If you are in care at the moment, your Personal Adviser (PA) will support you with getting ready to leave care, including finding somewhere to call home. Information on where you are going to live will be part of your Pathway Plan.
If you’re over 18, your PA will help you to find the right place to live.
This might involve:
- Working with the Council’s Housing Options Services to identify suitable housing
options for you. - Help to obtain supported accommodation if you are not ready or don’t want to have
your own tenancy. - If this is what you and your foster carers want, we can support you to remain with
your foster carers under what’s called a ‘Staying Put’ arrangement. This can last until
you are 21 (or until the higher education being undertaken on your 21st birthday is
completed). - Support to access social housing (this is accommodation managed by a housing
association) by applying through Property Pool Plus (from age 16) with One Vision
Housing). - All care experienced young people up to age 25yrs will be given band B priority status
upon registering for social housing which will help you access social housing. - We will start to plan your accommodation pathway when you reach 16 so that you
can progress at a pace that works for you.
One Vision Housing will provide you with:
- An Independent Living Officer when you first start a tenancy with them. They will
support you to settle into your tenancy and will stay involved for as long as you need
them. - Advice about maintaining a tenancy, including avoiding rent or arrears, paying bills
and budgeting. - Helping you to claim housing benefit/universal credit.
We will also:
- Provide all care experienced young people who are the responsibility of Sefton
Council (former relevant care leavers) and who are living in Sefton with a 100%
discount on their council tax bill from the age 18 to age 25. The Discount will be
applied after any other discounts such as Sole Occupier Discount and Council Tax
Reduction have been set up. Where there is shared liability for the Council Tax due,
the discount will cover the share that the care experienced young person is liable for. - If you are a Sefton Care Experienced Young Person living outside of Sefton, your
council tax liability (after helping to apply for any council tax support) will be paid on a
quarterly basis until your 25th birthday. Your PA will support you with this. - Practical and financial support with moving into and furnishing your new home.
- Supporting you if you have a housing crisis, including helping if you are threatened
with losing, or lose a tenancy.
Staying Put Offer
A Staying Put arrangement is an agreement between you, your foster carer and the Local Authority which enables you to stay with them when you reach age 18 and cease to be cared for. It is the duty of the local authority:
- To monitor the Staying Put arrangement; and
- To provide advice, assistance and support to the Former Relevant child and the
former foster parent with a view to maintaining the Staying Put arrangement (this must include financial support), until the young person reaches the age of 21, or the end of a higher education course being undertaken at 21 (unless the local authority consider that the Staying Put arrangement is not consistent with the child’s welfare).
Supported Lodgings Offer
Sefton Supported Lodgings (SSL) provide opportunities for care experienced young people to live within family homes throughout the Sefton area.
Semi - Independent Accommodation
Providers are available who offer shared housing with 24/7 staffing as the first step for young people moving out of care settings. This allows a period of assessment to ensure that you have the basic independent living skills required before you move on to a more semi-independent provision.
Providers offer semi-independent accommodation with differing levels of support that can be customised to your individual needs. Whenever possible, accommodation is identified that is affordable post -18 so that you have the option of taking over the tenancy when cared for financial support ends and you take over the rent.
| EHM Login And Customisation Manual |  (pdf 427KB) |
| EHM Contacts User Manual | (pdf 404KB) |
| EHM Case Notes Manual | (pdf 316KB) |
| EHM Case Transfer Process | (pdf 261KB) |
| EHM Recording Consent Manual | (pdf 371KB) |
| Closing An EHM Plan And Episode | (pdf 157KB) |
| Adding a person | (pdf 489KB) |