The government has announced an £8.4 million scheme to help young care leavers in England reconnect with family and friends they lost touch with while in the care system. The service, modelled on the television programme Who Do You Think You Are?, will provide specially trained coordinators to help identify important people from a young person's past and locate them using social care records, school reports, and public registries.
Leaving care at 18 has been described as a 'cliff edge', with young people losing access to social workers and support staff. In 2024, one in 10 children in care moved homes three or more times in a year, and over one in five lived more than 20 miles from their home community, leading to isolation and lost relationships.
Children's Minister Josh MacAlister said the care system often breaks relationships rather than building them, leaving young people without a 'tribe'. He noted that over 100 young people died after leaving care in the past year, describing it as 'a stain on our society'. The new programme aims to reduce such deaths by ensuring care leavers have a support network.
Existing family-finding schemes in some local authorities have shown promising results, with participants gaining an average of nearly two additional meaningful relationships. More than a third reconnected with immediate family, while others rebuilt ties with former teachers, social workers, and other trusted adults.
Hannah, a 22-year-old care leaver from Hertfordshire, used a family-finding service to reconnect with an aunt and school friends. She said, 'It's really nice to have more of a trusted network now. We as young people need this to make true connections and find our value.'
