A National Voice (ANV), the children in care council for England, hosted by Coram Voice, welcomes new guidance published by the Department for Education (DfE) to help care leavers understand the support they are entitled to.
The new DfE care leavers website helps young people find support when they are leaving care and includes information on money, housing, work, health, education and training and support for asylum seekers.
ANV specifically welcomes guidance around the Leaving Care Allowance. Also called the Setting Up Home Allowance, the grant is intended to support care leavers setting up their first home. Last year ANV research found significant inconsistencies across England in who was given the Allowance, how much they received, and how they were allowed to spend it.
ANV launched the Grand Campaign to ensure that all care leavers in England received the full support they were entitled to. One of the campaign’s asks was clearer guidelines: “No more confusion! Everyone should have a clear, written document outlining exactly what they are entitled to. The document should be easy to find and easy to understand, so care leavers know their rights and can speak up if they don’t get what they have a right to.”
Read more about the Grand Campaign, download the full Grand Campaign report, and find out how you can get involved with ANV.
