Cambridgeshire County Council told care leavers ‘face disadvantage’ daily
Care leavers face disadvantage and discrimination in their daily lives, councillors have heard.
University student and care leaver Elle Johnson told Cambridgeshire County Council that it could help prevent further discrimination.
The authority committed to treat care experience as a protected characteristic, and formally called on other bodies to do the same on Tuesday (May 16).
Elle told councillors at a meeting of the full council that care experience was “often misunderstood” by people.
She said she was “one of the lucky ones” as she would soon graduate from university and had the “unconditional love and support” of her foster parents. However, she said she still struggled every day with the label of having been in care.
“I face decisions none of my peers face. To choose to leave my family behind as they did not support my decision to attend university,” explained Elle.
She continued: “To work multiple jobs alongside my degree to get me through. To even get to university I had to car hop to attend open days, which already made me feel like I didn’t belong.
“When I made it to university, I had to learn how to maintain friendships, even how to write an essay, because I had never been anywhere long enough to learn these skills.
“In three months, I will have no home, no job, no degree course and there is an expectation I will know what to do.”
Elle said she is currently interviewing for jobs and is faced with questions about her care experience.
“Funnily enough, they do not like to hear that you were abused and traumatised as a child and put into this ‘dumping ground’ filled with other vulnerable children,” she said.
“This isn’t just employers, it’s with friendships and relationships too, it affects all areas of my life.
“It often feels like I have to find something to say to justify this upbringing and why I deserve to live a normal life.”
Elle said the need to recognise and understand what care experience is was “significant”.
She said the proposal by the county council to treat care experience as a protected characteristic was a way for change to begin.
She said: “Recognising that this group is disadvantaged is one thing, but recognising that this group is also discriminated against, is another.
“Whilst we cannot undo the disadvantage, and take away this trauma, ensuring these children are considered and prevented from further discrimination when it comes to policy and decision-making, is a positive starting point for change.
“It is a wonder that this action has not been taken already.
“This is an opportunity for Cambridgeshire to be at the forefront of innovative thinking and change, which in my experience and understanding, has not been the case in the past.
“Whether it’s data gathering, engagement in virtual schools, campaigning or even simply a social media post; I have seen efforts from many local authorities in care experienced matters, but never my own.
“What we are doing is not enough. It is my hope that with this motion, we can begin to move forward, improve understanding around care experience and ensure future policy is made that considers a group which for too long has been disregarded.”
Cllr Bryony Goodliffe proposed the motion for the county council to treat care experience as a protected characteristic. She said doing so would put it at the “forefront” of all the council’s decisions.
Cllr Goodliffe said: “Many care experienced people face discrimination, stigma and prejudice in their day-to-day lives.
“Public perceptions of care experience centre on the idea that children are irredeemably damaged and can lead to discrimination and assumptions being made.
“This stigma and discrimination can be explicit and often comes with assumptions about the likely characteristics of children and adults that have care experience.
“They can also be implicit and are evidenced in the way that care experiences are discussed in schools, workplaces and the media.
“At its worst this can lead to care experienced people being refused employment, failing to succeed in education, or facing unfair judgements about their ability to parent when they have children and families of their own.”
Cllr Goodliffe said the motion was about “making sure care experienced people are heard” and that the county council thinks about them in everything it does.
She said the county council did not ”deserve praise or validation for this” and said it was the county council’s duty in its role as a corporate parent.
The motion received unanimous support from all councillors at the meeting.
