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Social Work vocabulary · Children, Families and Care

Care leaver

Meaning in social work, with examples

nounCommon term

In social work, care leaver means: A young person who has spent time in care, for example in foster or residential care, and has moved on to adult life, usually between the ages of 16 and 18.

In Turkish: kurum bakımından ayrılan genç, korumadan ayrılan genç

How it is used

In England care leavers have a right to a personal adviser and a pathway plan, in some cases up to age 25. 'Care-experienced' is increasingly used as a broader, less labelling term. Leaving care is a time of high risk for homelessness and isolation.

Example sentences

  1. Every care leaver has a personal adviser until at least the age of 21.

  2. The university offers a bursary for care leavers.

Common collocations

  • support care leavers
  • care leavers' service
  • pathway plan
  • personal adviser
  • looked-after childA child who is cared for by a local authority, for example in foster care or a children's home, either under a court order or with the parents' agreement.
  • residential careCare in which people live in a staffed setting, such as a children's home or a care home for older or disabled adults, rather than in a family home.
  • homelessnessNot having a safe, secure and suitable place to live, from sleeping on the street to staying in temporary or overcrowded accommodation.
  • resilienceThe ability to cope with difficulties and recover from them, supported both by personal qualities and by the relationships and resources around a person.

More terms: Children, Families and Care

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