By 
Family law guide
Part of: Interim and Final Care Orders: What Happens and How to Protect Your Position
Care leavers are young people who spent time in council care as teenagers and are now moving into adult life with support the council must give by law. Whether that support exists, and how much, turns on three facts: how long the young person was in care after turning 14, whether any of it fell after their 16th birthday, and their age now. This guide covers the law in England, for young people leaving care and the families around them. Wales has its own scheme under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
Key takeaways
- There are four legal groups. Eligible, relevant and former relevant children, and young people who qualify for advice and assistance. The group sets the support (Children and Social Work Act 2017, s.2(7)).
- 13 weeks is the threshold. The full duties need 13 weeks or more in care that began after 14 and ended after 16 (Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, reg 40).
- Support can run to 25. From 21, a former relevant child who asks must have a personal adviser until 25 (Children Act 1989, s.23CZB).
- Staying put lasts until 21. A young person can stay with their foster carer after 18, and the council must support it, including paying the carer (s.23CZA).
- Going home early can change the group. Six months living with a parent after leaving care ends relevant child status, unless the arrangement breaks down (Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010, reg 3).
If your teenager in care wants to come home, or children’s services are asking about your own baby, book a free initial consultation for initial advice from one of our specialists. If the case is still in court, start with our guide to interim and final care orders.
Care leaver meaning: the four groups in law
The Children Act 1989 has no single definition. It sorts young people leaving care into four groups by age and time in care, and the group decides what the council owes them.
| Group | Who is in it | Core support |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible child | 16 or 17 and still in care, with 13 weeks or more in care since 14 | An assessment, a pathway plan and a personal adviser while still in care (Sch 2, para 19B) |
| Relevant child | 16 or 17, has left care, and was an eligible child before leaving | A personal adviser, a pathway plan, accommodation and maintenance (ss.23A and 23B) |
| Former relevant child | 18 or over, and was a relevant child, or was still in care at 18 as an eligible child | A personal adviser and pathway plan to 21, help with education, training and work, then an adviser to 25 on request (ss.23C and 23CZB) |
| Qualifying for advice and assistance | Under 21 and in care after 16 for less than 13 weeks, or under a special guardianship order made while in care | Advice and assistance, and help with work, education and training costs (ss.24 and 24B) |
How the 13 weeks are counted
The weeks do not have to be in one block. Every period in care after the 14th birthday counts, as long as the time in care ended after the 16th. Planned short breaks are the exception. Stays with the same carer of 17 days or less each, with the child going home after each one and no more than 75 days in 12 months, do not make a child eligible (regs 40(2) and 48 of the 2010 Regulations).
Special guardianship has its own route in. A young person aged 16 to 20 whose special guardianship order was made while a council looked after them qualifies for advice and assistance (s.24(1A)). Relatives weighing up a special guardianship order for a teenager in care should factor that in.
Which group of care leavers are you in? A four-question check
Answer for yourself, or for a young person you look after. The result names the group the law would most likely use and the support it brings. Nothing you choose is saved or sent anywhere.
Before you answer
Four groups, four different levels of support
- Eligible child: 16 or 17 and still in care
- Relevant child: 16 or 17 and has left care
- Former relevant child: 18 and over
- Qualifying for advice and assistance: a shorter time in care, or special guardianship
Answer the questions above to see which one fits.
Book a free initial consultation
Based on the Children Act 1989 (ss.23A to 24B and Schedule 2, para 19B) and the regulations made under it, for England. The council decides which group applies.
Care leavers: support from 16 to 25
The support changes at set birthdays. Most of it comes from the council that last looked after the young person, wherever they live now (s.23A(4)).
- 16After 13 weeks or more in care since 14: an assessment, a pathway plan and a personal adviser begin.
- 18Care ends, and so does any care order (s.91(12)). The duties continue, and staying put can begin.
- 21Most duties end, unless a course in the pathway plan carries on. Staying put support ends.
- 25The right to ask for a personal adviser and a pathway plan ends.
A personal adviser and a pathway plan
A personal adviser, often called a PA, prepares the young person for leaving care and stays in touch afterwards. One adviser covers every duty the council has to provide one (s.23D(4)). The pathway plan sets out the support the council intends to give (s.23E). GOV.UK says it must cover health, education and training, contact with family and managing money. It must be reviewed at least every six months, or sooner if the young person asks (GOV.UK, leaving foster or local authority care).
Somewhere to live, including staying put
For a relevant child, the council must provide suitable accommodation and maintenance, unless it is satisfied their welfare does not require it (s.23B(8)). At 18, a young person in foster care can stay on with their carers. The council must monitor this staying put arrangement and support both sides, including paying the carer, until 21. The only exception is where the arrangement is not consistent with the young person’s welfare (s.23CZA). Full-time students whose term-time home is closed in the holidays must get holiday accommodation, or the money to find some (s.24B(5)).
Money for education, training and work
A former relevant child must get help with the costs of living near work, and with education and training, as far as their welfare and needs require (s.23C(4)). Higher education under the pathway plan also brings a set payment (s.23C(5A)), which GOV.UK gives as a £2,000 bursary. If a course in the plan runs past 21, the help continues while the young person keeps studying (s.23C(7)).
The local offer for care leavers
Every council in England must publish what it offers young people leaving care, from health and housing to education, work and relationships. It must consult them first and keep the offer up to date (Children and Social Work Act 2017, s.2). Search your council’s website for its local offer to see what it adds to the legal minimum.
What changes if a teenager in care goes home before 18?
Going home at 16 or 17 can be right for a young person, and it can also change their leaving care group at 18. A care order lasts until 18 unless the court ends it sooner (s.91(12)). Before then there are two routes home. The council can place the young person with a parent while the order continues. It must do so unless that would not suit their welfare or is not reasonably practicable (s.22C). A young person placed at home that way is still in care, and so still looked after (s.22(1)). The other route is for the court to discharge the order, which our guide to discharging a care order explains. If your child is accommodated with your agreement instead, see our section 20 guide.
The six-month rule
A 16 or 17 year old who has left care and lived with a parent, or someone else with parental responsibility, for six months in a row is not a relevant child. If that arrangement breaks down and they move out, they become a relevant child again (SI 2010/2571, reg 3(5) and (6)).
The effect shows at 18. A young person who would not be a relevant child on their 18th birthday does not become a former relevant child that way. They may land in the smaller advice and assistance group instead (s.24(1B)). Ask which route home is proposed, and what it does to support after 18, before anyone agrees a date.
A mother came to us when her son, in foster care under a care order since he was 13, said at 17 that he wanted to come home. Her instinct was to apply to discharge the order at once. We went through the timing with her: what the court would look at on a discharge application, and how a move home under the order compared with a discharge for the support he could have after 18. She went into his next review knowing what to ask and what to get in writing. Every family’s situation turns on its own facts.
When care leavers become parents
Having been in care does not by itself bring children’s services into your baby’s life. If they do become involved, through a pre-birth assessment or a child protection conference for example, the questions are about your baby and the care you can give now. Your personal adviser can support you. Legal advice is separate, and it helps most before the first meeting.
What can care leavers do if the council will not help?
Ask for the decision, and the reasons for it, in writing. Then ask for a pathway plan review, which GOV.UK says must happen if you request one. If you are unhappy with how a review meeting went, you can make a formal complaint. Your social worker or personal adviser and the Independent Reviewing Officer must tell you how. You can also ask for an independent advocate at the meeting. Our page on NYAS explains one advocacy service for young people.
Expert Tip
Before a teenager in care moves home, ask the social worker to set out in writing which leaving care group the move would leave them in at 18, and how the six-month rule applies. Families tend to plan around the date of the move. The 18th birthday matters as much, because the group a young person is in on that day shapes the support they can ask for until 21, and often until 25.
Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist & Client Support
Care leavers: frequently asked questions
Who counts as a care leaver?
Anyone in the four legal groups. That covers a young person in care for 13 weeks or more after turning 14 with some of it after 16, someone in care for a shorter time after 16, and someone who left care under a special guardianship order.
Can care leavers stay with their foster carer after 18?
Yes, if the young person and the foster carer both want it. It is called staying put. The council must support the arrangement, including paying the former foster carer, until 21, unless it is not consistent with the young person’s welfare (s.23CZA).
Does leaving care support stop at 21?
Most of it does. If the pathway plan includes a course that runs past 21, help with it continues while the young person keeps studying. From 21 to 25 they can also ask for a personal adviser, a new assessment and a pathway plan, and the council must offer this at least once a year (s.23CZB).
Does a care order end when a child turns 18?
Yes. A full care order continues until the child reaches 18 unless the court ends it earlier (Children Act 1989, s.91(12)). The leaving care duties then take over for young people who qualify, which is why their group at 18 matters.
Do short breaks or respite care count towards the 13 weeks?
Not if they were a planned series of short breaks with the same carer, each lasting 17 days or less, with the child going home afterwards and no more than 75 days in 12 months. Those stays do not make a child an eligible child (2010 Care Planning Regulations, regs 40 and 48).
Before the move home, or the first meeting about your baby
Two things go wrong for care leavers and their families. A teenager goes home at 16 or 17 and, six months later, has slipped into the smaller group with less support after 18. Or a young person who has left care hears from children’s services about their own baby, and goes into the first meeting without knowing what is being assessed.
A free initial consultation is a conversation with a specialist, who gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. It does not include drafting or reviewing documents. If you can, have any care order, the pathway plan and recent letters from children’s services to hand.
Book a free initial consultation or call 0330 094 5880.
You can also read our guides to discharging a care order and special guardianship orders, or return to interim and final care orders.
General information about the law in England, not advice on your circumstances.
