The Social Services and Well-being Act includes a new duty to offer any Looked After Child in Foster Care the opportunity to remain within their stable and nurturing family environment until they are ready to move on. Rather than that young person moving out at 18, they can now remain in Foster Care until they are 21, or up to 25 if they are in full time Education. The When I Am Ready scheme also extends a new duty to those young people living with Kinship Foster Carers and Connected Persons, which is very positive.
We have actively contributed towards the creation of a regional policy across the six Local authorities in North Wales.
- Information leaflets have been created for young people, Foster Carers and siblings.
- Training has been provided to key staff involved with “When I Am Ready”. Train-the-trainer sessions have also been provided in order to reach the wider workforce.
- To help us meet needs around “When I Am Ready”, new joint protocols with Housing Benefit and Welfare rights have been developed to ensure that Foster Carers and young people are aware of their entitlements and that they are not disadvantaged financially.
- There has been a regional approach to engagement with Independent providers, particularly with regard to the need for them to transfer over to the Local Authority if they become “When I Am Ready” Foster Carers
- Information about “When I Am Ready” has been sent to all young people (16+) via the newsletter developed by the Personal advisor team, which targets all young people (16+) entitled to a leaving care service.
Looking ahead in terms of likely demand, over the next 12 months we have up to six young people who are likely to need to continue their placement under a “When I Am Ready” arrangement, with a further ten young people the following year.