9th November 2026 • My Family Our Needs
New government guidance has set out how councils should provide housing and mental health support for young people leaving care, including those with autism, learning disabilities and complex trauma.
The guidance, announced on 5 November, details the next phase of the Staying Close programme, which currently operates in 50 areas of England and will become a statutory council duty in 2029.
It has been published alongside a new action plan to prevent young people becoming homeless when they leave care and halve homelessness among care leavers under 25.
Participating councils must combine dedicated mental health support with at least one housing option, such as supported lodgings, community-based accommodation or intensive family-based support. The latter is specifically intended to reach some young people who still need substantial help but fall below adult social care thresholds.
What is Staying Close?
Staying Close is an England-only programme designed to help care leavers find and keep a safe home while maintaining relationships and receiving practical and emotional support.
It is already operating in 50 areas and will be rolled out nationally ahead of a new statutory duty coming into force in 2029. Until then, provision will depend on whether a young person’s council is participating in the programme.
Participating councils must provide dedicated mental health support alongside at least one approved housing model:
- Community-based housing, where care leavers have their own accommodation but receive peer support and help to develop everyday living skills.
- Supported lodgings, where a young person lives in a family home with a trained host.
- Intensive family-based support for young people with higher needs, including some with autism, learning disabilities or complex trauma who fall below adult social care thresholds.
Support should help young people develop skills, sustain their accommodation and access education, employment and healthcare. The focus is on building a stable life around the young person, rather than simply finding them somewhere to live.
Why can leaving care be particularly difficult for young people with SEND?
The systems supporting a young person do not always move into adulthood at the same time or fit together neatly.
An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can continue until 25 in certain circumstances, but only while the young person remains in education or training and still needs the plan. It does not provide housing and does not automatically entitle someone to adult social care.
Adult social care uses its own assessment and eligibility process. This means a young person may have significant needs but not qualify for ongoing adult services. Difficulties with communication, emotional regulation, executive functioning, sensory processing or managing money can still make living independently extremely challenging.
Some young people may appear more independent than they are. They might be able to cook a meal, for example, but struggle to plan shopping, budget safely or notice when food has spoiled. They may understand how to pay rent but find it difficult to open letters, respond to problems or ask for help before arrears build up.
This is why transition planning must consider how the young person functions in everyday life—not just whether they can complete an individual task on a good day.
What housing support should be planned before a young person leaves care?
Housing planning should begin as part of the young person’s pathway planning from age 16, rather than waiting until their placement is about to end.
The pathway plan should record:
- The young person’s accommodation needs and preferences.
- What practical, communication, sensory or emotional support they will need.
- How their education, healthcare and important relationships will continue.
- Who will help if their accommodation begins to break down.
- What alternative accommodation will be available if the original arrangement cannot continue.
Planning should also reflect the young person’s EHCP, health needs and any children’s or adult social care assessments. A move should not be considered separately from their education, trusted relationships and wider support network.
Where a young person is at risk of homelessness, the council should act early. Families can ask who is responsible for coordinating children’s services, housing, adult social care and health support and request that agreed responsibilities are written into the pathway plan.
Does every care leaver have a right to Staying Close support?
Not yet. Staying Close is being introduced in phases.
Councils are invited to join the current programme, with priority given to areas experiencing higher levels of care-leaver homelessness. A nationwide statutory duty is expected from 2029.
This means families should check whether Staying Close currently operates in their area and, if so, which housing model is available. Participating councils do not have to provide all three models.
If Staying Close is unavailable, this does not remove the council’s existing responsibilities towards care leavers. Local authorities must publish a care-leaver Local Offer explaining the accommodation, financial and practical support available. Pathway planning, homelessness-prevention duties and support from a personal adviser may also apply.
Families can search the council’s website for its ‘care-leaver Local Offer’ or ask the young person’s social worker or personal adviser for a copy.
What if the young person does not qualify for adult social care?
Staying Close is particularly relevant to young people who need continuing support but sit below the adult social care threshold.
However, a young person should not be assumed to be ineligible without a proper assessment. If they appear to need care and support, the council should consider undertaking a Care Act needs assessment.
The assessment should look at the effect of the young person’s needs on their wellbeing and ability to achieve specified outcomes. This can include managing nutrition, maintaining a habitable home, developing relationships, accessing work or education and using community services safely.
If the young person does not meet the eligibility threshold, the council should still provide information and advice about other suitable services. This might include supported housing, community support, advocacy, mental health provision, employment support or voluntary-sector services.
What is changing around care-leaver homelessness?
Alongside the Staying Close guidance, the Government has published a Care Leaver Homelessness Reduction Action Plan. Its targets are to ensure that no young person becomes homeless when leaving care and to halve homelessness among care leavers under 25.
Councils must now give clearer information about housing and financial support through their care-leaver Local Offers. Certain care leavers under 25 can no longer be treated as intentionally homeless, a decision that previously could restrict the housing assistance available to them.
The plan also emphasises the importance of trusted relationships. A young person may need somewhere safe to live, but they may also need somebody they know to help them read a letter, attend an appointment, resolve a tenancy problem or manage a difficult week.
Questions families can ask
If a young person with SEND is preparing to leave care, families and trusted adults may wish to ask:
- Has housing been included in the pathway plan, with a contingency arrangement if the placement breaks down?
- Is Staying Close available locally, and which support model does the council provide?
- Has the young person been considered for an adult social care assessment?
- How will their EHCP, healthcare and mental health support continue after the move?
- Who will be the named contact if the young person is struggling?
- Does the accommodation meet their communication, sensory, mobility and safety needs?
- What support will they receive with benefits, budgeting, bills and maintaining the tenancy?
- How will they retain contact with the people and community that matter to them?
A successful transition should not be measured simply by whether a young person has been given a tenancy. The real question is whether they have the right home, dependable relationships and enough support to feel safe, connected and able to build their adult life.
In other news, more than 325,000 supported housing residents will be able to keep more of what they earn as new rules come into force.