up to date every 6 months or more frequently if required
- your pathway worker will support you to age 21 or this can be extended to 25 if you feel you still require support in certain areas of your life
Former relevant
You're former relevant if:
- you're aged 18 years or above and either been a relevant or eligible child when under 18
- if at the age of 21 or before reaching the age of 25 you are in education or training, you'll remain former relevant until the end of the agreed program
- you have been either been a relevant or eligible child when under 18 and requested support between the age of 21 and 25
If you're former relevant:
- as a ‘former relevant’ care leaver you will be supported by a named pathway worker
- your pathway worker will be responsible for reviewing and keeping your pathway plan up to date every 6 months or more frequently if required
- your pathway worker will support you to age 21 or this can be extended to 25 if you feel you still require support in certain areas of your life
21 to 25 support for former relevant
This new duty enables the city of York to respond positively to requests for support from care leavers aged 21 to 25 who may be continuing to require help in certain areas of their lives whilst they make their transition to adulthood and independent living. It also recognises care leavers growing stability and maturity between the ages of 21 and 25, during which, many care leavers are able to lead successful lives without pathway support and may not need continuing contact with their local authority.
Qualifying
You're qualifying if:
- you're at least 16 but under 21, and;
- you were looked after immediately prior to the making of a special guardianship order which was in force when you reached 18
- if at any time after you reached 16 but while you were still a child was no longer looked after or accommodated or fostered
- you were privately fostered but considered to be a child in need
If you're qualifying:
- qualifying young people are entitled to an assessment of their needs, to establish whether they require advice and assistance
- where following assessment support is identified as required over a period of time, a pathway plan will be completed to detail the support to be provided.
The amount of support and the frequency of contact you receive from the Pathway Team will depend on your assessed needs and your individual circumstances.
Care leavers who reach age 21
As you approach 21, your pathway worker will discuss support beyond the age of 21 with you. If you wish support to continue, your pathway plan will be reviewed and updated to reflect your support needs. Support will continue to be provided for as long as it is required, or until you reach age 25. Although we will try, we cannot guarantee this will be your current worker.
The amount of support and the frequency of contact that you receive from your pathway worker will depend on your individual circumstances.
Care leavers aged between 21 and up to age 25
If you request leaving care support at any point after the age of 21 and up to the age of 25, we'll assess your needs and depending on your identified needs:
- develop a pathway plan setting out the support to be provided
- allocate a named pathway worker (although we will try, we cannot guarantee this will be your previous worker)
The amount of support and the frequency of contact that you receive from the pathway worker will depend on your individual circumstances.
