Everybody took what they needed
Is it possible to put the care back into the care system?
Imagine if leaving care did not mean either going to prison, homeless or becoming pregnant. These are the outcomes for 11,000 who are currently leaving the care system only 6% (660) end up in higher education. The government spent 9.8 Billion in 2019- 2020 on Children's social care ( care being the word) but yet so many are being let down, that they just expect bad things to happen. A large number have their lives genetically mapped out and most people are expecting only one outcome for these young women. Which is for the young women to have babies and for their children to follow suit. There is an unconscious bias that surrounds these young women, and most are written off from a young age.
80,080 children are currently in the care system whether that be foster care, children's home, secure unit or semi-independent living. Within that number 30,970 came into care in March 2020 and 29,590 left.
In total 15,799 young people left care between 2019-2020 not in education after local authorities paid billions spent to providers on foster care, secure units, care homes. 12,430 children went missing in 2019-2020. 1-26 call childline relating to placement problems.
Money spent on
Children services 2019/2020 476 million + 9.9 million from 2018/2019
Adult social care 2019/2020 822 million + 16.9 million from 2018/2019
This is not including the money that comes from
Universities
Public health
NHS
Funders
Department of education
8.1 Billion is spent on the child to adult mental healthcare, (Public Health Matters, 2021)
All this money and the best some of these children, young women going into adulthood have to look forward to is being left alone, thrown into survival mode to fend for themselves or exploited, pregnant, prison, homeless. Meanwhile, everyone else got paid and lived very privileged lives on the back of these young people (Chelse, 2021).
“Being 16 your at a vulnerable age to be living independently” (Bright, 2021).
16,420 girls have a high outcome of being pregnant 10-18 months after leaving care and within the first 5 years, their children will become looked after. In some cases, you could have a 16-year old by the time she is 21 with 4 children in the care system. In the process, the bill for social care keeps rising and the cycle just keeps replaying itself unless something changes.
26,531 Boys leave care, have life stacked against them and are susceptible to the county line and worst case get caught and sent to prison. This then creates more cost and pressure on the police services adding to the 2.0 billion pound crime bill. Adding more pressure to the underperforming CPS.
2019/2020
36,668 Teenage pregnancy rate not particularly young women who have experienced the care system. However, there is a good chance that some of these children are care leavers or are currently in care or at risk of being taken into care (NHS Digital,2021).
There are loads if not hundreds of reports recommendations out there, from the NHS, social care professionals, lecturers of social workers, the police, local government all saying the same thing, something needs to change, but yet the outcomes for some of these young people just seem to be getting worse despite the efforts. Meanwhile, everyone else is reaping the benefit of these poor outcomes.
One of the problems is that care leavers have to leave care a lot earlier than most other young people and learn to live independently when they are clearly not ready (Government, 2021) care leavers strategy.
Staying put a policy that gives incentives for foster families to keep young people for long after their placement ends for a smaller amount of money has a success rate of 58 % ( 1970) (Government care leavers,2021).
And this is good for young women who can stay, but what about the ones who can not?
Imagining putting the care back into social care? What about a starter home that taught young women how to essentially take care of themselves? that ran as a national curriculum, everyone received a qualification just like you would in normal school math and English etc, but in a totally neurodiverse way? The idea is to teach young women the basic family needs, helping to build healthy relationships. Teach subjects such as history and geography in a totally different way that engages and manages to get results as well as build a young women's self-steam. Helping them to want more than to get pregnant and become more than a recurring cycle. A house mother that lives in and actively teaches life skills as part of your everyday living?. The house mothers main aim would be to help young women to form and understand good relationships and behaviours. Teaching young women who are at risk of becoming pregnant how to do simple family basics like, washing up, cleaning, shopping and budgeting. The idea is for the home environment to get them ready for independent living over a two year period. The idea is at the end they will be housed in an independent living environment and still have contact with the house, treating the house as if it were their natural family home. Giving these young women a support network to turn too when they need support. For some young women who have experienced the care system, their educational outcomes are poor, teaching the national curriculum in a nerodivistey way may help achieve more.
We want you to grow up to be confident and resilient so you can develop and fulfil these goals and make a contribution to society. (National Health Service 2015,2020).
Maths economics
A virtual bank that credits when you do something like I don't know volunteer, you can not touch this money, but you get to watch it grow, learning outcome saving. Connected to that is my house project allowing young women to think about what makes a house a home. Having them think about what they would want in their home, and also how they will pay for it. The idea is to get the thought process thinking about employment and the value of saving and having more money to buy the things you want.
History
Most young people in the care system will have done a storybook, this would be similar. It would start with timeline theory, allowing them to understand the person they are as well as why they are the person they are, this can help with healing and being able to move forward. We would look at the history of the area they were born in, every area has an amazing history. It is important for them to know and understand theirs. They should know it and also their city's history. Combined with walks and weekend tours. Learning outcome personal employment.
Home economic
Come dine with me, everyone is expected to cook at least once a week but once a month they will take part in a come dine with me style week where they cook for each other a 3-course meal and everyone gives feedback, helping each other improve. The outcomes learning to hear and give feedback and also learning to cook healthy meals, sit and chat at the table.
Geography
My holiday project, for some it will be the first time away. So we start with sourcing passports, then spend time looking through holiday magazines, see where people want to go and talk about places and what their history is. At the end of the 6 months, everyone gets to choose one place they would like to go, they get put into a hat, one is chosen for everyone to go on. Learning outcomes, planning holidays, thinking about how you will pay for them, being excited about seeing new things and places and most of all raising a young women's aspirations.
Arts
My room and house project, firstly it will be to design the room with a budget of £200 all basic will be provided. The learning outcome is freedom of expression as well as looking around for the best price. My house is thinking about how you would like your home to look, giving young women the confidence to make decisions for themselves.
P.E
P E is a couch to 5k with a charity fun run for their chosen charity. Meditation, sports, yoga. Outcomes getting into good well being practices, for better mental and physical health.
English
Personal development, reading and listening to motivational content that will help to build confidence and good self-belief practises journaling to help release brain fog. Learning outcome self-belief.
Business studies
The organisation will have its own subsidiaries that each young woman will be to help to run and. Build skills such as greeting people, being of service to others, admin skills all in a safe environment, to help build confidence and learn the skills needed to get really full-time employment or think about owning their own enterprises.
Enterprises
Yoga
Cakeshop
Charity shop
Media marketing
All of which they will receive virtual money for their bank account. Outcomes confidence in a working environment while understands the concept of working and the self-worth it brings, when you can buy the things you want with the money you have earned.
If leaving care was done differently maybe the return on investment would be young women not becoming pregnant early because they need to feel loved. Maybe the investment returns would be that young woman learning to love themselves feel invested in being encouraged to want to learn new things, travel and do what basically “ normal” teenagers do. Study, travel, experience life, get jobs and add to society.
The national health services Wrote
Economic Inadequate investment in early intervention and early years of mental health is a false economy. In the UK the annual costs of mental illness during childhood and adolescence vary between £11,030 and £59,130 per child (Suhrcke et al 2008), mental illness during childhood also has longer-term economic impacts across the life course e.g. Conduct disorders Lifetime costs of a 1-yr cohort of children with conduct disorder (6% of the population) is estimated at £5.2billion. Each affected individual is associated with costs around 10 times that of children without the disorder. The cost of crime by those with conduct problems in childhood is £60 billion per year in England and Wales (SCMH 2009) (National Health Service 2015,2020).
Bibliography
Bright, Lynda. Conversations with care leaver. London, Youtube, 2019. IMO Latest, https://youtu.be/uweXNHtdHb8. Accessed 21 1 2021.
Craine, Noel, et al. “Elevated teenage conception risk amongst looked after children.” Public Health, 2014, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264242530_Elevated_teenage_conception_risk_amongst_looked_after_children_a_national_audit. Accessed 18th July 2014.
Government. “Care leavers strategy.” Care leavers strategy, Asset publishing services, October 2013, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266484/Care_Leaver_Strategy.pdf. Accessed 22nd January 2021.
Government care leavers. “Staying put.” .gov.uk, Assets publisher, 22nd May 2013, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-put-arrangements-for-care-leavers-aged-18-years-and-above. Accessed 22nd January 2021.
Lancaster university, and University of Manchester. “Preventing unplanned pregancey and improving preperation of parenthood.” 2015, p. 44, https://www.coram.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource_files/Preventing%20unplanned%20pregnancy%20and%20improving%20preparation%20for%20parenthood%20for%20care-experienced%20young%20people.pdf.
Manchester Public health annual report. “The first 1000 days.” vol. 2019, 2019, p. 21, https://www.mhcc.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Manchester-Public-Health-Annual-Report-2019-First-1000-Days.pdf. Accessed 3rd January 2021.
National Audit Office. “Care-leavers transition to adulthood.” Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, vol. 2013-2014, 2015, p. 52, https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Care-leavers-transition-to-adulthood.pdf.
National Health Service. “Manchester Local Transformation Plan Children and Young Peoples Mental Health and Wellbeing.” 2015-2020, p. 44. https://www.mhcc.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Final-tranformation-Plan.pdf.
NHS Digital. “Primary Diagnosis.” https://files.digital.nhs.uk/37/8D9781/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2019-20-tab%20supp.xlsx, NHS, 2020, https://files.digital.nhs.uk/37/8D9781/hosp-epis-stat-admi-diag-2019-20-tab%20supp.xlsx. Accessed 18th January 2021.
University of Manchester. “Why mainstream pregnancy programmes may be failing care leavers – report identifies risk factors faced by vulnerable teenagers.” 2016, p. 1, https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/why-mainstream-pregnancy-programmes-may-be-failing-care-leavers--report-identifies-risk-factors-faced-by-vulnerable-teenagers/. Accessed 2 January 2021.
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