Can a child stay in long-term foster care until adulthood?

A long-term foster placement is intended to provide continuity throughout a child’s adolescence and can continue until they turn 18. However, reaching adulthood is not an automatic outcome of every long-term placement. The arrangement must remain suitable for the young person, and decisions about their care are reviewed as their circumstances and needs develop.

Long-term fostering is based on a permanence plan. This means the local authority has identified a need for the child to remain in a stable foster home rather than move between short-term placements. The plan may continue through childhood and into the teenage years, but it can be changed if another option becomes more appropriate. For example, a child may return to their birth family, move to a different permanent arrangement, or need a placement with a different level of support.

While the child is looked after, their care plan and placement are considered at statutory reviews. These reviews involve the child, foster carers, the child’s social worker and other relevant professionals. The independent reviewing officer oversees the review process. Matters considered can include:

• the child’s safety, health and emotional wellbeing;
• their education, friendships, identity and contact arrangements;
• whether the placement continues to meet their needs;
• how the child’s wishes and feelings have changed;
• the support required as they become more independent; and
• whether the existing permanence plan remains appropriate.

As a young person approaches 18, planning usually becomes more focused on adulthood. From the age of 16, eligible young people generally have a pathway plan setting out the help they may need with education, employment, accommodation, finances, health and relationships. A personal adviser may also support them as they prepare to leave care.

Fostering normally ends when the young person reaches 18 because they are no longer legally a child in care. In England, a post-18 arrangement such as Staying Put may allow an eligible young person to remain living with their foster carer beyond 18. This is not simply an automatic extension of the foster placement. It requires planning and agreement between the young person, foster carer and local authority, and the support and financial arrangements are different from those used during fostering.

Where a young person remains with their foster carer after 18, the relationship often changes from one based on fostering to one based on preparing for greater independence. They might take increasing responsibility for cooking, budgeting, education, work, appointments and household routines, with support adjusted to their abilities and circumstances. The right arrangement will depend on the young person’s needs, wishes and pathway plan.

Foster carers considering a long-term placement should therefore ask for clear information about the expected plan, the child’s legal status, likely timescales, contact with family, education and health needs, and how transition planning will be handled. It is also important to discuss what support will be available if the child’s needs change or if remaining in the household after 18 is being considered.

Long-term carers are not expected to make these decisions alone. The supervising social worker, child’s social worker and other members of the professional network should help review the plan, explain available options and prepare both the carer and young person for the move into adulthood.