Care leavers face a 'postcode lottery' for support: 'It can be incredibly lonely at Christmas'

Claire is pregnant with her first baby. As a care leaver, she would be entitled to a maternity grant if she lived five minutes down the road, across the border in the next local authority. But her council does not offer that financial support.

It is a “postcode lottery” with regards to what help councils offer care leavers, a new report from children’s charity Coram has revealed.

The government and local authorities are meant to act as ‘corporate parents’ for children in care and care leavers, taking responsibility for their wellbeing, development and future. 

However, care-experienced individuals are offered different levels of support depending on where they live. Claire believes there is a lack of “continuity” which means that care leavers across the country are missing out on financial support.

She went into foster care when she was 13 but has been involved with the care system since she was adopted as a baby. There are times when support has been brilliant, but others when she has felt alone. 

“It’s been quite a mixture of emotions, a mixture of support, a mixture of knowing what’s available and what’s not.”

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“There’s so many things that different local authorities offer that you’re not entitled to unless you live in that section. I just think that shouldn’t be the way it works,” the 22-year-old adds. “The system needs to be equal. Everyone needs to be offered the same amount of support.”

Nearly a quarter of care leavers (22%) are struggling to cope financially, children’s charity Coram said, which has carried out the largest survey of its kind on the wellbeing of care-experienced young people in the UK. 

It analysed 27,000 responses from children in care and young care leavers in more than 70 local authorities between 2015 and 2024.

Coram found there is a stark drop in wellbeing among young people after they leave care, with one in three care leavers having low wellbeing (32%). This figure rises to nearly half (47%) of care leavers with a long-term health condition or a disability.

“I speak to children in care and care leavers constantly with my work with Coram and other organisations like the National Children’s Bureau and the council in my area,” Claire says. 

“So many people talk about how alone they feel. When you become a care leaver, you get fewer visits from social workers. Some care leavers end up just getting chucked into a flat at 18 and told: ‘Have fun.’ That’s the most support you’re going to get. It really does affect your wellbeing being a care leaver, unless social services actually give you the support.”

Wellbeing has declined in recent years. Between 2017 and 2020, 29% of people reported low wellbeing compared with 32% in the three years to 2024.

Alfie-James Waring, a Coram Voice care-experienced consultant, says: “Growing up in care, I learned early on how to survive, not how to feel. There were times I had to hide my emotions just to get through the day. That is why it is so important we talk about wellbeing for care-experienced young people.

“Conversations like this remind us that we are not alone and that it is OK to put our wellbeing first. It is a way to break the silence that the system sometimes leaves us with, and to start changing how care is seen and delivered.”

One in five care leavers (19%) said they felt lonely often or always, compared to one in 12 of their peers in the general population.

The data also finds that girls and young women consistently report lower wellbeing.

Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram, said: “It is clear that far too many, and particularly young women and those who have multiple moves, struggle more as they get older with a high number of care leavers experiencing low wellbeing. 

“This is getting worse and there is an urgent need to make the transition from care more gradual, with greater emphasis on preparation, planning and supportive relationships so that all young people in and leaving care can thrive not just survive.”

Claire would like to see “more communication with regards to finances” and increased support for care leavers who need additional support. 

“For people who are really struggling with their mental health or their physical health, whatever the issue may be, not having as much support as you did prior to becoming a care leaver can really affect you and make you feel even lonelier,” she says.

“I think it should be a case by case, instead of it being as soon as you turn 18, the amount of visits gets dropped. If the young person still needs those monthly visits, or six-weekly visits, then you still do those because at the end of the day, what matters most is that the young person feels supported and like they know that they’re not alone.”

Claire says that it can be particularly difficult for care leavers to manage at Christmas.

“It definitely gets heightened. If you go out to the shops, you see families together getting presents. You see all these adverts of people so happy to be together at Christmas. You see all these Christmas dinner packs for families of four. If you’re a lone care leaver living by yourself, with no family to be able to connect with over the Christmas holidays, it’s incredibly lonely,” Claire adds.

“It’s completely understandable that social services will take their time over the Christmas holidays, because everybody deserves to have their family time over that period. But it can be incredibly lonely. The support decreases over that period. I’m lucky. My partner is incredibly committed to me. My social worker communicates with me all the time. I’ve got my little baby currently growing, so I’m never 100% alone. But it can feel incredibly disheartening.”

Coram’s Christmas campaign, ‘Home is where the start is’, focuses on the importance of safe loving homes for all children and young people, with donations supporting children in and leaving care. Donate here.

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