The Care Cliff at 18: 112 Young Lives Lost – and Still No One’s Listening
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I Was Abandoned by the System at 18. More Than Three Decades Later, Are We Still Listening?
This story is personal.
I entered care at 13.
By 18, I felt abandoned by the very system that had been responsible for looking after me.
I became homeless.
I slept rough.
And in 1990, at a time when the Strangeways prison riot was exposing some of the deepest problems within our criminal justice system, my own life was becoming increasingly caught up in that same system.
I know where the cliff edge can lead because I went over it.
More than three decades later, I am reading about young people leaving care who are still experiencing profound isolation, fractured relationships and dramatic reductions in support.
And I’m asking myself:
How many more young people have to fall before we finally build a bridge across the cliff edge at 18?
112 Young People Died After Leaving Care
A government-commissioned independent review published on 25 August 2026 examined the early deaths of young people who had been in care.
In 2025, 112 deaths of care leavers aged between 18 and 24 were notified to the Department for Education.
The Government estimates a death rate of approximately 130 per 100,000 – around three to four times the rate for other young people of the same age.
The review, led by care-experienced author and broadcaster Ashley John-Baptiste and social work leader Clare Chamberlain, examined the circumstances surrounding these deaths and explored six young people’s lives in greater depth.
Its findings point towards three fundamental issues:
- being alone and whether young people are genuinely ready for adulthood;
- the drop in levels of support after leaving care; and
- whether the workforce surrounding young people is equipped to support that transition.
This isn’t simply about services.
It is about relationships.
It is about belonging.
And ultimately, it is about whether somebody notices when something is going wrong.
David Wasn’t a Statistic
The Guardian investigation accompanying the review tells the story of a young man it calls “David”.
David had experienced abuse and neglect and spent much of his childhood in and out of care.
He lived with type 1 diabetes and, while living in a children’s home, received support from a nurse to help him manage his condition.
But as David moved into adulthood, his support network changed.
He moved into supported accommodation.
Age-related changes affected his health support.
A personal adviser moved away.
His new adviser later went on leave.
And a care-leavers’ hub where he enjoyed spending time temporarily closed for refurbishment.
David was more than the circumstances surrounding his death.
He loved swimming and ice skating.
He qualified as a lifeguard.
He enjoyed spending time with other young people.
He had interests, abilities and potential.
Then David died from a lack of insulin.
His body wasn’t discovered for two weeks.
Two weeks.
That has stayed with me.
How does somebody who spent much of their childhood being looked after by the state reach adulthood and die without anyone discovering what has happened for approximately fourteen days?
This should make every one of us uncomfortable.
594 Children Are Looked After in Bolton
This is not an issue happening somewhere else.
It matters here in Bolton.
Bolton Council’s Looked After Children Sufficiency Strategy 2025–2028 records 594 looked-after children at 31 March 2025.
That number had increased by 6.5% over the previous 12 months, and the council expects the looked-after population to increase further over the next three years.
The strategy also highlights another important issue.
For Bolton care leavers, the proportion engaged in employment, education or training falls as they get older. The council’s published data shows a significant challenge among 19–21-year-old care leavers.
So I want us to stop for a moment and think about those 594 children.
They aren’t a caseload.
They aren’t a spreadsheet.
They aren’t a budget line.
They are Bolton’s children.
And every one of them will grow older.
Every one will eventually approach adulthood.
The question is not simply:
“Where will they live?”
We should also be asking:
Who will still be there?
At 18, I Wasn’t Ready
I can speak about this from experience.
When I reached 18, I wasn’t suddenly equipped for adulthood because the calendar said I was an adult.
My childhood experiences didn’t disappear.
The trauma didn’t disappear.
The need for guidance didn’t disappear.
But much of the structure around me did.
I became homeless.
I slept rough.
I became increasingly involved in offending and the criminal justice system.
I subsequently spent years caught in a cycle of prison, release and returning to prison.
That isn’t an excuse for the decisions I made.
But if we genuinely want to prevent young people following similar pathways, we have to be prepared to understand how those pathways develop.
We cannot keep waiting until somebody is homeless, offending, exploited, addicted, unemployed or in prison before deciding they need intensive support.
By then, prevention has already failed.
Independence Is Not Isolation
One word appears constantly when we talk about young people leaving care:
Independence.
Of course we want young people to become independent.
But I think we have confused independence with doing everything alone.
Most 18-year-olds who grow up within supportive families aren’t truly independent.
They might move away.
They might start work.
They might go to university.
They might rent their first flat.
But somebody is normally still there.
Mum rings.
Dad helps when something breaks.
A grandparent asks whether they’ve eaten.
A brother or sister sends a message.
Somebody lends them £20.
Somebody explains the electricity bill.
Somebody asks why they haven’t turned up.
Somebody notices.
Care-experienced young people deserve that same human safety net.
Giving somebody the keys to a flat doesn’t automatically mean we’ve given them a home.
And moving somebody into “independent living” doesn’t mean they’re ready to live without meaningful relationships.
Someone Needs to Notice
The more I think about David’s story, the more I return to one simple idea.
Someone needs to notice.
Someone needs to notice when the curtains haven’t opened.
Someone needs to notice when a young person stops answering messages.
Someone needs to notice when they haven’t attended college.
Someone needs to notice when they don’t arrive for work.
Someone needs to notice when their health deteriorates.
Someone needs to notice when they become isolated.
This isn’t about surveillance.
It’s about relationships.
There is a huge difference.
This Is Why Genuine Futures Talks About Prevention
For almost three decades, I have worked alongside young people.
Those experiences, combined with my own lived experience, eventually led to the creation of Genuine Futures.
Our belief is straightforward:
Prevention before crisis.
We need to reach young people before homelessness.
Before exploitation.
Before long-term unemployment.
Before prison.
Before somebody decides they are too difficult to help.
And prevention doesn’t always require another complicated programme.
Sometimes prevention looks like:
A trusted adult.
A supportive employer.
A community organisation.
A mentor.
A safe place.
A meaningful job.
An opportunity to learn a trade.
A social enterprise where somebody develops responsibility.
A phone call.
A cup of tea.
Someone asking:
“Where have you been? We missed you.”
Never underestimate the importance of somebody knowing your name.
Employment Is About More Than a Wage
One reason Genuine Futures places such importance on employment and enterprise is because work can provide much more than money.
It can create:
Routine.
Relationships.
Responsibility.
Confidence.
Purpose.
Belonging.
Connections.
For a young person without a strong family network, the people they meet through employment can become incredibly important.
The mechanic who teaches them a skill.
The business owner who gives them their first opportunity.
The colleague who notices they haven’t turned up.
The customer who tells them they’ve done a good job.
The mentor who keeps checking in.
This is why businesses should be part of the solution.
Supporting care-experienced young people isn’t solely the responsibility of children’s services.
It requires the whole community.
Corporate Parenting Must Mean Something
The Government has announced changes following the review.
It is investing £25 million this year in expanding connected housing approaches for care leavers, including models designed to provide community and connection rather than simply accommodation.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act will also extend corporate parenting responsibilities to more public bodies, including the NHS, Jobcentres, prisons and probation services.
From 30 September 2026, councils will have new duties concerning how they support care leavers into independent living, and care leavers will no longer be able to be found intentionally homeless.
These are important developments.
But policies only matter if they change what happens to a young person on a Tuesday night when they’re sitting alone in a flat wondering who they can call.
For me, corporate parenting comes down to one question:
What Would You Do If This Was Your Own Child?
Would you stop supporting your son or daughter because they turned 18?
Would you let them become homeless?
Would you allow every trusted adult around them to disappear?
Would you accept them sitting alone without food?
Would you allow them to struggle with their health without checking in?
Would you accept nobody knowing they had died for two weeks?
Of course not.
So why should our expectations be different for children for whom the state has taken parental responsibility?
Bolton Has an Opportunity to Lead
I don’t want this article simply to criticise.
I want it to lead somewhere.
Bolton has 594 looked-after children recorded in the council’s latest strategy.
We know the national evidence.
We know what the independent review has found.
We know the importance of relationships.
So let’s act.
I would like to see Bolton’s MPs, councillors, children’s services, NHS partners, housing providers, colleges, employers, voluntary and community organisations, social enterprises and – most importantly – care-experienced young people themselves come together.
Not another meeting where we talk about young people without young people.
Not another strategy produced without lived experience at the centre.
And not another conversation that ends when everybody leaves the room.
Let’s ask every care-experienced young person approaching adulthood:
Who is in your corner?
Who will answer the phone?
Where will you live?
Who will help you find work?
Where do you belong?
Who will notice if you disappear?
And if we cannot confidently answer those questions, then our work isn’t finished.
Still No One’s Listening
I’ve been talking about these issues for years.
I’ve met professionals.
I’ve spoken with decision-makers.
I’ve shared my story.
I’ve watched governments change, policies change and programmes come and go.
And more than three decades after I experienced that cliff edge myself, we are reading about young people experiencing some of the same fundamental problems.
So forgive me for asking:
Is anyone really listening?
Because listening isn’t inviting somebody to another meeting.
Listening means changing something.
Listening means sharing power.
Listening means investing earlier.
Listening means keeping relationships around young people.
Listening means giving lived experience a genuine seat at the table.
And listening means acting before the next tragedy rather than responding afterwards.
My Challenge to Bolton
I want to make a direct invitation to every Bolton MP and councillor.
Please read this review.
Please read these young people’s stories.
Then let’s sit down with care-experienced young people and ask what Bolton can do differently.
Genuine Futures will bring our lived experience, community relationships and nearly three decades of experience working alongside young people to that conversation.
But young people themselves must be at the centre.
Let’s explore a Bolton Care Leaver Opportunity Network bringing together housing, health, employment, education, businesses, community organisations and trusted adults around young people transitioning from care.
Not another service to refer young people into.
A network that helps ensure somebody stays.
Because the ultimate measure shouldn’t simply be whether somebody has successfully “left care”.
It should be whether they have somewhere safe to live, opportunities ahead of them and people around them who genuinely care what happens next.
Leaving Care Must Never Mean Being Left Alone
I survived my own cliff edge.
Others haven’t.
112 deaths of care leavers aged 18–24 were notified in England in 2025.
Behind every number was a person.
A story.
Potential.
People who loved them.
And a future that should have been longer.
We owe it to those young people – and to the 594 children currently represented in Bolton’s latest looked-after children figures – to do better.
Don’t wait until a young person becomes homeless.
Don’t wait until they’re unemployed.
Don’t wait until they’re exploited.
Don’t wait until they’re arrested.
Don’t wait until they’re in prison.
And don’t wait until they’re dead before asking what went wrong.
Prevention starts earlier.
It starts with listening.
It starts with opportunity.
It starts with belonging.
And sometimes it starts with the simplest thing imaginable:
Someone noticing.
Someone listening.
Someone staying.
Leaving care should never mean being left alone.
Sam Smith
Founder & Co-Director
Genuine Futures CIC
Bridging the gap to opportunity.
Read the Evidence
The Guardian investigation:
https://www.theguardian.com/
Independent Review of Early Deaths of Care Leavers – Department for Education:
https://www.gov.uk/government/
Government Response – Every Care Leaver to Have Someone in Their Corner:
https://www.gov.uk/government/
Bolton Council – Looked After Children Sufficiency Strategy 2025–2028:
https://www.bolton.gov.uk/
Call to Action
If you are a care-experienced young person, employer, housing provider, NHS organisation, school, college, community organisation, councillor, MP or business in Bolton, we want to hear from you.
Help us build a community where leaving care doesn’t mean losing the people and opportunities around you.
Genuine Futures CIC
Bridging the gap to opportunity.