Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children, Now Staying-Put!

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children, Now Staying-Put!

Overcoming the Challenges of the Past

Both Hikmat and Jawad are earnest and eager to please. Hikmat in particular carries a great sense of mischief and fun. It’s hard to believe the horrors of their history, which has only been evident to their foster carers over a long period of time, in both private and unexpected moments. It’s easy to view these two boys as having a rather nice time, with two lovely foster carers, attending college, living life full of dreams and hopes of achievements. But of course, the story isn’t that simple: Hikmat and Jawad’s efforts have been hard won, not just through determination to work and study, but equally, to hold the demons of past at bay, and focus resolutely on the present and the future. They are an incredible testament to the strength of human spirit, and it’s wonderful to witness their positive journey towards adulthood.

A Staying-Put Arrangement

Hikmat and Jawad are currently ‘staying-put’, which essentially means that both they and their foster carers have made the decision that they will stay on living together after the boys have passed the age of 18.

A staying put arrangement is different from a foster placement. The young person staying put, who must have been previously fostered by the same carers is no longer a Child in Care. They are a young adult and a care leaver. They are entitled to support as a care leaver and will be allocated a personal advisor. The foster carer is no longer acting in the capacity of foster carer for that young adult; they are their ‘former foster carer’. The foster placement becomes a ‘staying put arrangement’ and is not governed by fostering services regulations.

Amended from:
https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/policy-practice/practice-information/staying-put

Many foster carers choose for the young person they have fostered to remain with them past their eighteenth birthday. Levels of financial support to former foster carers are agreed and specified within each local authority’s staying put policy.

Once a young person becomes eighteen, they can also make the decision about whether they would like to talk about their experience online. So very often in the discussions about foster care [online] the most important voices are missing – that of the children and young people. So, this interview felt like a precious opportunity to hear from both Hikmat and Jawad about their experience.

Watch the Condensed Film Interview