Press Release

White, mixed-race and Caribbean youngsters 'most likely to face problems after leaving care'

A disproportionate number of young people in public care come from minority ethnic groups. But a new study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggests that white care leavers often fare worst through unstable placements while in care and problems when they leave, including lack of qualifications, homelessness and involvement in crime.

Young care leavers of Caribbean and mixed-raced parentage are also at high risk of disadvantage after they leave. However, the research provides evidence that some Caribbean youngsters are helped by placements in families that reflect their own ethnic background and help them to achieve greater stability.

The study establishes a link between time spent in care, placement stability, disrupted schooling (including exclusion) and teenage parenthood. African and Asian young people in the survey not only had fewer problems, but had also spent less time in care, with fewer changes of placement.

Prof. Ravinder Barn and colleagues at Royal Holloway, University of London, surveyed 261 care leavers aged 16 to 21 in six English local authority areas. More than four out of ten of the young people questioned were from minority ethnic groups. The researchers also conducted in-depth interviews with 36 care leavers and 13 professional workers and staff. They found that:

• White young people in the survey had experienced the worst outcomes, including frequent changes of care placement, early departure from care, low educational attainment, homelessness and risk-taking behaviour, such as criminal activity and drug use.
• Caribbean and mixed-parentage youngsters had also tended to experience lengthy periods in care and were at higher risk of disadvantage. But Caribbean young people had more often achieved stable, same-race placements and were more likely to be living in multi-racial neighbourhoods.
• While rates of exclusion from school had been high among young people from white, Caribbean and mixed-parentage backgrounds, Caribbean youngsters were more likely to have gone on to college to gain further qualifications. Even so, they experienced high rates of unemployment.
• Young people from African and Asian groups experienced greater stability in their care and education. Many entered care as adolescents and, consequently spent a shorter time being looked after. Asian young people also reported the highest levels of satisfaction with their social workers.
• Some care leavers from minority groups, when interviewed in depth, described experiences of prejudice and discrimination. They felt they had not always been given appropriate cultural and racial support during placements in residential and foster care.
• Asylum-seeking children in care felt especially vulnerable to stereotyping and racism. Yet professional workers commented positively on young asylum seekers' resilience, educational achievements and determination to build a positive future for themselves.
• Despite changes to the law and support arrangements relating to care leavers in the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, many of the young people surveyed felt swept along by the changes expected of them after the age of 16, with too little time allowed for the transition to living independently. 'Pathway plans' required by the legislation had often proved disappointing and many thought they had been compelled to accept unsuitable accommodation.
• Although help from social services after leaving care was described as variable and lacking in focus, young people often said they had received continuing support and interest in their welfare from foster carers.

Prof. Barn said: "This research helps to fill a serious gap in our knowledge and understanding about the needs and concerns of care leavers from different ethnic groups. At a time when the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 is being heralded as an important step to support care leavers, it suggests that there are major challenges that still need to be accepted regarding the complex relationship between ethnicity and disadvantage.

"As 'corporate parents', local authority social services departments must actively seek to reduce disruption and instability to avoid social exclusion and cumulative disadvantage in the lives of children placed in their care."