Living in care

Sometimes you can go and live with someone else in your family like an auntie, uncle or grandma. If this is not possible, then you will be placed in a foster home or a children’s home.

Foster homes are private homes where you live as part of a family.  Children’s homes are run by the council; the number of children living there can vary. 

You may not stay in one place all the time you are in care.  Many young people move several times which can cause problems with moving schools, not having a stable home and having get used to a new home each time.

Children and young people living in care have a Social worker.  If you are in this situation, a social worker will talk through things with you like where you will live and where you will go to school. And what kind of contact you will have with your family and relatives. They will also meet with you regularly while you are in care to check that everything is ok and to answer any questions you might have.

If you feel your social worker is not listening to you, Advocacy services provide independent support for young people in care, and can help you complain if things are not right for you or if you feel you are being treated unfairly.  For more information about advocacy services you can contact Voice www.voiceyp.org  or National youth advocacy service www.nyas.net

If you are unhappy living in care or need someone to talk to, you can always talk to ChildLine on 0800 1111 or online.  We are here to listen to you no matter what your problem is.

Adoption is when you legally become part of a new family and they take responsibility for looking after you. Adoption would only be an option if you were unable to continue living with your natural family and you have lived with the foster family for some time. Your social worker will talk to you about whether you would like to be adopted.

This is a question that young people often ask if they are unhappy at home. The reality is that going into care is a huge step to make and is only offered by social services,  if there is no other way to make sure you are safe and properly looked after at home. 

Social Services will always first look at what other kinds of support and/or living arrangements are available before going down the care route. Your wishes must be taken into account, but it has to be the social services decision whether you go into care or not. If you feel that your home is not safe, or that you are not being looked after properly at home, talk to an adult you can trust, maybe a teacher, nurse or doctor.

You can find out more about living in care and the process of going into care at the Who Cares Trust website.

If you want to talk about putting yourself into care or about problems at home, you can talk to ChildLine at any time by phone on 0800 1111 or online. You can also get support and advice from other young people on the ChildLine message boards.

Most people leave care when they become 18 as this is when the law sees you as an adult.  You will be offered advice and support when it is time to leave care and help in making decisions.  You will make some decisions such as:

• Where you are going to live
• If you are going to work or stay in education
• What support you will need from social services.

The local authority will continue to give you support after you leave care, so don’t worry that you will be left on your own.  They can help with living independently and learning what financial support you can claim such as housing benefit or jobseeker’s allowance. 

For more details about what happens when you leave care see the Direct Gov website about leaving care or the Who Cares Trust website.