What is the Alliance for Children in Care and Care Leavers?
The Alliance for Children in Care and Care Leavers is a coalition of organisations that work with children and young people who are in care or who have left care, and that share a commitment to improving the care system in England.
The Alliance seeks to provide a strong, unified voice to influence policymakers at a local, regional and national level on issues relating to children in care and care leavers. It also provides a forum for member organisations identify areas of common interest, debate priorities and to identify specific issues on which members can campaign on collectively since the early 2000s.
As part of the alliance, NYAS and the other organisations involved want to ensure that every single child has the best possible chance to recover from trauma and realise their full potential. To achieve this, the work of the alliance focuses on the three key themes listed below.
The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Children in Care and Care Leavers
Mental health and wellbeing have long been central to the Alliance’s work.
We have been successful in amending legislation to include specific arrangements for children in care and care leavers. The Alliance will work with policymakers to secure timely and tailored mental health support for all children from the moment they arrive into care.
We will monitor the progress of existing government commitments and will seek to influence new policy in this area.
Stability
The Alliance believes that stability is crucial to recovery from trauma, and that the gaps in the system which undermine stability must be addressed.
Stability of care placement as well as stability in relationships and educational settings are central to the well-being of children in care. For far too long, there has been insufficient focus on the idea of stability, to the detriment of helping looked after children and young people recover from the psychological impact of abuse and neglect.
The Alliance will continue to promote stability as key to supporting the resilience and emotional wellbeing of all children in and leaving care.
18+ and Care Leavers
Some progress has been made by the Alliance and other organisations in making the case for softening the cliff-edge that sees children in care and care leavers losing access to support services and having to leave care placements as soon as they turn 18.
The Alliance will continue to push for better funding for Staying Put and will monitor and seek to influence developments including Staying Close.