PICK project

Theme 1: Voices of children, youth, and careleavers

Voices of children being heard more in decisions that affect their lives

Care leavers have a lot of insights to offer to the system – experience, knowledge, supports to younger people, as social workers, as youth workers, as policy makers.

Theme 2: After care transitions
After care – we should include help to find and keep employment and further education. To have a mentor

Aftercare needs more supports – formal and informal, mental health, information, rights and welfare, housing, benefits,employment
Social network is really important – social exclusion is real and also stressful.

Mental health is a common issue for care leavers -especially when they may process their childhood in their early adulthood.

Aftercare is inconsistent – both within the country and also across the countries.

Stigma of careleaver experience
When we have a problem, people assume it’s because of our care experience history and not because it can be a general shared social issue (for example unemployment).

Care leavers have a lot of insights to offer to the system – experience, knowledge, supports to younger people, as social workers, as youth workers, as policy makers – this
deserves to be valued.

A change of system culture and general social awareness of the complexity of careleavers situation is needed.

You can be a care leaver and be a professional – it’s a false duality.

Systems issues
Structural level
Lack of funding impacts system design and delivery – at national or regional level or
individual level.

Inconsistencies in service provision because of funding at local level – differences based on location (“post-code lottery”).

Matching is not done. Resources or design means that matching doesn’t happen – whether
it’s availability or diversity of placements, it’s not happening, which can lead to more trauma or more placements which adds more trauma – the system is constantly responding instead of planning. This can also create more residential placements too.

Workers and carers are also not as supported by the system, it’s not only about care leavers not being supported – so is the system working at all if everyone is in crisis or close to crisis?????

Residential care is a very clinical setting and not diverse so this should be more diverse

Mentality within the system
Lack of informed workers/decision makers – institutionalised thinking – proper training for child centred communication.
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Implementation of good laws or policies is limited by mentality, capacity or education.

Communication and rights for all people – that support can also be in small groups. Support networks can help address this. That the people in the system need to communicate more and collaborate with a clear purpose of benefiting the child.

Lots of good people in the system who are well meaning and intentioned but the workforce needs to be open to new ideas and changes – some people are stuck in their ways or not changing. – is this a system design issue?
What’s the focus/purpose of the system?

Better care planning
Child and family centred – consider the trauma informed care 
More money and that money is spent well (and in the right place at the right time).

Make sure there’s diversity in the care options based on the needs of the children and young people who need the services. Look at how money is spent – look at prevention/family support, look at aftercare, look at preventing trauma, and providing services.

If you would like to see how careleavers from 3 European countries (Malta, UK and Netherlands) decided on these 4 themes as representing their life experience and the 3 care systems, click here to download the report.