Support for 16-24

Active or available support

Being considered a care leaver and having access to support from the Supporting Independence Team continues up to your 25th birthday.

You do have the option from your 21st birthday of choosing whether to continue to have active support from your Personal Adviser or to have the support as and when you need it.

If you choose active support this will mean an active pathway plan which is reviewed at least every six months and your PA will need to visit you at least every eight weeks.

If you choose available support i.e. support as and when you need it, then we will stay in touch in the following ways:

• we send emails out to remind you of the care leaver offer and our availability about three times a year
• we may send you information about career opportunities if we think you might be interested in them
• if you are in touch with us, we can (i) offer some brief advice and guidance, (ii) offer what we call an intermediary service i.e. a short-term service, (iii) open active involvement again with a pathway plan and regular visits
• if we hear from others such as Housing officers of worries for you then we will try to make contact with you again to check how you are doing and your view as to whether you would appreciate support.

At any time from your 21st to your 25th birthday you can move to and from our active support and available support.

You can use our form to let us know which available support you are choosing:

Getting in touch – and who will help you?

We recognise that you may have a strong relationship with your Personal Adviser and that as and when you want to get back in touch you may well contact them directly. If so, they will seek either to help you themselves or to refer to another PA - if that will enable you to get the support more quickly or effectively.

We have a dedicated Personal Adviser (PA) for supporting 21-24 year-olds and for making sure that our offer to you is the best it can be; her name is Jane Cosstick. Therefore, if you do contact us on our duty phone or email, it is likely to be Jane who responds.

You can contact Jane by email at jane.cosstick@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

Alternatively, you can contact our Duty Team:

• Email: leavingcaresupport@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
• Phone: 0151 337 4662.

Financial Support

We will pay your Council Tax until you are 25. If you are out of borough, please send your bills as soon as they come to visit@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

If you have not already made a move into your own tenancy and you make it after you have turned 21, we can still make Setting Up Home Allowance money available to you. You can ask your PA for more details.

Many entitlements of financial support and free passes are only until the 21st birthday. The main ones are:

• birthday and festival money
• bus pass for Cheshire West and Chester area
• Education/Training incentive

Further details can be found in our Care Leaver Financial Procedures document (PDF, 458KB).