Report looks at the mental health needs of care leavers in England

Last year 11,000 young people (aged 17 and 18) left local authority care in England. Barnardo's has just published a report into the mental health needs of this group, and provides a picture of how, and if, these needs are being met.

The report found that:

• 46% of the Barnardo's care leaver cases which were reviewed as part of the research involved young people who in the opinion of the personal adviser had mental health needs
• 1 in 4 of the case files involved a young person who had faced a mental health crisis since leaving care
• 65% of young people workers identified as having mental health needs were not currently receiving any statutory service

In light of the research, Barnardo's is calling for a rethink on how we support the mental heath needs of these vulnerable young people.

Recommendations from the report include:

• Embedding mental health workers within leaving care teams
• Developing youth-specific services aimed at those in their teenage years and early 20s
• Working to upskill those in leaving care services to understand mental health better

Read the full report on the Barnardo's website.

Find out more about care leavers and our throughcare and aftercare work.