Financial support for young people leaving care
To support you leaving care we will make sure that you have the advice you need to learn how to manage your money and that this is detailed in your pathway plan budgeting section.
We will also support you with benefits claims and accessing the financial support that you need.
How we can help
We can support you to:
- Access your savings from your time in care
- Open a bank account
- Get your National Insurance number
Read our Leaving Care Finance Policies for more information on the support we offer young people aged 16 to 17 and young people 18 to 25.
Life Skills Programme
We can help you with independence and budgeting skills through the Life Skills Programme.
Help with managing money will be available at the Life Skills sessions delivered through the Life Skills Programme and by partners.
Immigration and asylum
If you are claiming asylum and you need legal advice, we will support you to make applications for Legal Aid in a timely way.
We do not automatically pay for any legal advice for young people and we expect all young people to claim legal aid to support them. We will also support young people to access legal advice from agencies such as Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
Benefits
We will work with your social worker and your carers to make sure that if you need to claim benefits when you turn 18, that you make a claim for these before your 18th birthday.
We will also work with your Job Coach and the DWP to address any issues that you might have with benefits claims. We are always building stronger relationships with our local Job Centre Plus to help achieve this.
Emergency financial support
We will help you to access the right emergency financial support if you need it. This
might include referrals to charities and community organisations and other sources of financial or practical support.
Maximising your income
We will encourage you to use our education and training offer to make sure that you can access employment or training to maximise your income.
Keeping you up to date
We will let you know about opportunities to earn and claim money from new initiatives, organisations, offers, and legislation that relates directly to care experienced young people or your own personal circumstances.