It is with deep sorrow and regret that Article 39 acknowledges the independent review into the early deaths of young people who were in care. That this has needed to be commissioned by the Department for Education at all is an indictment on a care system which fails to live up to its name. Each of the 112 young people named in this report had their futures, dreams and aspirations cruelly and prematurely taken from them, in circumstances no loving parent would allow for their own children.
Sadly, the factors which contributed to care leavers passing away in the most dreadful of circumstances are all too familiar – namely institutional neglect, the cliff-edge in support when a young person approaches 18, and a lack of investment in relationships which meant that young people were indeed left on their own as the title of this report suggests.
So too are we appalled by the disproportionate number of young people who died having lived in institutions as children and young adults – in or after leaving custody, in mental health units, supported accommodation, as well as those who had experienced Deprivation of Liberty Orders.
The unique vulnerabilities of children in these circumstances are well-documented, and learnings from the Hesley report and high- profile serious case reviews over the years continue to be ignored. It is imperative to understand, address and act upon the long-term impacts into adulthood of having lived in restrictive and uncaring institutions as children. We implore the government to act to ensure that advocacy is readily available for all children and young people living in these settings, to ensure not only that their voices are meaningfully heard, but crucially so that their rights and entitlements are made known to them before, during and after leaving the care of the state.
We urge the government to act on the recommendations we have consistently laid out in our #KeepCaringto18 Campaign, which has highlighted over many years the devastating consequences that arise when children are denied day-to-day care where they live. The MacAlister review into children’s social care recommended universal care standards to eradicate care-less accommodation, but four years on, we are yet to see this realised
We send our deepest condolences to those who are bereaved.
