Who is a care leaver?
When you leave care, we will continue to support you. The level of support we give you depends on your age, when you were in care and how long you were in care for.
The Leaving Care Act (2000) defines the categories of care leavers as eligible, relevant, former relevant and qualifying.
Eligible care leaver
You are an eligible care leaver if you are aged 16 or 17 and:
- are currently in the care of the local authority
- have been cared for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and you were still in care on your 16th birthday
Relevant care leaver
You are a relevant care leaver if you are aged 16 or 17 and:
- are no longer in the care of the local authority
- have been cared for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and you were in care on your 16th birthday
Former relevant care leaver
You are a former relevant care leaver if you are aged 18 or over and:
- your status was previously eligible
- your status was previously relevant
Qualifying care leaver
You are a qualifying care leaver if you are a young person aged between 16 and 25 and:
- have been in the care of the local authority for less than 13 weeks since the age of 14 and you were in care after your 16th birthday
- have been in the care of the local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 but you were not in care on your 16th birthday
- have been in the care of the local authority for a period between your 16th and 18th birthday
- you are under special guardianship order at age 18, but were cared for immediately before the making of the order
- you were under private fostering arrangements on your 16th birthday
If you are not sure what support you qualify for then you can ask your Personal Adviser.
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