Navigating the ‘Care Cliff’: Progress and Challenges for Care Leavers in the UK

Navigating the ‘Care Cliff’: Progress and Challenges for Care Leavers in the UK

For young people in the UK, the transition from care to adulthood has long been referred to as a “cliff edge,” a moment when support abruptly ends.¹ While this remains a significant challenge, recent legislative changes and local initiatives in places like Leeds are providing a smoother, more supportive path. The conversation is shifting, with greater emphasis on the state acting as a “corporate parent” that provides lifelong support, not just until a young person’s 18th or 21st birthday.

Leeds: The Power of Lived Experience

Leeds City Council has a clear focus on empowering its care leavers.² This is best seen through the Care Leavers Council, a group of young people with lived experience who meet regularly with council leaders.³ This direct involvement ensures that policies and services are shaped by those who will actually use them. The council’s “Our Pledge to Care Leavers” outlines its commitment to high aspirations and continuous support, much like a family would.⁴

The National Picture: A New Dawn for Housing

A major step forward at the national level came into effect in July 2025 with new government regulations that remove the “local connection” requirement for care leavers under 25 seeking social housing.⁷ This legislation, a significant win for campaigners, means that a young person will no longer be denied a council house simply because they don’t have a long-standing tie to the area they’ve been placed in.

As an expert from the charity Coram Voice stated, this change “is a welcome step forward… helping them to find a safe and stable home.”⁸ This addresses a core issue identified by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which described the disadvantages faced by the care-experienced community as “the civil rights issue of our time.” The review’s final report, published in May 2022, called for radical reform, and this housing change is one of the first major steps in response.

However, political analysts and charities caution that a “postcode lottery” for support still exists.⁹ While councils can no longer reject care leavers based on a local connection, the priority they give to them on housing lists can still vary.¹⁰ This means that even with the new rules, a care leaver may face a long wait for a home.

The Voice of the Young Person: A Call for ‘Corporate Grandparenting’

The most powerful insights come from the young people themselves. The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has consistently highlighted their struggles, stating, “Children aren’t leaving care, care is leaving them.” She argues that every local and national government must embrace the role of a “corporate parent,” demanding for care leavers “what they would want for their own children.”¹¹

This perspective is backed up by the heartbreaking reality that a third of care leavers become homeless within two years of leaving care, and many more struggle to find a stable job or secure a place in education.¹² As Minister for Children Janet Daby has confirmed, the forthcoming Children’s Wellbeing Bill will include provisions to strengthen “corporate parenting” duties for all public bodies, and to tackle the issue of “profiteering” in the social care sector.¹³ This move signals a political will to go beyond simple support and address the systemic issues that contribute to poor outcomes.

While these reforms are promising, campaigners stress the need for consistent, universal change. The focus must be on ensuring that every young person leaving care, regardless of where they live, has the same opportunities to thrive. As Tia Shillito-Radicic, a care-experienced young person, powerfully said, “When we age out of care, we’re then expected to return to the original council that placed us – sometimes hundreds of miles from where we’ve built our lives.”¹⁴ The new housing laws are a first step, but the long journey to a truly fair system is only just beginning.