Comparing leaving-care policy and practice across the four nations of the United Kingdom: exploring similarities, differences, and implementation gaps

From an international comparative perspective, the four nations of the United Kingdom have robust legal and policy frameworks governing care leaving. Measures taken include access to aftercare workers; pathway planning; introduction of extended care arrangements (permitting young people to remain in placement beyond 18 years); and specific types of financial support. The paper explores commonalities and differences in approaches across the United Kingdom and illuminates how resource constraints, placement availability, workforce challenges and cultural norms may result in implementation gaps and a postcode lottery of provision. Findings lend weight to calls for attentiveness to and systematic evaluation of the implementation process to understand the challenges encountered in embedding effective support for care leavers. Findings also highlight the value of further comparative studies that explore the systems and subsystems of law, policy, and practice in the four nations to contribute to more-informed leaving care policy and practice.