Thousands of teenagers in care currently live in bedsits, shared accommodation with adults, caravans, barges and B&Bs.
Please help us make a difference for older children in care.
More than 7,000 teenagers in care in England live in accommodation without day-to-day care, and the number is rising each year.
Loving families don't stop providing care to children from the age of 16, and neither should the care system. What happens in our teenage years can affect us for the rest of our lives - both good and bad.
Write to your MP
Using our easy form, please send a letter to your MP to ask them to advocate for a care system where all children receive care where they live, including teenagers.
Our two-tier care system
In 2021, the government banned the use of care-less accommodation for children in care under the age of 16. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 were left out of this new protection. This is despite them legally being children.
In wider society most adults in their 20s still live at home. Thousands of us petitioned 10 Downing Street to ensure all children in care receive care where they live. We were ignored.
The government claims that new regulations will push up standards for 'supported accommodation' for 16 and 17 year-olds in care, but they lack any duty to provide care. Why?
The stakes could not be higher
Most teenagers in care have experienced trauma within their family home, yet they continue to be badly let down by the system that is supposed to protect them from harm.
- Almost 4 in 10 16 and 17 year-olds in care live in accommodation where they receive no care.
- Nearly 1 in 10 of these children is disabled.
- In the last six years alone, more than 30 teenagers in care have died in care-less accommodation.
- Our research shows that more than 3,200 teenagers are not receiving education, employment or training while living in care-less accommodation.
“Someone to love you. Someone who always gives advice. Someone to talk to when you’re feeling low” 16-year-old, speaking about what they want from their care