The latest Department for Education review into the deaths of care leavers aged 18-24 is one of the hardest reports I have read in my years working with vulnerable children and young people.
The headline figure is devastating: 112 young people died.
On paper, they were adults. Many were 18, 19, 20 or older.
But anyone who works in this field knows their stories did not begin at 18.
For many, the challenges that ultimately shaped their futures were years in the making. Childhood trauma, instability, broken relationships, isolation, poor mental health, housing insecurity and a lack of consistent support do not magically disappear when a young person reaches adulthood.
Yet too often, our systems act as though they do.
The Cliff Edge at 18
One of the strongest themes running through the report is the sudden reduction in support that many young people experience when they leave care.
At the very point when life becomes more complex, support often becomes less available.
Most young people rely on a network of family, trusted adults and practical support well into their twenties. They have people to call when things go wrong, when rent is due, when relationships break down or when their mental health suffers.
Many care-experienced young people are expected to navigate these challenges with significantly less support.
The result is not independence.
The result is often isolation.
Behind Every Statistic Is a Story
The 112 deaths reported are not simply data points.
Each number represents a young person who mattered.
A young person with ambitions, potential, relationships and dreams.
Reading the report, what struck me most was not the statistics themselves. It was the recurring themes woven through the stories:
- Loneliness and disconnection
- Mental health challenges
- Housing instability
- Risk of homelessness
- Substance misuse
- Involvement with the justice system
- The absence of trusted and consistent relationships
- An assumption they could go it alone
Again and again, the report highlights how vulnerable young people can become when support is fragmented or withdrawn.
Nobody Wants This to Happen
This is perhaps the most uncomfortable truth.
Nobody sets out wanting these outcomes.
Social workers care.
Personal advisers care.
Foster carers care.
Leaders care.
Policymakers care.
But good intentions are not enough.
The question is not whether people care.
The question is whether we have the courage to redesign systems around what young people actually need.
From Safeguarding to Future-Guarding
For years, the sector has rightly focused on safeguarding.
Protecting children from immediate harm will always matter.
But protection alone is not enough.
We must become just as focused on what happens next.
We need to move from safeguarding to future-guarding.
That means asking different questions.
Not just:
“How do we keep this young person safe today?”
But also:
“How do we ensure this young person has hope, opportunity, relationships and stability five years from now?”
Not just protecting young people from harm.
But actively building pathways to belonging, purpose and success.
Not just helping them survive.
Helping them thrive.
Understanding Starts Change. Courage Creates It.
I have written a summary of the report, but I would encourage anyone working with children, young people or care leavers to read it for themselves.
Its power is not found in the statistics.
Its power is found in the lives behind them.
The stories demand more from all of us.
They demand that we challenge assumptions.
They demand that we question systems.
And they demand that we refuse to accept outcomes that have become normal simply because they are familiar.
If reading this makes you uncomfortable, it should.
But don’t stop there.
Let that discomfort become action.
Let understanding become commitment.
And let commitment become courage.
Because understanding starts change.
Courage creates it.
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