Children Act 'fails youngsters leaving care'

THE LAW fails to protect young people when they leave care, according to the first-ever national overview of leaving care across England and Wales. In Young People Leaving Care: Life After the Children Act 1989, Bob Broad, senior research fellow in social and community studies at De Montfort University, describes the act as "weak and inadequate". Of more than 3,300 care-leavers studied, just 11 per cent were working full-time and more than half were unemployed.

He said resources for these young people went up slightly after the act was introduced but have since fallen.