Barnardo’s Lincolnshire - Lincoln Leaving Care Office

Barnardo's is one of the UK's leading children's charities.  Barnardo's works directly with over 200,000 children, young people and their families every year.  Barnardo's run over 900 vital services across the UK, including leaving care services, counselling for children who have been abused, fostering and adoption services, vocational training and disability inclusion groups.

Every Barnardo's service is different, but each believes in the potential in every child and young person, no matter who they are, what they have done, or what they have been through.

Barnardo's Leaving Care Service is commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council to deliver Leaving Care provision for any child or young person that is the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council. This includes entitled young people that live outside the Lincolnshire Boundary.

The Leaving Care Service provides:

• Personal Advisers to provide information, advice, support and co-ordination of services with a focus on care-leavers who require additional specialist support
• Pathway planning, preparation and reviews which are completed with input from other agencies as appropriate
• Planning and arranging for Education, Employment and Training opportunities and preparation for care leavers to take up these opportunities
• Support to promote care leavers health and well-being access to healthcare services
• Preparation for care leavers transition to adulthood, including developing financial capability, accessing other agencies support and teaching life skills

The aims and objectives are:

• To help care leavers achieve their full potential as they transition to adulthood
• To ensure holistic, early and effective planning for care leavers and engage other services quickly so that any concerns are not allowed to escalate
• To ensure care leavers are living in suitable accommodation and are well prepared for independent living
• To ensure care leavers are in Education, Employment and Training and are able to financially support themselves without additional state benefits
• To ensure that care leavers needs with regards ethnicity, religion and culture are recognised and accommodated
• To ensure care leavers are good citizens and make a positive contribution to society
• To ensure care leavers are good parents and are supported in meeting their  own children's needs
• To ensure early input and a smooth transition to adult services for care leavers that will need support in adulthood
• To advocate for care leavers with other stakeholders and improve the skills, knowledge and understanding of professionals working with care leavers; thus improving access for care leavers to other services
• To demonstrate that care leavers are satisfied with the care and support they receive
• To demonstrate best value service delivery