Support for care experienced young people moving into adulthood in Scotland
In Scotland, the law sets out clear protections and support to help care experienced children and young people as they move into adulthood.
Corporate parenting
Public bodies, known as ‘corporate parents’, share responsibility for supporting children and young people who grow up in foster care, kinship care or residential child care. These corporate parenting duties begin when a child becomes ‘looked after’, the legal term used in Scotland for children whose welfare is safeguarded under the care of a local authority. These duties continue into adulthood, reflecting a shared commitment across public bodies, including local authorities, to provide care experienced young people with the stability, support and opportunities they need to thrive.
Continuing Care
Continuing Care gives looked after children and young people the right to stay in their foster care, kinship care or residential child care home, with the same carers, up to the age of 21, where this is right for them. A local authority has a legal duty to provide Continuing Care, and children and young people do not have to apply for it or be assessed for it.
Aftercare
Aftercare is the legal entitlement to ongoing support for children and young people who are no longer looked after in foster care, kinship care or residential child care. Aftercare means the advice, guidance, and assistance provided to care leavers that a local authority must provide. This can include emotional and practical support, such as help with managing money and accessing education, training, employment and housing, although support is not limited to these areas. Care experienced children and young people aged 16 to 19 are automatically entitled to Aftercare support. Young people aged 19 to 26 can request Aftercare and receive an assessment of their needs.
Throughcare
Throughcare is the planning, preparation and support that begins while a child or young person is still living in foster care, kinship care or residential child care. It helps children and young people prepare for significant life changes, including the transition into adulthood, and aims to ensure they have the relationships, skills and support they need to thrive.
Throughcare is not a separate legal entitlement. Instead, it is embedded within legislation, statutory guidance and good practice, shaping how local authorities and their partners plan for and support children and young people before, during and after key transitions. Effective Throughcare is based on early planning, strong relationships and coordinated support that responds to each child and young person's individual needs and aspirations.
Key legislation to support children and young people in care in Scotland includes:
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 is the foundational legislation for child welfare, protection, and family law in Scotland. It centres on the child’s best interests and sets out many of the duties, powers and responsibilities that Scottish local authorities hold in respect of their looked after children and care leavers.
Learn about the Children (Scotland) Act 1995
The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 modernised Scottish adoption law, placing the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration. It introduced permanence orders for children who cannot live with their birth parents, allowed adoption by same-sex and unmarried couples, and emphasised the importance of family time with birth families.
Learn about the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007
The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 established the statutory framework for local authorities regarding children in care (foster care, kinship care, and residential child care). They regulate care planning and require regular reviews to ensure the child's safety, health, and wellbeing.
Learn about the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009
The Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 sets out the framework for the care and protection via the Children’s Hearings System, including Compulsory Supervision Orders. The Act sets out when referrals must be made to the Children’s Reporter, the mechanisms for the provision of compulsory measures, and the forms such measures may take. This Act also sets out the legislation governing emergency measures for the protection of children, including child protection and child assessment orders, emergency applications to justices of the peace and the powers of a constable to remove a child to a place of safety.
Learn about the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011
The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 draws attention to a child’s entire journey through care and beyond by focusing on children at risk of becoming looked after through to the introduction of Continuing Care and the extension of those eligible for Aftercare.
Learn about the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014
The Care Leaver Payment (Scotland) Regulations 2026 provides for a new scheme called the Care Leaver Payment. From 1 April 2026, the Care Leaver Payment provides a one-off £2000 payment to children and young people moving on from care, with the intention of helping to reduce some of the financial barriers they face whilst moving into adulthood and more independent living.
Learn about the Care Leaver Payment (Scotland) Regulations 2026
The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act 2026
The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act, passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 March 2026, aims to improve support and outcomes for people with care experience, their families, and their carers. We will update this webpage as the provisions in this Act come into force.
Learn about the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act 2026
In 2020, the independent review of the care system in Scotland published The Promise. The Promise of the Independent Care Review commits to ensuring that children and young people with care experience grow up loved, safe and respected, and recognises that support should extend into adulthood.
Key policies in Scotland include:
Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is Scotland’s long standing, national commitment to provide all children, young people and their families with the right support at the right time, so that every child and young person can reach their full potential.
GIRFEC is both an approach and framework used by services across Scotland to improve and uphold the wellbeing of children and their families.
Learn about Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC)
The Getting it right for looked after children and young people strategy is built on the principles of Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and reaffirms the Scottish Government’s commitment to improve outcomes for children and young people in care in Scotland.
Learn about the Getting it right for looked after children and young people strategy
Staying Put Scotland is a Scottish Government policy framework guiding local authorities to support care experienced young people to remain with their foster carers or in residential child care beyond age 18, typically up to 21 or 26, promoting a gradual transition to independence, improved stability and better life outcomes.
Learn about Staying Put Scotland
The Scottish Government’s Improving Care Leavers’ Housing Pathways guidance and recommendations have been developed to improve the housing journey of care leavers in Scotland and prevent homelessness for people with experience of care.
Learn about the Improving Care Leavers’ Housing Pathways guidance
The Scottish Government’s New Scots refugee integration strategy sets out a vision of a welcoming Scotland where people are able to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive. Children and young people under the age of 18 who arrive in Scotland without parents or guardians are defined as ‘unaccompanied asylum-seeking children’ and are the responsibility of the local authority in which they are found and require to be accommodated and supported under section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Learn about the New Scots refugee integration strategy
Learn about unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people policy in Scotland
The Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2018 (SSI, 2018 No.39) exempts care leavers from paying Council Tax and delegates powers to local authorities to administer this exemption in their area.
Learn about The Council Tax (Discounts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2018
The Care Experienced Students Bursary is a non-repayable bursary for learners with care experience. It was introduced in higher education in 2017/18 and in further education in 2018/19.
The bursary was introduced after Scotland’s higher education institutions announced care experienced applicants who meet minimum entry requirements will be guaranteed an offer of an undergraduate place at university.
These updated factsheets address frequently asked questions about the Care Experienced Students Bursary (CESB) and higher education and further education. They cover details about who is eligible for the CESB, how to apply, and practical information about how payments are made. You can also find out further information on the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) website.
Hub for Success further education factsheet
Hub for Success higher education factsheet
In Scotland, corporate parenting is the collective responsibility of certain public bodies to act in the best interests of children and young people who are living in care and care experienced young people, in the same way a good parent would.
Being a corporate parent means organisations must promote wellbeing and safeguard rights; provide opportunities for young people to thrive; support positive transitions into adulthood; and work together so young people experience consistent, joined up support.
Corporate parenting duties are set out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and apply from the time a child becomes looked after and, for care leavers, well into adulthood.
There are over 30 corporate parents in Scotland, including local authorities, health boards, Police Scotland, colleges and universities, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, Care Inspectorate and Scottish Ministers. Each corporate parent must consider how its functions and decisions impact on care experienced children and young people and take action to improve outcomes.
A full list of organisations and individuals who are corporate parents in Scotland is contained in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.