Continuing Care on a Permanence Order

In 2022, CELCIS created a series of resources on Continuing Care.

If you click through to their website here you can access their information video on Continuing Care on a Permanence Order. Through the eyes of Katie, you can find out more about the challenges and thoughts of someone trying to understand continuing care and how they might relate to you. Here’s a bit more about her story:

“Katie is approaching her 16th birthday in six weeks’ time. She has been in living with foster carers Bob and Helen on a Permanence Order for seven years. She calls Bob and Helen her mum and dad, she feels loved and cared for and this is her home. She’s doing well at school, and hopes to go to university when she’s older. However, she has just been told by her social worker that when she turns 16 her Permanence Order will ’run out’ and she will have to sign a S.25 Voluntary Agreement if she wants to stay where she is, in continuing care. She’s never heard about any of this before. She also overheard an upsetting phone conversation between Helen and the social worker about a ‘reduction in fees and allowances’ when she’s in continuing care. She is really worried, doesn’t understand what this means, and thinks that Bob and Helen won’t be able to look after her anymore.”

Remember to talk to someone you trust such as your connector or someone at The Why Not? Trust about any big decisions that affect your future. Alternatively, you can click here to find out more about the helplines that specialise in your rights to continuing care.