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Illegal money lenders or loan sharks as they are more commonly known are criminals and they will lend money to almost anyone at extortionately high interest rates (100% a week is the norm) and will use a variety of tactics such as intimidation, harassment, threats and violence to ensure that the borrower continues to pay with no end date to the loan.
We know that for some young people the thought of managing your own money can be scary; you won’t be expected to ‘just know’ about this stuff! Your Social Worker, Personal Advisor and the Independent Reviewing Officer who chairs your Cared For review meetings will be talking with you about how you can manage your money and savings now and after you turn eighteen. MyBnk offers a great service to young people
MyBnk offers support with budgeting, being independent, banking and borrowing through ‘Money Works’ sessions online. ‘Money Works’ offers a range of accredited life skills, money management and employability courses, with certificates. If you attend the full programme, you can also qualify for a Level 1 Personal Money Management accreditation.
We provide a ‘personal allowance’ payment to cover your daily living costs if you are living semi-independently and cannot claim benefits. We will help you to budget, e.g. by supporting you to prepare a meal planner and a shopping list.We can sometimes help with additional financial support, e.g. we may give you a food voucher to make sure you always have enough for food.
Torbay Children’s Services makes sure that your foster carer puts aside savings for you during the time you are cared for. This is to ensure that you have a lump sum of money which you can use in the future. You will not normally be able to access the savings bank account until you are eighteen.
If you are working and / or are eligible for benefits, four weeks before your 18th birthday you will be supported by your Personal Advisor, Social Worker or another person in your support network to make your initial claim, often with an appointment at Job centre Plus. We will also support you to claim Housing Benefit as part of Universal Creditclaim if this is needed. The Housing Benefit element of your Universal Credit can be paid straight to your landlord if you agree to this, which means you won’t have to worry about paying your rent from your benefit money. We will encourage you to do this to ensure you always have a roof over your head. You can choose to consent for the 6 Care Experience Team to support your claim by talking to the Job Centre in yourjournal; this has been helpful for many young people in the past as it can prevent delays and speed up payments.
If you are aged 16 or 17 and living semi-independently, you may be given a clothing allowance of up to £550 every financial year once an assessment has been undertaken. This will be assessed through your pathway plan, and will take into account any additional clothing you may need for education or employment purposes.
You may receive a £30 gift on your 16th and 17th birthday.
As a former relevant young person in education or training, the Care Experience Service may be able to provide you with funding towards a holiday. This will be agreed as part of your Pathway Planning process. Please note, this grant is discretionary to a maximum of £200 and you are allowed one request per year. Please talk to your Personal Advisor about how you can access the holiday grant. This may be linked for example to a school or college or university trip or could be used to ensure you have the essentials you need for a trip you are planning with your friends, or carers or educational provider.
We want you to be happy and healthy, and will encourage you to take part in social and leisure activities. If you are aged 16 or 17, you can apply for a local leisure card. If you live outside Torbay, your Personal Advisor may be able to help you get one for where you live. If there are other activities you are interested in, we may be able to pay for these – you will need to speak to your Personal Advisor about other options.
You may be entitled to a maternity grant of up to £150, eleven weeks before your baby is born if you are aged 16 or 17 and pregnant.
A staying put arrangement is where you remain by agreement in your foster placement or with your placement provider past your 18th birthday. This decision is made with you and your foster carers, Social Worker/s, placement staff and Personal Advisor. A lot of young people choose this option as it can really work for you. You contribute towards the costs of ‘staying put’ as you would with any other accommodation.
Supported accommodation schemes are provided by organisations that areassessed as safe and offer young people the support they need. Some have 24 hour support, meaning staff sleep in overnight, whereas others have staff available during the day, with an ‘on-call’ service available off site. You would be placed into one that best meets your need, and should have the chance to see it before you move in. You contribute towards the costs of supported accommodation as you would with any other accommodation.
When you feel you are able to be more independent, and you have some experience of living more independently and have developed your independent living skills, we can access a small number of ‘training flats’ you can apply for with your Social Worker or Personal Advisor. These are self-contained flats that are supported by staff at a level that is right for you. You contribute towards the costs of the training flat as you would with any other accommodation.
This allowance is to assist you in purchasing furniture or equipment when moving into independent, permanent housing and will be reflected in your Pathway Plan. It is money that is designed to last you into adulthood, and you and your Personal Advisor agree how and when to spend it within your Pathway Plan.
Torbay now has 1 full-time and 1 part-time Housing Specialist Personal Advisors. They do not ‘sit’ in the Care Experience team but in the ‘Early Help’ team, and provide 11 invaluable support to young people aged 16 + who are no longer ‘cared for’ (either under Section 20 of the Children Act, a voluntary agreement with you and / or your birth family, or under a Section 31 (Children Act) Care Order).
Our ‘offer’ to care-experienced young people and adults, from the Children Family Health Devon (Children in Care / CIC) Nurse team.The Children and Family Health Nurse Team works with children and young people who are ‘care-experienced’. They can help care experienced young people and cared for children with support, health advice and signposting to health services that are right for them.We will treat you with respect and understanding, and as an individual.Our Nurses also work with other professionals such as Personal Advisors, Participation teams, voluntary organisations and other partner agencies.Our Nurses offer yearly Health Reviews up until the age of 18 years. It is your right to have a health review every year.Health reviews are an opportunity to talk to a qualified Nurse about any health issues or worries, and get advice and support.Your confidentiality is always respected during these talks, and the Nurse will discuss with you what information can be included in your Personal Health Plan. This will be developed with you and is designed to meet your health needs.
When you are 16, you will be given a health passport. This is a small booklet which outlines your immunisation history and other relevant health information. It also provides a wide range of useful health information including how to find other health services. The Health Passport should form part of your Pathway Plan.
Most of the care experienced nursing team is trained in the C-Card scheme, and can support you to access free condoms and services that are related to your sexual and reproductive health.
You may be eligible for free eye tests and vouchers towards glasses/contact lensesif you are:• Age 16 to 18 and in full time education• Receiving certain benefits, such as Universal Credit• on a low income and have a Health Credit Certificate (known as HC2 or HC3 certificate)
Advice and support can be provided about prescription fees but we are not able to pay for the costs of prescriptions for you to get medication. However you are eligible for free prescriptions if you are:• age 16 to 18 and in full time education• receiving certain benefits, such as Universal Credit• pregnant nor have had a baby in the last 12 months (you will need an exemption certificate from your GP)• receiving treatment in hospital
We want to work with you to help you to be an active member of society, and can help you by: – Helping you to register to vote. – Supporting you to find information on groups and clubs you may wish to join. – Sharing information with you about voluntary work. – Listening and taking account of your views about how we support you. – Supporting you to join the Cared For Community or The Circle (up to 18) and ‘Your Voice’ Forum (16 – 25) – Asking you about your views in our surveys and taking account of what you say. – Asking you to be on an interview panel when we recruit new social care staff. – Recognising and celebrating your achievements in the Annual Awards Ceremony – Having a member of the ‘Your Voice’ Forum on the Corporate Parenting Board so that senior leaders can hear feedback about the service directly from a care experienced adult.
