‘What makes life good? Care leavers’ views on their wellbeing’, published by Coram Voice in collaboration with Oxford University’s Rees Centre, has shown significant differences in the experience of care leavers between local authorities in England.
It found disparity in the percentage of care leavers with low wellbeing ranged from 14% to 44% by local authority. Similarly, in one authority, half of young people did not always feel safe in their home, in contrast to another local authority where the same was true for only one in five.
The report is the first of its kind in examining the wellbeing of care leavers from their perspective and enabling comparisons across local authorities by analysing 1,804 care leaver responses collected between 2017 and 2019.
Findings also showed that:
- Care leavers did worse than the general population on a range of measures.
- There was a steep decline in wellbeing after young people left care.
- Care leavers who reported that they had a disability or long-term health problem were particularly vulnerable.
- Overall, although a majority of care leavers had moderate to high wellbeing, 30% had low wellbeing. This analysis identified the ten key factors associated well-being.
- The care system can get it right. We can learn from the positive experiences of those with high wellbeing
- Many young people were especially positive about the support they received from their leaving care personal advisers