11 Sep, 2026
We welcome the government’s report of the independent review of deaths among care-experienced young adults in England. This review, completed by Ashley John-Baptiste and Clare Chamberlain, aims to understand the circumstances surrounding care leaver deaths and identify lessons for policy and practice to help prevent future deaths.
We thank the government for the opportunity to participate in round tables related to the review, particularly for our Care-Experienced Youth Advisory Team to share their lived experiences.
Above all, we remember the young people whose lives and deaths are reflected in the review, as well as those whose stories are not included. Their experiences demand more than acknowledgement. They demand sustained action.
The missing link: support for healthy intimate relationships
The review identifies loneliness, isolation, the absence of trusted adults, poor mental health and the abrupt withdrawal of support during the transition to adulthood. These are not separate challenges. Together, they show the need for long-term, trauma-informed and relationship-based support that does not end at 18, or 21, or 25.
One critical gap remains insufficiently recognised in both this report, and the Enduring Relationships policy paper: support for care-experienced young people to develop safe, healthy intimate relationships.
This matters because intimate relationships can become a source of belonging, stability and family life. Without the right support, they can also expose young people to further trauma and domestic abuse. The review records that six of the young women who died had experienced the removal of their own children, underlining the potential for trauma and harm to continue across generations.
Last year, the Government stated that: “Children in care often face significant early trauma, instability and abuse, leaving them more vulnerable to exploitation and crime. People who have been in care are four times more likely to receive a criminal conviction and ten times more likely to end up in prison compared to everyone else.” These situations often include coercive control, grooming, and violence. Helping care leavers to identify patterns of harm is likely to support them in recognising exploitative relationships and avoiding the criminal justice system.
Of the 800+ families we have worked with over the last decade through For Baby’s Sake, our whole-family, trauma-informed intervention for those impacted by domestic abuse, a significant proportion are care-experienced, as many as 25% of our parents in some local areas. While the report references the vulnerability of care-experienced mothers, we believe it is also vital to acknowledge and support care-experienced fathers. This led us to consider how we could support even earlier intervention for care-experienced young people transitioning into adulthood – particularly supporting the development of healthy, intimate relationships.
My Future Me
This led us to develop My Future Me, a pilot programme co-produced with care-experienced young people. It supports care-experienced young people aged 16 to 25 in understanding themselves, building trusted relationships, and developing the foundations for healthy relationships throughout adulthood.
The programme is shaped by what young people themselves said they needed. Its focus includes identity, self-belief, informed choice, participation and future relationships, with support delivered with young people, not to them.
Our call to government
We urge government to:
- Recognise healthy intimate relationships as an essential part of preparation for adulthood, alongside wider support for enduring relationships, housing, education, employment and practical independence.
- Invest in early support programmes like My Future Me, and For Baby’s Sake, to break cycles of domestic abuse, and prevent more babies and children from being taken into care.
- Provide trauma-informed support beyond the age of 18, reflecting the reality that recovery, identity development and relationship-building do not follow statutory age boundaries.
- Invest in trusted, consistent adult relationships, rather than relying on short-term or transactional interventions.
- Embed meaningful co-production, giving care-experienced young people genuine influence over the support designed for them.
- Strengthen coordination across leaving-care, mental health, domestic abuse and family services, so that young people do not fall between systems.
- Support scalable workforce models, which include training and capacity for Personal Advisers to deliver relationship-based approaches locally.
- Provide support for care leavers with all forms of care experience, including kinship care, adoption, the immigration system, and the youth justice system.
- Ensure there is continuity of support in all local areas, rather than a post code lottery.
The review’s central message is clear: care-experienced young people must not be left to face adulthood alone. The government now has an opportunity to build a system that remains alongside young people, invests in their relationships, and helps prevent trauma from continuing into the next generation.
