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It is recognised that care leavers are at greater risk of mental health difficulties than young people generally, and that they may experience additional stresses at the transitional period from leaving care.

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned by the Local Government Association to examine the extent to which recent developments have improved outcomes for young people leaving care, particularly those with mental health difficulties.

Key findings included:

• Voluntary services to support care leavers with mental health difficulties are perceived as particularly effective for meeting lower-level mental health needs. However there is a lack of awareness of such services amongst those supporting care leavers
• Personal advisors play a crucial role in ensuring needs of care leavers with mental health difficulties are addressed
• The need for specialised services for 16 to 21 year olds is strongly apparent
• Specialist mental health advice and support is very valuable
• Lack of appropriate accommodation for care leavers is evident
• Care leavers value the support they receive but stressed that improvements could be made
• Challenges in co-ordination of services continue to exist

Read the Executive summary: Provision of mental health services for care leavers: transition to adult services