A Foster Kids 18th birthday
What is the care cliff? For young people who have grown up outside the care system their 18th birthday is a sign of freedom and independence, but for those who have lacked stability turning 18 is one of the most daunting days of our lives. In simple terms the care cliff is when a young person in foster care turns 18 and are often forced into independence that they might not be ready for. It resurfaces heavy emotions from our childhoods, like abandonment and insecurity.
The government have some schemes in place to tackle this issue, such as the Staying Put scheme which allows some young people to stay within their foster family between 18 – 21, but the fact is that these schemes are underfunded and not accessible for all care leavers. How do you stay with a foster family you don’t have? – referring to those who live in residential homes or semi-independence. In addition to the lack of funding for these schemes, there is a lack of time from local authorities for their care leavers. Direct contact with your key worker reduces from once every six weeks to once every twelve weeks once you turn 18, which limits the support available to find housing, access education, healthcare and a whole other barrel of things that any ‘normal’ parent would support their newly 18-year-old with.
It’s clear that the care cliff is a huge issue that the government needs to address sooner rather than later as the number of children taken into foster care increases every year, but I honestly don’t think it’s on their priority list.
I didn’t realise that the care cliff was a thing, or that turning 18 was going to change anything about my situation. I was happy with my foster family; we had a long-term placement plan- which just means I was supposed to stay their till 18 and social services couldn’t just up and move me as easily- we had even spoke about the possibility of a staying put plan when I began to think about university. But not all good things are meant to last, and the bad luck that feels like it follows us foster kids followed me there. During the months leading up to my 17th birthday mine and my foster mum’s relationship deteriorated; the best way to explain it is that our personalities clashed, I wasn’t a little girl anymore and I don’t think that ever really sat right with her. It created a toxic living environment for everyone at home and became too much for my mental health. It was decided it was best for everyone if I left, it didn’t seem to matter to anyone that I was months away from my A-Level mocks and still only 17.
The options for me were limited, it was unlikely another family would take in a kid who was due to age out of the system in a year. Luckily, I was approved for a semi-independence flat, semi-independence is funded by social services and someone under the age of 18 lives alone and a support worker visits weekly to help you build the skills needed for independence, and of course it was exciting. After the excitement settled down it became difficult. Balancing sixth form, work, bills, food shops, maintaining a home and even a small rat problem, was draining, that became evident in my mock exams when I failed 2/3.
At the time I agreed to move into semi-independence I was told that even when I turned 18 in March, I would still be financially supported by social services throughout my A-levels. This was comforting, even though I was drowning in everything else life had thrown at me I knew that money wouldn’t be a worry and that I could focus on my education. Either I was lied to, or maybe the people in charge of the decision we’re misinformed, but the week before I turned 18, I was told I’d no longer receive the financial support I was promised, and the excuse was that ‘A-Levels aren’t higher education’. I had to figure out how to fill the financial gap that I had been left with. I was so driven by my goal of going to university that I figured it out, I increased by hours at work and was able to access benefits. The additional stress during possibly the most crucial time of my young life could have been easily avoided with more policies to support our young care-leavers, or even some basic communication so I knew what to expect.
Although I managed, I often think about all the young people who don’t manage, something that highlighted this for me was Joe Swashes documentary ‘Teens in Care’. It follows the stories of young people on the edge of the care cliff, one that spoke to me was Casey’s story as she faced homelessness due to waiting lists and poor housing. Even now, as a nearly 20-year-old woman the fear of what comes after university terrifies me, because I know there’s no safety net there to catch me.
POV of a Foster Kid, Jess x
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