Rotherham Leaving Care Local Offer

Staying Put – Staying put is where you remain with the people who you know as your foster carers. The arrangement changes name because you are 18 and the regulations mean that you are no longer looked after and therefore can no longer be described as a fostered child.

Staying put will require you make a claim to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for benefit to pay for the room. Staying put will also require some tricky conversations about money and how far your foster carer will be financially supporting you post 18 and how much you will be expected to give them by way of keep money. You will be supported in having these conversations by your social worker or personal advisor.

Supported accommodation

This means living in a flat where support staff live with you, or visit you for set periods of time over the week, it can also be having a self- contained flat that is connected to other flats and where there are tenancy support staff available to help you. This support can be up to 24:7 or it can be as low as a couple of hours a day.

This provision can be shaped to meet what you and we think you need. This can be offered because you and we think you are ready to experience something that is a better balance between independence and what can feel at times the restriction of foster care or residential care.

You can move into these types of arrangement from age 16, however we would prefer this move on arrangement was delayed at least until you have completed year 11 at school.

In Rotherham there are a range of options in this category

Hollowgate – 9 self-contained flats with 24:7 support available at the accommodation. Young people must be engaged in education, employment or training to access this accommodation.

Dispersed tenancies – this is where young people move on from their foster placement, residential placement or other types of supported accommodation to their own accommodation. It is where they would have access to a certain amount of support hours per week to make sure they are managing their new home and all the pressures of living independently. This is the next step before you take over the final tenancy. This arrangement offers an extra bit of protection before you become fully responsible for your home.  However you must be engaged in education, employment or training or have demonstrated an ability to live independently and have attended a tenancy related course such as Renting Ready or ‘A Place of Your Own’ to access a dispersed tenancy.

RMBC supported accomodation – this tends to be self-contained bedsits or flats with staff available, in most cases until 10pm. Security or Concierge staff would tend to be available over night.

Providers commissioned via 16 plus White Rose Framework – through this option we can build support depending on your needs and what we are hoping to achieve. This may well be the route for young people when they have been living out of area but wish to remain in that area due to friends or concerns about returning to Rotherham

Supported Lodgings – this is the equivalent of renting a room in someone’s home. It can be living in a family but not necessarily as part of the family. There will be people there to seek advice from or to gain some emotional support. You would have a key and could come and go as you please. You would need to be engaged in some form of education, employment or training for this option.

Supported accommodation for families: If you are pregnant or are a parent there is accommodation available that has been developed to support you learn how to become a parent and live safely with your child.

This could be via a parent and baby placement or in a separate flat with floating support. Again this will depend on your age and care of your baby. It may also be dependent on whether your child has a social worker and any decisions being made about the future of your child.

Shared Lives/Supported Living – if you are a young person who has additional needs then adult social care will complete an assessment and will, with your input determine the type of accommodation you may live in. This could be a supported living environment. This would be where your carers remain with you to attend to your care and support needs. Or it may be that your foster placement could be transferred into a shared lives arrangement so you can stay there beyond your 18th birthday. You could move into an alternative shared lives arrangement. Adult social care will be told about you really early on so you will know where and who you are going to live before you turn 18.

Independent Tenancies: This is where you are living independently, with you own tenancy and where you are fully responsible for your own home. To achieve this in Rotherham you will be expected to show Key Choices that you have the skills and understanding of being a tenant. This will also include some expectation that you will be able to budget.

Being ready to move into your own accommodation

In Rotherham Care Leavers are offered priority status to accommodation but Key Choices (our Housing Service) need to make sure you are ready and that you will be able to manage your own tenancy. They will need to check out whether you really understand the responsibility and have the support and skills in place to manage this responsibility before they activate your priority status.

A Guide for Young People about getting a forever home

Our hope for all our young people is that you are able to move into a flat or house that you can call your home.

This is a really big step which carries lots of responsibilities. We need to make sure you are ready.

There are lots of things to think about:

Whether you want to live on your own or with a friend, relative or partner?

Where you would want to live?

What about having money and being able to pay bills?

Being able to live peacefully and calmly with neighbours

Keeping your home clean and tidy and being able to make it your home.

Getting about to college, university or work, being able to see your friends and family.

We know that because we have looked after you and know you that getting you ready takes time and patience. We also know that because of the unique position of care leavers that moving into your own place can be scary, overwhelming, exciting and with a sense that you might be able to live without people watching and reporting on everything you do.

This will help you see how we are going to help you get ready, who will help you and what you will need to do to get your forever home....