Care Leaver Deaths Reveal a National Crisis
Care leaver deaths in England are occurring at an alarming rate because many vulnerable young people experience an abrupt loss of practical and emotional support when they reach adulthood.
A government-commissioned review examined 112 notified deaths of care leavers aged 18 to 24 in 2025. It estimated a mortality rate of approximately 130 deaths per 100,000 care leavers—around three to four times the rate among other people of the same age.
Twenty-two of the young people died at the age of 18, suggesting that the transition out of children’s services can be an especially dangerous period.
Just over one-third of the deaths—40 out of 112—were thought to be suicides. The estimated suicide rate among care leavers may be approximately five times higher than among young adults generally.
The review, led by care-experienced broadcaster Ashley John-Baptiste and social-work leader Clare Chamberlain, found repeated patterns of isolation, poor accommodation, gaps in healthcare and a dramatic reduction in support after young people left care.
Its central conclusion is painful but clear: too many young people are expected to manage adult responsibilities without the family network that most people continue to rely on long after turning 18. (Department for Education review)
What Is a Care Leaver?
A care leaver is a young person who has previously lived with a local authority.
They may have lived with foster carers, in a children’s home, with relatives under an official arrangement or in another form of supported accommodation.
Young people enter care for many different reasons. Some have experienced abuse, neglect, family breakdown, bereavement or serious difficulties at home. Others are unaccompanied young asylum seekers who arrived in Britain without parents or guardians.
As a result, care leavers have highly varied experiences. Being care-experienced does not determine someone’s future, and many young people leaving care build stable and successful lives.
However, as a group, they face greater risks involving homelessness, poor mental health, unemployment, contact with the criminal justice system and social isolation.
These disadvantages can overlap, leaving some individuals extremely vulnerable during the transition to adulthood.
The “Care Cliff” at 18
One of the review’s strongest findings concerned the sudden reduction in support when a young person reaches 18.
Before adulthood, a child in care may have regular contact with social workers, carers, healthcare professionals and education staff. Important decisions are made within a formal safeguarding system.
After turning 18, that structure can change rapidly.
A young person may move from a children’s home or foster placement into supported accommodation, a shared property or an independent flat. They may suddenly be expected to manage rent, bills, food, education, work and healthcare appointments.
Most young adults can telephone parents or return to the family home when something goes wrong. Many care leavers do not have that option.
The review found that some young people lost significant sources of support at precisely the point when they faced greater responsibilities. This phenomenon has been described as a “care cliff”—a sharp transition from closely managed care to limited adult assistance.
The fact that 22 of the 112 notified deaths occurred at age 18 provides disturbing evidence of the pressures surrounding this transition.
Loneliness Is More Than an Emotional Problem
Isolation emerged as one of the most consistent themes in the review.
Care leavers can be placed in accommodation far from friends, former carers, education or familiar services. Some have experienced numerous placement changes, making it difficult to build lasting relationships with trusted adults.
Personal advisers may help with official tasks, but professional contact cannot always replace family-like relationships.
Loneliness can increase the risk of depression, substance misuse, exploitation and self-harm. It can also mean nobody notices when a young person becomes seriously ill, stops attending appointments or begins experiencing a crisis.
For vulnerable care leavers, regular contact with a trusted adult can therefore be a form of protection.
The review argues that support should not focus only on providing accommodation and completing paperwork. Young people also need enduring relationships with adults who know them, notice changes and remain available during difficult periods.
Mental Health and Suicide Risks
Many young people entering care have already experienced significant trauma.
Abuse, neglect, separation from relatives, repeated placement changes and uncertainty about the future can have lasting effects on mental health.
Turning 18 does not remove those experiences. In some cases, the pressures of independent living make existing difficulties worse.
The review found that approximately 40 of the 112 deaths were believed to be suicides. Young women leaving care appeared to face a particularly elevated suicide risk.
Some groups experienced additional pressures. The cases examined included young people going through gender transitions, young mothers whose children had been removed, young asylum seekers and people in custody.
These young people may have needed specialist mental-health care as well as general leaving-care support.
Unfortunately, services do not always work together effectively. A care leaver may fall between children’s and adult mental-health services, fail to meet a treatment threshold or face long waiting times.
Personal advisers may recognise that someone is struggling, but they lack the specialist training or authority needed to secure appropriate help.
Gaps in Physical Healthcare Can Be Fatal
These risks also extend beyond mental health.
The review considered the circumstances of a young man referred to as David, who had type 1 diabetes. While living in a children’s home, he received regular professional help managing his condition.
After turning 18 and moving into supported accommodation, that level of oversight ended. At the same time, his personal adviser was unavailable and a local support hub closed temporarily.
He died after not receiving the insulin his body needed.
The case demonstrates how an administrative transition can become a medical danger. A person may legally become an adult overnight, but that does not mean they are immediately ready to manage a complex health condition alone.
Healthcare organisations need to identify care leavers and provide continuity as they move between children’s and adult services.
A missed appointment should not automatically be treated as a simple refusal of care. It may indicate that a vulnerable young adult is overwhelmed, isolated or in danger.
Unsafe or Unsuitable Accommodation
Providing a front-door key is not the same as providing a safe home.
Some care leavers are placed in supported accommodation with limited supervision. Others may live in areas where they know nobody or where they face risks from exploitation, violence and criminal activity.
Young people can also struggle with rent, bills and household responsibilities. Financial difficulties may lead to debt, eviction or homelessness.
Unstable housing makes it harder to maintain employment, continue education or attend healthcare appointments. It can also intensify mental distress.
From 30 September 2026, new duties will require English councils to publish how they support care leavers moving into independent living. Under the new arrangements, a care leaver will also no longer be able to be found intentionally homeless.
These changes could provide stronger protection, but their success will depend on funding, suitable accommodation and consistent implementation by local authorities.
Care Leavers in Adult Prisons
The review also examined the experiences of care-experienced young adults in custody.
Moving into an adult prison can remove someone from the professionals and relationships that previously supported them. Prison staff may not always know that a person has been in care or understand how trauma affects their behaviour.
A young person may enter custody already experiencing mental-health difficulties, disrupted relationships and housing insecurity.
If councils, prisons, probation services and healthcare teams do not share information properly, they can miss important risks.
The review calls for greater awareness of care experience in adult prisons and stronger communication between the organisations responsible for supporting young people.
Support must also continue after release. Leaving prison without secure accommodation, healthcare or a trusted contact can create another sudden and dangerous transition.
Young Asylum Seekers Face Additional Pressures
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and care leavers can face a particularly complex combination of risks.
Some have experienced war, persecution, trafficking or dangerous journeys before arriving in Britain. They may also be separated from relatives and unable to communicate easily in English.
Uncertainty about an asylum application can intensify anxiety and make it difficult to plan for education, work or housing.
Research by the Da’aro Youth Project identified 54 deaths of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people across the UK between 2015 and 2024. Thirty-one were recorded as suicides, but the organisation warned that its figures were likely incomplete.
Age disputes and poor information-sharing can also leave some young people outside the support system intended to protect them.
Immigration decisions, mental-health treatment and leaving-care services, therefore, need to work together rather than treating each problem separately.
Why the True Number May Be Higher
The published statistics must be interpreted carefully.
Local authorities have been expected to report deaths of care leavers up to age 24 through the Serious Incident Notification system since December 2023.
However, the notifications were provided on a voluntary basis during the period covered by the statistics. The Department for Education warns that they may not represent every care-leaver death.
The figures also relate to when a notification was submitted, which may differ from the date on which the person died.
This means the 112 notifications should not automatically be treated as a complete national death count.
Improved reporting may explain part of the increase from 91 notifications in the previous year. It does not necessarily mean that the underlying number of deaths rose by exactly the same amount.
Nevertheless, the estimated mortality rate and repeated patterns identified by the review provide strong evidence that care leavers face a substantially greater risk than their peers. (Department for Education data)
What Is the Government Doing?
The government has announced £25 million for an expanded Staying Close programme.
The programme is designed to help care leavers stay connected to accommodation and trusted adults until they are 25. Support can include help with housing, healthcare, education, employment and relationships.
It currently operates in 47 local areas, with national expansion planned by 2029.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act will also extend corporate-parenting responsibilities to more public bodies. Organisations, including the NHS, job centres, prisons and probation services, will be expected to consider the needs of care leavers when designing and delivering their services.
The government says every care leaver should have a named adult who remains in contact and can offer practical help.
These are significant commitments. However, campaigners will judge them by whether they produce consistent, reliable support in every local authority—not simply by whether new duties appear in legislation. (UK government response)
What Needs to Change?
Preventing further deaths will require several connected reforms.
Support should continue until at least age 25 and be based on individual need rather than ending automatically at a particular birthday.
Every care leaver should have:
- A safe and suitable place to live
- A consistent personal adviser
- At least one trusted adult who remains involved
- Rapid access to mental-health treatment
- Help managing serious medical conditions
- Support with education, employment and benefits
- Protection during prison entry and release
- An independent review when a care leaver dies
Professionals also need better training in trauma, suicide prevention, physical health and the specific pressures faced by care-experienced young people.
Most importantly, services must share information and take collective responsibility. A young person should not disappear between social care, housing, healthcare, benefits and criminal justice systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Care Leavers Died in 2025?
The Department for Education received 112 notifications of deaths of care leavers aged 18 to 24 in England during 2025. Because reporting has had limitations, these figures may not represent every death.
How Much Greater Is the Risk?
The independent review estimated that care leavers aged 18 to 24 died at approximately three to four times the rate of other young adults.
What Were the Main Causes?
The circumstances varied and included suicide, medical conditions, homicide, drug-related deaths and deaths in custody. Around 40 of the 112 deaths were thought to be suicides.
Why Is Turning 18 So Dangerous?
Many young people experience a sudden reduction in professional and practical support at 18, while at the same time being expected to manage housing, money, healthcare and adult responsibilities.
What Is the Staying Close Programme?
Staying Close helps care leavers maintain settled accommodation and connections with trusted adults. It can also help care leavers access healthcare, employment, education and other services.
Conclusion
The question of why so many care leavers are dying does not have a single answer.
Trauma, suicide, poor physical health, unsafe housing, violence and substance misuse all play a part. But the independent review found a common thread running through many cases: young people were isolated and experienced a serious reduction in support when they entered adulthood.
The level of care leaver deaths reflects a system that too often expects vulnerable 18-year-olds to become independent more quickly than young people supported by their families.
Preventing these deaths requires more than accommodation and occasional professional contact. Care leavers need stable homes, accessible healthcare and lasting relationships with adults who continue to care what happens to them.
If this topic affects you or someone you know, help is available in the UK and Ireland from Samaritans on 116 123, free at any time. In an immediate emergency, call 999.
