Leaving care

If you will become homeless on leaving care, you have the right to apply to us for help. 

When deciding if we owe you a legal duty to provide help, one of the things we will look at is whether you have a priority need. You have a priority need if you are: 

• under 21 and used to be looked after, accommodated or fostered between the ages of 16 and 18; or
• over 21 and are vulnerable because you used to be looked after, accommodated or fostered between the ages of 16 and 18,
• unless you are a relevant student. A “relevant student” is a care leaver under 25 who is in full-time further or higher education and whose term-time accommodation is not available during holidays. Social services must provide accommodation during the holidays. 

If you are over 21, we will consider the following in deciding if you are vulnerable: 

• how long you were in care;
• the reasons why you were in care;
• the length of time since you left care and whether you have been able to find a home during any of that period;
• whether you have any existing support networks, including family, friends or a mentor; and
• if you became homeless, whether you would be at particular risk of exploitation, abuse or offending.  

We will work with children’s social care services and your personal adviser to provide advice on your housing options before you leave care. 

This will include realistic information about the housing market in Waltham Forest so that you understand your options. 

• We will assess your housing and other support needs and develop a personalised housing plan with you and your personal advisor (if you consent to them being involved). Your personalised housing plan will take account of your Pathway Plan which should set out your needs.
• We can also work with you and your personal advisor to help you develop important skills before you leave care, including how to manage your own home and finances. For example, it may be possible for you to live in a training flat for a short period to practice living on your own.
• We will work with you and your personal advisor to deliver your housing plan. We will ensure you have planned, sustainable moves to safe and appropriate housing and contingency plans if anything changes.
• We will work to find you suitable accommodation that takes account of your needs and that you are happy with. You will have a key role in deciding where you live. For example, we can try to help you find somewhere close to a friend or ex-foster carer or help you avoid certain locations associated with your childhood. 

You must comply with your housing plan to ensure that you continue receiving help, but we will help you to do this. 

We or your personal advisor will regularly visit you to review the plan, and we will work together to try to resolve any issues. For example, if you are facing homelessness due to a dispute with your foster carer, we may be able to help with mediation or a short break in other accommodation to give you some time out. 

We will also help you consider if you can avoid becoming homeless. For example, it may be possible to establish a Staying Put arrangement. This is where you keep living with your foster carer after your 18th birthday in a tenancy-type arrangement. It gives you more time to develop life skills and think about where you will live next. 

We can help you with financial advice and budgeting so that you know what you can afford. We will start working with you on this before you leave care. 

We can help you apply for financial help, which could be benefits, discretionary housing payments or financial support to obtain new accommodation. 

We may be able to arrange temporary accommodation  until you find a permanent home. 

We can help support your needs in your accommodation. Support could cover many things from help with health needs to help finding work. Good options for when you initially leave care can include: 

• supported lodgings which are placements with a host family who provide a room, cooking and washing facilities, as well as offering support and advice and teaching life skills;
• a Staying Close arrangement which is when you move to accommodation close to your former home and receive practical and emotional support from a member of staff from the home who you know and trust;
• supported housing  which is housing specifically designed to help with physical and mental needs; and
• independent living with visiting support.

Once you have gained some independence, we can help you apply for social housing, although waiting lists can be very long and will not be a short-term solution. 

We can also help you apply for tenancies in the private rented sector. Private rented properties can vary hugely but are likely to be available sooner. However, once you are 22 years old, if you are single with no children your Housing Benefit will probably reduce to the level of the Shared Accommodation Rate. 

This may mean you want to consider shared accommodation, or a small group home and we can help you look for this and decide if it is suitable for you.