Leaving care and independence service
If you have been in care for at least 13 weeks from your 14th birthday and are coming up to 16, you will be referred to us. We will help and support you to make plans for when you leave care and are living independently.
The law and your rights
The Children (Leaving Care) Act came into effect in 2001. The Leaving Care and Independence Service (LCIS), which involves all sorts of people, is Croydon's way of providing care leavers with better planning for their future.
It affects you if you are 16 or 17, you are in care or have been in care for more than 13 weeks since your 14th birthday. We must provide you with:
- A Personal Adviser. This will be someone from the LCIS, usually the worker helping you to manage your plan. You may have other people like your foster carer that you want to involve and you have the right to have a say in this
- A Pathway Plan. This must include where you are going to live, plans for your education, health, money and personal support up to the age of 21, or 25 if you are in further education
Also, we must keep in touch. Even if you move away from the borough, we must keep in touch with you until you are at least 21.
Pathway plans
These are different from the care plans you will have had in your reviews. You are encouraged to write and develop with your pathway plan together with your worker.
The first thing that will happen when you come to us is that we will discuss with you what you can do now and what you need to learn. You will be provided with individual help and with groups to help you develop independence skills.
Some people get worried about the thought of leaving care, as for most of us living independently for the first time is scary. Don't panic! Your pathway plan will go over at least two years and we will help you make plans that will say what has to be done if things don't go the way you had originally planned.
The main objective of your plan is to set yourself small goals, like learning to manage your money, learning to cook simple meals etc.
Always make sure that you have a copy of your plan and that it is regularly updated. If you have access to a computer, we can put your plan on a disc for you so you can keep it and check your own progress.
Education, training and employment
It is not easy to walk into a good job. Education and qualifications are very important and we will do everything we can to support you.
You might need extra education or training or you simply might not know what you are good at or what you want to do.
If you are still in school, then we will help you, together with the school, to build on your Personal Education Plan (PEP). The Connexions advisor or our education advisor at LCIS will help you plan your training or employment. Homework clubs are available to help prior to exams and there will be opportunities for work experience placements.
Education costs
We can help you with costs for
-
Fares if your college is outside Croydon
- Books and equipment
- Extras like field trips
- Registration and exam fees
- Child care costs
- Tuition fees
If you go to university, you will be funded using the same system of student loans as anybody else. We will help you find and pay for somewhere to stay in the holidays if you need this.
If you start a course and then drop out but want to start it up again or start a new course, we can help you do this as long as you are under 25.
If you need any special equipment for any of your courses, we can help pay for this.
Accommodation
Until you are 18, we must make sure that you are in 'suitable accommodation'. This is a place to live that is right for you at the time and is safe and secure.
One of the first things that will happen when you come to us and start planning accommodation via your pathway plan is that you will be put on the Housing Register. This does not mean you will get a council flat.
In Croydon there is not a lot of accommodation for single people and although some care leavers will obtain housing association or council housing, most will be helped by the housing department to obtain an affordable bedsit in the private sector.
At 16 or 17 we can support you to move into semi-independent accommodation to help you prepare for independent living. This gives you a chance to learn to cope with all the things you have to do when you are living unsupported.
At 18, we help you move into independent permanent accommodation. This help might include getting furniture and other essential items.
Money
Under the law, if you leave care before you are 18, you cannot claim Income Support, Job Seeker's Allowance or Housing Benefit. The funding will come from us.
When you set up your Pathway Plan, we will help you set up a bank account or building society account and an agreed amount will be paid into that account, for you to budget your living expenses. If you do not have an account or are having difficulty getting one, then arrangements will be made for you to collect cash from the finance department at Fell Road.
The amount paid will vary according to your circumstances and where you are living. For example, living in semi-independent accommodation will cost you more than living with your foster carer. When you put your pathway plan together, it is important that individual finances are talked about and agreed. This, like the rest of the plan, must be reviewed every six months.
We do not give out cash payments but may, in an emergency, be able to help you with food or a voucher for food.
Groups
Some of your support and practice for being independent will come from groups, as it is sometimes easier and more fun to do this with other people. We run a number of groups.
Preparation for independence
Runs for 10 weeks and is held at Ruskin House on Wednesday evenings.
In these weekly evening groups you will learn about:
- managing your money
- dealing with difficult situations
- keeping yourself h ealthy
- learning to shop and cook
- practical skills, such as changing a plug and fixing a fuse
Some people like to repeat some of the groups and we are happy for you to do this.
Drop-in group
This is held every second Wednesday evening at Ruskin House. All young people who have been in care are welcome to pop in for advice, support or just a friendly chat. Many of the people who use this group are older and living independently. Some have helped in providing training and consultation for staff in the service, eg some of them have made a video showing the different types of accommodation.
If you have been in the care system, you should be on our mailing list and receive regular reminders of this group but if that is not happening, let someone know.
Asylum seekers' group
Held every month in Croydon, this group provides a chance to get together, share food and have fun! This group helps those who have extra needs because of their status, therefore activities are centred around those needs, e.g. learning English.
Young women's group
This group is for all young women in the service. Ask at the leaving care reception for details.
Support workers' groups
These are run monthly and are for all workers, foster carers etc who are formally supporting young people in independent living.
Feedback
The LCIS was started up partly guided by the wishes and views of the young people who use it.
Getting feedback from young people and working alongside them is very important for the development of the service. Young people routinely take part in interviews for new staff, have been part of a group for National Children's Bureau, checking how well the service is doing, and help with training events and groupwork.
Exit interviews
We are keen to know how well the service is serving young people. If you are 18 and about to leave care or 21 - 25 and coming to the end of your time with us, please ask at reception for an exit interview with the service manager Eileen Harkess.
Comments and suggestions
We would like to gather up your comments on a more regular basis and we would like you to give us as much feedback as possible, either via this website or on a suggestions and comments form that you can get from LCIS.
Care Today, Gone Tomorrow?
You can also contribute to the magazine " Care Today, Gone Tomorrow?". It is really helpful to see as many articles as possible from lots of young people.
Complaints
If you are not happy about the service, it is important to get it sorted out as quickly as possible. By law we must try to sort out the problem informally within 14 days. If things don't improve, you can make a formal complaint. You should, in the first instance, make your complaint to your LCIS worker. However, if your complaint is about your worker, we will put you in touch with the Social Services Complaints Manager at Taberner House.
Contact Details
- Contact name
- Leaving Care and Independence Service (LCIS)
- Telephone
- 020 8239 4290 / 4294
- Fax
- 020 8239 4470
- leaving_care.reception@croydon.gov.uk
- Address
- 28 Wellesley Road
Croydon CR0 2AD
