A report on what children in care and care leavers think other people’s views are on care has found that young people in care experience being treated and thought of differently, and often negatively. The report by the Become charity for care and care leavers, Perceptions of Care, is based on surveys and focus groups with 170 young people. Among the findings are that 44% said they thought social workers ‘were not ambitious’ for children and care leavers, and that only 31% of young people believed social workers appreciate what it meant to be in care. 50% of children in care and 51% of care leavers agreed that ‘people think that it is the children’s fault that they are in care’. The report calls for a change in the narrative, ‘to encourage children in care and care leavers to be the best they can, to believe in the potential of each individual child’.
Call to ‘change the narrative’ about children in care
